Dabrafenib in metastatic melanoma: a monocentric 'real life' experience.

Dabrafenib is a potent BRAF-kinase inhibitor. Its activity was evaluated on 40 consecutive metastatic melanoma patients (pts) harboring the V600BRAF mutations. Dabrafenib was administered orally at the dosage of 150 mg b.i.d. daily. ORR was 82%, with 7% CR, 62% PR, 13% SD and 18% PD. The median PFS and OS were seven and 17 months, respectively (median follow-up: 8.5 months). Increased risk of progression was found in pts with elevated LDH, ECOG PS >1 and more than two metastatic sites. Grade 3-4 adverse events were recorded in 4 pts. In this retrospective analysis, Dabrafenib confirmed its role as the standard clinical option in metastatic melanoma pts.

Atypical onset of antiphospholipid syndrome in pregnancy: a case report.

BACKGROUND: We present a case of an atypical onset of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). CASE: A woman in her 15th week gestation had a thrombosis of an unknown cerebral cavernoma, which was successfully removed. Twenty-six days after, she was admitted for a severe pain in right hypochondrium and a second class HELLP syndrome was diagnosed. Two days after, she had a fetal loss. After 1 month, laboratory tests revealed high level of antiphospholipid antibodies. At the same time, she developed a spontaneous thrombosis at her right arm. After 6 weeks, antiphospholipid antibodies, tested again, result positive. CONCLUSION: Antiphospholipid antibodies often cause pregnancy complications, but, to our knowledge, this is the first report of an association of antiphospholipid antibodies, with cerebral cavernoma thrombosis and early onset HELLP syndrome.

Pregnancy and subarachnoid hemorrhage: a case report.

Cerebrovascular diseases are rare in pregnancy and mostly caused by rupture of an arterial aneurysm. We present the case of a pregnant woman at 36 weeks of gestation who had a subarachnoid hemorrhage resulting from rupture of an unknown aneurysm, and who underwent a Cesarean section and an endovascular treatment to embolize the aneurysm.

Small molecule antagonists of the bradykinin B1 receptor.

Screening Pharmacopeia's encoded combinatorial libraries has led to the identification of potent, selective, competitive antagonists at the bradykinin B1 receptor. Libraries were screened using a displacement assay of [3H]-des-Arglo-kallidin ([3H]-dAK) at IMR-90 cells expressing an endogenous human B1 receptor (Bmax = 20,000 receptors/cell, K(D) = 0.5+/-0.1 nM) or against membranes from 293E cells expressing a recombinant human B1 receptor (Bmax = 8,000 receptors/cell, K(D) = 0.5 +/- 0.3 nM). Compound PS020990, an optimized, representative member from the class of compounds, inhibits specific binding of 3H-dAK at IMR-90 cells with a KI of 6 +/- 1 nM. The compound inhibits dAK-induced phosphatidyl inositol turnover (K(Bapp) = 0.4 +/- 0.2 nM) and calcium mobilization (K(Bapp) = 17 +/- 2 nM) in IMR-90 cells. Compounds from the lead series are inactive at the B2 receptor and are > 1000-fold specific for B1 vs. a variety of other receptors, ion channels and enzymes. PS020990 and other related chemotypes therefore offer an excellent opportunity to explore further the role of B1 receptors in disease models and represent a potential therapeutic avenue.

Do weekly and fast-rotating shiftwork schedules differentially affect duration and quality of sleep?

Characteristics of shiftwork schedules can have distinct impacts on workers' sleep. This report presents comparisons of the effects of two different shiftwork schedules on duration and quality of the main sleep episodes in comparable worker populations at two different petrochemical plants. No significant differences were found for sleep duration in comparing the two plants. However, within each plant's shift cycles, morning and night shifts showed shorter sleep durations than all other workdays and days off. Quality of sleep was perceived as lowest for night shifts of both plant schedules, and of lesser quality for weekly than for fast-rotating shifts. These results support recommendations for reducing the number of consecutive nights of shiftwork. However, before recommending any optimal shift schedule, interactions of sleep duration and quality with shift schedules need much further evaluation.

Discovery of potent cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase inhibitors. 2-Pyridyl- and 2-imidazolylquinazolines possessing cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase and thromboxane synthesis inhibitory activities.

Moderate cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase (cGMP-PDE, PDE V) inhibitor 2-phenyl-4-anilino-quinazoline (1) was identified utilizing MultiCASE assisted drug design (MCADD) technology. Modification of compound 1 was conducted at the 2-, 4-, and 6-positions of the quinazoline ring for enhancement of cGMP-PDE inhibitory activity. The 6-substituted 2-(imidazol-1-yl)-quinazolines are 1000 times more potent in in vitro PDE V enzyme than the well-known inhibitor zaprinast. The 6-substituted derivatives of 2-(3-pyridyl)quinazoline 84 and 2-(imidazol-1-yl)quinazoline 86 exhibited more than 1000-fold selectivity for PDE V over the other four PDE isozymes. In addition, cGMP-PDE inhibitors 64, 65, and 73 were found to have an additional property of thromboxane synthesis inhibitory activity.