A pharmacophore for high affinity PAF antagonists. II. Hydrophobicity study using the molecular lipophilicity potential

Efficacy and safety of rupatadine in Japanese adult and adolescent patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria: A double-blind, randomized, multicenter, placebo-controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND

Rupatadine, a novel nonsedating second-generation H1-antihistamine with antiplatelet-activating factor activity, has been used in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and urticaria in European countries since 2003. However, its efficacy and safety in Japanese patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) are unknown.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study in adolescent and adult CSU outpatients aged 12 to < 65 years (JAPIC-CTI No. 152786). Overall, 94, 91, and 92 eligible patients orally received placebo, rupatadine 10 mg, and 20 mg once daily for 2 weeks, respectively. The primary endpoint was change from baseline to the second week of treatment in total pruritus score (TPS, sum of daytime and nighttime pruritus scores).

RESULTS

The results yielded a least squares mean TPS difference of -1.956 between rupatadine 10 mg versus placebo, and -2.121 between rupatadine 20 mg versus placebo (analysis of covariance, both P < 0.001). The incidence of adverse events was 8.5% for placebo, 20.9% for rupatadine 10 mg, and 17.4% for rupatadine 20 mg. Somnolence was the only adverse drug reaction to rupatadine reported in 2 or more subjects. No serious or clinically significant adverse events were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The primary and secondary efficacy endpoints consistently favored rupatadine 10 and 20 mg doses over the placebo. No noteworthy dose-related increase in the incidence of adverse drug reactions was observed. Rupatadine is safe and effective at a dose of 10 mg once daily, and can be safely increased to 20 mg once daily, as necessary.

NMR and molecular modeling of wine tannins binding to saliva proteins: revisiting astringency from molecular and colloidal prospects

In organoleptic science, the association of tannins to saliva proteins leads to the poorly understood phenomenon of astringency. To decipher this interaction at molecular and colloidal levels, the binding of 4 procyanidin dimers (B1-4) and 1 trimer (C2) to a human saliva proline-rich peptide, IB7(14), was studied. Interactions have been characterized by measuring dissociation constants, sizes of complexes, number, and nature of binding sites using NMR (chemical shift variations, diffusion-ordered spectroscopy, and saturation transfer diffusion). The binding sites were identified using molecular mechanics, and the hydrophilic/hydrophobic nature of the interactions was resolved by calculating the molecular lipophilicity potential within the complexes. The following comprehensive scheme can be proposed: 1) below the tannin critical micelle concentration (CMC), interaction is specific, and the procyanidin anchorage always occurs on the same three IB7(14) sites. The tannin 3-dimensional structure plays a key role in the binding force and in the tannin's ability to act as a bidentate ligand: tannins adopting an extended conformation exhibit higher affinity toward protein and initiate the formation of a network. 2) Above the CMC, after the first specific hydrophilic interaction has taken place, a random hydrophobic stacking occurs between tannins and proteins. The whole process is discussed in the general frame of wine tannins eliciting astringency.