Taxonomic review of the genus Trisopterus(Teleostei: Gadidae) with recognition of the capelan Trisopterus capelanus as a valid species.

Trisopterus is demonstrated to be monophyletic, including four distinct species: T. capelanus, T. esmarkii, T. luscus and T. minutus. The capelan T. capelanus is resurrected from the synonymy of poor cod T. minutus, and is shown to be morphologically more similar to T. luscus, to which species it is also more closely related, indicated by a phylogenetic analysis presented here. A lectotype is designated for T. luscus. Trisopterus fasciatus, the type species of Trisopterus, is a junior synonym of T. luscus, and the lectotype of T. luscus is designated as the neotype of T. fasciatus. The lectotype of T. luscus is also designated as the neotype of Gadus barbatus. Gadus barbatus has priority over T. luscus but the name is suppressed by prevailing usage of T. luscus. A neotype is designated also for T. minutus. A phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial cytochrome b, and a fragment of the nuclear rhodopsin gene, shows that T. capelanus and T. luscus are sister species, and in turn sister to a clade formed by T. minutus and T. esmarkii.

Postmarketing surveillance of adverse drug reactions: a correlational study approach using multiple data sources.

The authors performed a correlational study on nationwide spontaneous adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports related to the antioxidant thioctic acid (Thioctacid; ASTA Medica) in Germany from April 1992 to March 1995. Thioctacid was predominantly utilized by general practitioners and internists for treatment of diabetic neuropathy. The total number of treated patients was estimated using a nationwide drug prescription database (MediPlus, IMS: 362 general practitioners and internists) and pharmacy drug sales data. All Thioctacid prescriptions in MediPlus were assessed and the mean cumulative dosage/patient/year was calculated. Then, the total number of Thioctacid patients in Germany was estimated: N=nationwide pharmacy sales (kg)/mean cumulative dosage/patient (kg). From April 1992 to March 1995, 78 patients with 112 ADRs were notified on spontaneous reports. There was a decreasing number of ADR reports per year (32 to 21 patients/year). In parallel, the estimated total numbers of treated patients/year also decreased from 426,658 to 304,155 (p<0.05). Poisson regression models were fitted including incident cases with ADR and the number of patients per year for each of the 3 years. No significant secular trend of ADR (p=0.91) and no impact of mean cumulative dosages was observed in the models. There were also no changes in the pattern of ADR (e.g. skin reactions, gastrointestinal complaints). This study suggests that a combination of spontaneous reporting systems with prescription drug databases and pharmacy sales data may be a useful tool to perform rapid postmarketing monitoring of ADR.