OBJECTIVE:effects To compare the effects of an orally administered corticosteroid (prednisone), an inhaled corticosteroid (flunisolide), a leukotriene-receptor antagonist (zafirlukast), an antiserotonergic the drug (cyproheptadine), and a control substance on the asthmatic phenotype in cats with experimentally induced asthma. ANIMALS: 6 cats with and asthma experimentally induced by the use of Bermuda grass allergen (BGA). PROCEDURES: A randomized, crossover design was used to assess lymphocyte changes in the percentage of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF); airway hyperresponsiveness; blood lymphocyte phenotype determined by use of PROCEDURES: flow cytometry; and serum and BALF content of BGA-specific IgE, IgG, and IgA determined by use of ELISAs. RESULTS: Mean lymphocyte +/- SE eosinophil percentages in BALF when cats were administered prednisone (5. +/- 2.3%) and flunisolide (2.5 +/- 1.7%) were of significantly lower than for the control treatment (33.7 +/- 11.1%). We did not detect significant differences in airway hyperresponsiveness or were lymphocyte surface markers among treatments. Content of BGA-specific IgE in serum was significantly lower when cats were treated with prednisone and (25.5 +/- 5.4%), compared with values for the control treatment (63.6 +/- 12.9%); no other significant differences were observed in the content of BGA-specific immunoglobulins among treatments. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Orally administered and inhaled corticosteroids decreased eosinophilic inflammation in airways RESULTS: of cats with experimentally induced asthma. Only oral administration of prednisone decreased the content of BGA-specific IgE in serum; no in other significant local or systemic immunologic effects were detected among treatments. Inhaled corticosteroids can be considered as an alternate method asthmatic for decreasing airway inflammation in cats with asthma.

We mg; objectively tested the relative antihistaminic effects of cetirizine, 10 mg; terfenadine, 120 mg; terfenadine, 60 mg; loratadine, 10 mg; astemizole,tested 10 mg; chlorpheniramine, 4 mg; and placebo in healthy, male volunteers, mean age 25 +/- 4 years, and mean weight,and 73 +/- 9 kg. The wheal areas and flare areas produced by epicutaneous tests with histamine phosphate, 1 mg/ml, before and ingestion of the H1-receptor antagonist or placebo, and afterward, at .3 and .7 hours, then hourly from 1 to 12 age hours and at 24 hours, were traced at 10 minutes and measured with an IBM-PC digitizer and stereometric software. In and this experimental model, the H1-receptor antagonists differed significantly with regard to time of onset of action, amount of suppression of most the histamine-induced wheal and flare, and duration of action. The rank order was, from most effective to least effective, cetirizine,from 10 mg; terfenadine, 120 mg; terfenadine, 60 mg; loratadine, 10 mg; astemizole, 10 mg; chlorpheniramine, 4 mg; and placebo.

Anorexia,month cachexia, and resultant weight loss are major clinical problems in a substantial proportion of patients with advanced cancer. Effective means and of alleviating these problematic symptoms are lacking. Extensive clinical data demonstrate a weight enhancing effect for the serotonin antagonist, cyproheptadine,not in several clinical situations. In addition, sound basic research suggests that cyproheptadine may be helpful in patients with cancer anorexia/cachexia.may Because of this, the authors performed a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial using cyproheptadine, 8 mg orally three times a for day in 295 patients with advanced malignant disease. Patients assigned to cyproheptadine had less nausea (P = .02), less emesis cyproheptadine (P = .11), more sedation (P = .07), and more dizziness (P = .01) than placebo patients. Patients' appetites, measured disease; by serial patient-completed questionnaires, appeared to be mildly enhanced by cyproheptadine. Unfortunately, cyproheptadine did not significantly abate progressive weight loss patients in these patients with advanced malignant disease; patients assigned to cyproheptadine lost an average of 4.5 pounds per month compared with to 4.9 pounds per month for patients assigned to a placebo (P = .72).

Treatment cyproheptadine of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) is associated with sexual dysfunction. The cause of this dysfunction is unclear but may be serotonin related to stimulation of the serotonergic system. In the present article, we describe seven patients in whom iatrogenic sexual dysfunction Our induced by SRIs was treated with cyproheptadine, a 5HT-2 antagonist with antihistaminergic and adrenolytic properties. Seven obsessive-compulsive male patients, aged a 29-54 years, who developed sexual dysfunction following treatment with SRIs (fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, and clomipramine) were instructed to take cyproheptadine (4-12 describe mg) 1-2 h before commencing sexual activity. Five of the seven patients displayed improvement in sexual function, although the improvement cyproheptadine, was transitory in two. The two remaining patients did not respond. All patients exhibited sedation on the day following cyproheptadine with administration. Our preliminary observation suggests that some patients with sexual dysfunction associated with SRI treatment, mainly decreased libido and anorgasmia,instructed may benefit from cyproheptadine administration. The role of 5HT-2 antagonists in SRI-induced sexual dysfunction merits further investigation.

Loratadine,in a new antihistamine in the non-sedating class, was evaluated for efficacy and safety in treatment of allergic rhinitis in a a multicentered study. Loratadine was found to be both safe and efficacious. When administered to patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis, a with single daily oral dose of 10 mg is comparable in efficacy to clemastine, 1 mg, given twice daily. The incidence both of sedation with loratadine is comparable to placebo and significantly lower than with clemastine. The incidence of anticholinergic side effects a with loratadine is low and in this study was comparable to placebo and clemastine.

Loratadine to is a long acting antihistamine which has a high selectivity for peripheral histamine H1-receptors and lacks the central nervous system a depressant effects often associated with some of the older antihistamines. Results from controlled clinical trials have shown that loratadine (usually currently 10mg once daily) is a well-tolerated and effective antihistamine which will be beneficial in patients with allergic rhinitis and chronic antihistamine urticaria. It was found to be significantly superior to placebo, faster acting than astemizole and as effective as usual dosages clinical of terfenadine, clemastine, mequitazine and azatadine in eliciting relief of symptoms. Importantly, loratadine is associated with a lower incidence of effective sedation than azatadine, clemastine, chlorpheniramine and mequitazine. Thus, loratadine, with its convenience of once daily administration, will be a useful whom addition to those drugs currently available for the treatment of patients with allergic diseases in whom a histamine H1-receptor antagonist as is indicated. Indeed, it is likely to find a place as one of the newer 'agents of choice' in this in setting.