ABSTRACT
Introduction: Schizophrenia is a complex medical illness characterized by hallucinations, delusions, and cognitive issues. Olanzapine, a second-generation antipsychotic widely prescribed for schizophrenia has proven to be efficacious, however, its use is associated with major adverse effects such as weight gain, metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus. Recently, FDA approved a combination dose of olanzapine and samidorphan (OLZ/SAM) to mitigate the adverse outcomes associated with olanzapine use for the treatment of Schizophrenia. Objectives: The approval of olanzapine/samidorphan combination by FDA in treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder has been a milestone. This article summarizes the clinical trials reporting the clinical efficacy and adverse effects of olanzapine/samidorphan combination along with their bias assessment. Methods: Pubmed, science direct, Ovid SP and Google Scholar were comprehensively searched for data collection. Clinical trials reporting the efficacy and adverse outcomes of the OLZ/SAM regimen were included in the review and the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool (RoB 2.0, version 2019) was used to assess the risk of bias in each study. Results: Five trials employed the use of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scales (PANSS) and Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale to assess the efficacy of OLZ/SAM. Overall, OLZ/SAM showed a significant reduction in PANSS total scores and CGI-S scores and might be a viable option for long-term treatment. The safety of combined therapy is assessed by trials considering the factors of ECG parameters, suicidal events, and movement disorders. Major adverse events included nervous system disorders, changes in blood chemistry, and metabolic or nutritional disorders, with worsening of adverse outcomes observed in a total of nineteen cases in six studies. Conclusion: The FDA-approved drug recombination of OLZ/SAM for the treatment of schizophrenia revealed efficacious outcomes and was generally well tolerated by patients partaking in various trials. The potential of samidorphan in mimicking the efficacy of olanzapine while mitigating olanzapine-induced weight gain makes it a promising regimen for improving symptoms and health outcomes in schizophrenic patients.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the presentation patterns, biologically vulnerable patient groups and treatment strategies of rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: The retrospective study was conducted at the Rheumatology Clinic of Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi, and comprised data of rheumatology patients who presented between September 2006 and September 2012. After screening all the files, rheumatoid arthritis cases were identified. Data collection was done using a questionnaire that included patient demographics, co-morbidities, clinical manifestations and drug therapy. SPSS 13 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Of the 2300 files screened, 500(21.7%) related to patients of rheumatoid arthritis. The mean age at presentation of these 500 patients was 41±15 years. There were 367(73.4%) women and they presented at an earlier age compared to men (p<0.024). Erosions were present in 198(40%) patients on X-rays and 22(4.4%) had joint deformities. Seropositive rheumatoid arthritis was associated with higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate levels (p<0.014), but did not differ from seronegative rheumatoid arthritis in terms of Disease Activity Score-28 levels (p<0.21). CONCLUSIONS: The skewed gender distribution was likely an effect of rheumatoid arthritis biology rather than due to issues of healthcare accessibility. Seronegative RA is likely to present late though it is as destructive as the seropositive disease.
