Jewish Hospital

About: Jewish Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Antigen & Population. The organization has 3881 authors who have published 3414 publications receiving 123044 citations.

Antihistamines: Pharmacology and Clinical Use

Abstract: Antihistamines are a diverse group of drugs which possess the ability to inhibit various histaminic actions. By and large, they bear a certain structural resemblance to histamine, and act principally to prevent histamine-receptor interaction through competition with histamine for histamine receptors. Consequently, they are helpful therapeutically in preventing, rather than reversing, histaminic actions. Individual antihistaminic drugs act to inhibit histaminic action at one or another histamine receptor (H1 or H2-receptor), but not at both receptors. The large number of antihistaminics which have been available for many years and employed chiefly as ‘antiallergic’ drugs are classified as H1-receptor inhibitors; they are most effective therapeutically in inhibiting manifestations of histamine-induced wheat and erythema formation and pruritus. H2-receptor inhibitors, agents which are able to inhibit histamine-induced gastric acid secretion, have been developed more recently. Antihistaminics in general and H1-receptor inhibitors in particular, exert a wide variety of pharmacological activities. Their use is frequently accompanied by undesirable side-effects, notably CNS depression, dryness of mucous membranes, and gastrointestinal effects. Used judiciously and in proper dosage, antihistaminic drugs are helpful in the control of allergic disorders, allergic rhinitis and urticaria in particular; newly developed H2-receptor inhibitors show therapeutic promise in the treatment of peptic ulceration.

Medical therapy in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome before and during pregnancy and lactation.

Abstract: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is probably the most common endocrinopathy in women of childbearing age, and is particularly common in African-American and Hispanic ethnic groups. It is characterized by oligo-amenorrhea, clinical and/or biochemical hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovaries, and, often, morbid obesity. PCOS is associated with infertility and frequent 1st trimester miscarriage, and with an increased risk of gestational diabetes. Insulin resistance with compensatory hyperinsulinemia plays an important role in the pathogenesis of PCOS. Reduction of hyperinsulinemia with metformin-diet is associated not only with improvement of the biochemical endocrinopathy, but, commonly, with restoration of menstrual cycles and fertility. The combination of metformin and clomiphene citrate (CC) in CC resistant patients provides additional benefit to a subset of patients, not responsive to metformin alone. Metformin appears to be safe for mothers and neonates (non-teratogenic) during pregnancy, though the results of double-blinded placebo-controlled studies are not yet available. Benefits from metformin therapy during pregnancy include reduction of miscarriage, reduction in likelihood of developing gestational diabetes, reduction in fetal macrosomia, and prevention of excessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy. Rosiglitazone and pioglitazone are effective therapy for ovulation induction, but pregnancy class C and should not be used during pregnancy.