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Acitretin
Acitretin (trade names Soriatane and Neotigason) is a second-generation retinoid. It is taken orally, and is typically used for psoriasis. Acitretin is an oral retinoid used in the treatment of severe resistant psoriasis. Because of the potential for problems and severe side effects it is generally used in only very severe cases of psoriasis that have been unresponsive to other treatments. It binds to nuclear receptors that regulates gene transcription. They induce keratinocyte differentiation and reduce epidermal hyperplasia, leading to the slowing of cell reproduction. Acitretin is readily absorbed and widely distributed after oral administration. A therapeutic effect occurs after two to four weeks or longer. Patients who have received the medication are advised against giving blood for at least three years due to the risk of birth defects. Adverse effects Acitretin is highly teratogenic and noted for the possibility of severe birth defects. It should not be used by pregna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete body coverage. Injury to the skin can trigger psoriatic skin changes at that spot, which is known as the Koebner phenomenon. The five main types of psoriasis are plaque, guttate, inverse, pustular, and erythrodermic. Plaque psoriasis, also known as psoriasis vulgaris, makes up about 90% of cases. It typically presents as red patches with white scales on top. Areas of the body most commonly affected are the back of the forearms, shins, navel area, and scalp. Guttate psoriasis has drop-shaped lesions. Pustular psoriasis presents as small, noninfectious, pus-filled blisters. Inverse psoriasis forms red patches in skin folds. Erythrodermic psoriasis occurs when the rash becomes very widespread, and can develop from any of the other types. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retinoid
The retinoids are a class of chemical compounds that are vitamers of vitamin A or are chemically related to it. Retinoids have found use in medicine where they regulate epithelial cell growth. Retinoids have many important functions throughout the body including roles in vision, regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation, growth of bone tissue, immune function, and activation of tumor suppressor genes. Research is also being done into their ability to treat skin cancers. Currently, alitretinoin (9-''cis''-retinoic acid) may be used topically to help treat skin lesions from Kaposi's sarcoma, and tretinoin (all-''trans''- retinoic acid) is used to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia. Types There are four generations of retinoids: * First generation include retinol, retinal, tretinoin (retinoic acid), isotretinoin, and alitretinoin * Second generation include etretinate and its metabolite acitretin * Third generation include adapalene, bexarotene, and tazarotene * Fourth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keratinocyte
Keratinocytes are the primary type of Cell (biology), cell found in the epidermis (skin), epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. In humans, they constitute 90% of epidermal skin cells. Basal cells in the stratum basale, basal layer (''stratum basale'') of the skin are sometimes referred to as basal keratinocytes. Keratinocytes form a barrier against environmental damage by heat, UV radiation, Dehydration, water loss, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. A number of structural proteins, enzymes, lipids, and antimicrobial peptides contribute to maintain the important barrier function of the skin. Keratinocytes differentiate from epidermal stem cells in the lower part of the epidermis and migrate towards the surface, finally becoming corneocytes and eventually be shed off, which happens every 40 to 56 days in humans. Function The primary function of keratinocytes is the formation of a barrier against environmental damage by heat, UV radiation, Dehydration, wat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teratogenic
Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development in organisms during their life span. It is a sub-discipline in medical genetics which focuses on the classification of congenital abnormalities in dysmorphology. The related term developmental toxicity includes all manifestations of abnormal development that are caused by environmental insult. These may include growth retardation, delayed mental development or other congenital disorders without any structural malformations. Teratogens are substances that may cause birth defects via a toxic effect on an embryo or fetus. Known teratogens include: retinol, thalidomide, Mercury (element), mercury, Alcohol (drug), alcohol, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin. Etymology The term was borrowed in 1842 from the French , where it was formed in 1830 from the Greek language, Greek (word stem ), meaning "sign sent by the gods, portent, marvel, monster", and (''-ology''), used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cystic Acne
Acne, also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term skin condition that occurs when dead skin cells and oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include blackheads or whiteheads, pimples, oily skin, and possible scarring. It primarily affects skin with a relatively high number of oil glands, including the face, upper part of the chest, and back. The resulting appearance can lead to anxiety, reduced self-esteem, and, in extreme cases, depression or thoughts of suicide. Susceptibility to acne is primarily genetic in 80% of cases. The roles of diet and cigarette smoking in the condition are unclear, and neither cleanliness nor exposure to sunlight appear to play a part. In both sexes, hormones called androgens appear to be part of the underlying mechanism, by causing increased production of sebum. Another common factor is the excessive growth of the bacterium ''Cutibacterium acnes'', which is present on the skin. Treatments for acne are ava ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WebMD
WebMD is an American corporation known primarily as an online publisher of news and information pertaining to human health and well-being. The site includes information pertaining to drugs. It is one of the top healthcare websites. It was founded in 1998 by internet entrepreneur Jeff Arnold. In early 1999, it was part of a three way merger with Sapient Health Network (SHN) and Direct Medical Knowledge (DMK). SHN began in Portland, Oregon, in 1996 by Jim Kean, Bill Kelly, and Kris Nybakken, who worked together at a CD-ROM publishing firm, Creative Multimedia. Later in 1999, WebMD merged with Healtheon, founded by Netscape Communications founder James H. Clark. Traffic During March 2020, WebMD's network of websites reached more unique visitors each month than any other leading private or government healthcare website, making it the leading health publisher in the United States. In the fourth quarter of 2016, WebMD recorded an average of 179.5 million unique users per month, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drugs
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, absorption via a patch on the skin, suppository, or dissolution under the tongue. In pharmacology, a drug is a chemical substance, typically of known structure, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. A pharmaceutical drug, also called a medication or medicine, is a chemical substance used to treat, cure, prevent, or diagnose a disease or to promote well-being. Traditionally drugs were obtained through extraction from medicinal plants, but more recently also by organic synthesis. Pharmaceutical drugs may be used for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders. Pharmaceutical drugs are often classified into drug classes—groups of related ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RxList
RxList is an online medical resource of US prescription medications providing full prescribing information and patient education. It was founded in 1995 by Neil Sandow, Pharm.D.. RxList is an owned and operated site in the WebMD Consumer Network and was acquired by WebMD in December 2004. RxList provides content written by pharmacists and physicians and data provided by credible sources like the FDA, Cerner Multum, and First Data Bank, Inc. RxList, as part of the WebMD Consumer Network, adheres to the same privacy policy as WebMD.com and is certified by TRUSTe TrustArc (formerly TRUSTe) is a privacy compliance technology company based in San Francisco, California. The company provides software and services to help corporations update their privacy management processes so they comply with government laws a ... . RxList is ranked #14 in the January 2014 eBizMBA Top 15 Most Popular Health Websites. References American medical websites American companies established in 1995 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Etretinate
Etretinate (trade name Tegison) is a medication developed by Hoffmann–La Roche that was approved by the FDA in 1986 to treat severe psoriasis. It is a second-generation retinoid. It was subsequently removed from the Canadian market in 1996 and the United States market in 1998 due to the high risk of birth defects. It remains on the market in Japan as Tigason. Pharmacology Etretinate is a highly lipophilic, aromatic retinoid. It is stored and released from adipose tissue, so its effects can continue long after dosage stops. It is detectable in the plasma for up to three years following therapy. Etretinate has a low therapeutic index and a long elimination half-life (''t''1/2) of 120 days, which make dosing difficult. Etretinate has been replaced by acitretin, the free acid (without the ethyl ester). While acitretin is less lipophilic and has a half-life of only 50 hours, it is partly metabolized to etretinate in the body, so that it is still a long-acting teratogen and pregnanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Therapeutic Index
The therapeutic index (TI; also referred to as therapeutic ratio) is a quantitative measurement of the relative safety of a drug. It is a comparison of the amount of a therapeutic agent that causes the therapeutic effect to the amount that causes toxicity. The related terms therapeutic window or safety window refer to a range of doses which optimize between efficacy and toxicity, achieving the greatest therapeutic benefit without resulting in unacceptable side-effects or toxicity. Classically, in an established clinical indication setting of an approved drug, TI refers to the ratio of the dose of drug that causes adverse effects at an incidence/severity not compatible with the targeted indication (e.g. toxic dose in 50% of subjects, TD) to the dose that leads to the desired pharmacological effect (e.g. efficacious dose in 50% of subjects, ED). In contrast, in a drug development setting TI is calculated based on plasma exposure levels. In the early days of pharmaceutical toxico ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elimination Half-life
Biological half-life (also known as elimination half-life, pharmacologic half-life) is the time taken for concentration of a biological substance (such as a medication) to decrease from its maximum concentration ( Cmax) to half of Cmax in the blood plasma, and is denoted by the abbreviation t_. This is used to measure the removal of things such as metabolites, drugs, and signalling molecules from the body. Typically, the biological half-life refers to the body's natural cleansing through the function of the liver and through the excretion of the measured substance through the kidneys and intestines. This concept is used when the rate of removal is roughly exponential. In a medical context, half-life explicitly describes the time it takes for the blood plasma concentration of a substance to halve (''plasma half-life'') its steady-state when circulating in the full blood of an organism. This measurement is useful in medicine, pharmacology and pharmacokinetics because it helps det ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metabolism
Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the conversion of food to building blocks for proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the elimination of metabolic wastes. These enzyme-catalyzed reactions allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. The word metabolism can also refer to the sum of all chemical reactions that occur in living organisms, including digestion and the transportation of substances into and between different cells, in which case the above described set of reactions within the cells is called intermediary (or intermediate) metabolism. Metabolic reactions may be categorized as ''catabolic'' – the ''breaking down'' of compounds (for example, of glucose to pyruvate by ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
