<p> We did not do an abstract.</p><p>

<p> Although chronic allograft damage (CAD) remains a primary barrier to long-term renal allograft survival, limited progress has been made in the discovery of potential therapeutics. In order to identify potential drug therapies, we used two meta-analytical methods to evaluate six post-renal transplant blood and biopsy gene expression data sets (N=275). This resulted in a list of 85 differentially expressed genes that were examined using the Connectivity Map Database (cMAP) in order to identify drugs with the capacity to interrupt the differential gene expression associated with CAD. Among the top ranking drugs, we identified kaempferol and esculetin as promising candidates, and we tested their therapeutic efficacy in a mouse unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model and explored their putative mechanisms of action in renal tubular cells in vitro. Kaempferol and esculetin significantly decreased TGF&beta; and wnt mediated pro-fibrotic signaling and abrogated renal fibrosis in the UUO model, and in renal tubular cells in vitro. Therefore, kaempferol and esculetin represent potential novel anti-fibrotic agents in the treatment of CAD.</p>

Thesis (M. S.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Srinivas Palanki and Yousef Haik (Co-chairs), Florida State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 13, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains x, 102 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

<p> Background</p><p> Approximately half of adults in the U.S. fit the criteria for use of anti-obesity pharmacotherapy, but only 2% of those receive such treatment. This is in sharp contrast to the 8.4% of adults diagnosed with diabetes, with 86% of those receiving anti-diabetes pharmacotherapy. In 2012-2014, the first medications in 13 years were FDA approved for long-term management of obesity. In 2013-2014, the newest class of anti-diabetes pharmacotherapy, subtype 2 sodium-glucose transport protein inhibitors (SGLT2s), were FDA approved.</p><p> Methods</p><p> A retrospective analysis of extracted data from the IMS Health National Prescription Audit&trade; and Xponent&trade; assessed adoption rates of anti-obesity pharmacotherapies and SGLT2s using univariate linear regressions. Volumes of new and continuing prescriptions were compared using ratio analyses. Prescriber groups were compared by descriptive proportions according to prescription volumes, medical specialty, geographic region, and prescriber-drug overlap. </p><p> Results</p><p> The entire anti-diabetes market was 15 times the entire anti-obesity market. The anti-obesity market share was: 74.0% phentermine and 18.6% new anti-obesity pharmacotherapies. The mean increase in prescriptions per month were: 25,259 for SGLT2s (95% CI 23,133-27,383 p&lt;.0001), 5,154 for new anti-obesity pharmacotherapies (95% CI 4,800-5,507 p&lt;.0001), and 2,718 for phentermine (95% CI 1,345-4,089 p=0.0003). Medical specialties prescribing the majority of the analysis medications were Family Medicine/General Practice and Internal Medicine. Endocrinology had the highest prevalence of prescribers of any sub-specialty.</p><p> Conclusions</p><p> The adoption rate of SGLT2s was nearly exponential, while the adoption rate of new anti-obesity pharmacotherapies was linear. Considering the relative prevalence of obesity to diabetes and that obesity is a major cause of diabetes, these results are paradoxical and suggest biases against the prescribing of anti-obesity pharmacotherapies. The under-prescribing of anti-obesity pharmacotherapies is widely acknowledged, but this is the first prescription data to demonstrate its extent in the U.S.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (LL. M.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Colleen Flood.

1 Abstract: The diploma thesis applies sociological perspective on interrelationships of pharmaceutical industry, physicians and patients. Its main focus is on the role of pharmaceutical industry in context of relationships with the two other actors. The first part of the work summarizes available Czech and mainly foreign social science literature referring to the broad network of relations. The transformation of medical profession in current society and the development of international pharmaceutical industry in the Czech Republic are also discussed. The empirical part of the thesis reports the findings of a qualitative interview study undertaken with ambulatory physicians concerning their relationships with pharmaceutical companies. The goal of the research was to explore how and why Czech physicians interact with the pharmaceutical companies, gain insight into their ethical evaluation and assessment of consequences and detect the strategies and rationalizations they use to cope with these relationships. Keywords: pharmaceutical industry, physician, patient, conflict of interest, sociology of medicine

Nella società odierna il termine “salute” assume una valenza sempre più omnicomprensiva e legata al concetto di benessere. L’individuo vive la questione della salute come un problema cogente e quotidiano e si dimostra attivo, ha però bisogno di informazioni e uno degli strumenti più importanti attraverso cui riesce a ottenerle sono proprio i media. A questa domanda così insistente corrisponde effettivamente una elevata offerta relativa ai temi della salute, ma l’abbondanza di contenuti, anche molto specifici, rende i cittadini disorientati e rischia di divenire un indistinto rumore di fondo in cui risulta difficile trovare ciò che interessa e comprendere cosa sia effettivamente utile, affidabile e corretto. In questo contesto si inserisce la comunicazione sul farmaco: le aziende farmaceutiche non utilizzano più solo strumenti diretti per comunicare (la pubblicità per i prodotti e verso chi è concesso dalla legge o l’informazione scientifica sul farmaco), ma anche mezzi “indiretti” come i mass media, che contemplano la presenza di intermediari, soprattutto giornalisti. La ricerca si occupa quindi da un lato di individuare gli strumenti utilizzati dall’industria farmaceutica per comunicare e dall’altro di analizzare le modalità di rappresentazione del tema della salute e del farmaco nei media. / In today's society the term “health” becomes increasingly comprehensive and linked to the concept of wellness. People live the issue of health as a cogent and daily problem and become active, therefore they need information and one of the most important instruments through which they manage to get them is the media system. This persistent question coincides with abundance of health issues, but the richness of themes, even very specific, makes people confused and could become a blurred background noise in which it is difficult to find what you are looking for and to understand what it is actually useful, reliable and correct. The communication about drugs stands in this context: pharmaceutical companies are not only using direct instruments to communicate (advertising for products when is permitted by law or scientific information), but also "indirect tools” as mass media, which include the presence of intermediaries, especially journalists. The research seeks to identify the instruments used by pharmaceutical industry to communicate and secondly to analyze the representation of the theme of health and medicine in media.