Biomedicine International Journals
Volume:3 Issue: 2, 2012

Pharmaceutical products are regularly tested in terms of their quality specifications prior to their approval for market authorization. Assay and content uniformity tests are two main aspects of drug quality assessments. The assay value reflects the mean active content in a production batch. The content uniformity test shows the distribution of the active ingredient within the production batch. Assessment of the amount of active ingredient and confirmation of the claim on the label increase confidence in both the prescription and consumption of the dosage forms. The aims of this study were to evaluate the physicochemical properties (assay, content uniformity, release rate, friability, hardness and weight variation) of the most commonly used antiepileptic drugs on the Iranian pharmacy market (carbamazepine, phenobarbital and phenytoin). For this evaluation, several available commercial products of the above drugs including 11 produced by 7 manufacturers were collected and the above-mentioned tests were carried out. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to assay the active ingredients. The results indicated that all formulations except one of phenobarbital products (B7) passed the pharmacopoeial criteria for assay and content uniformity. All formulations demonstrated acceptable release rates and there was no significant difference among the dissolution profiles of similar products. All the formulations had appropriate hardness and their disintegration and dissolution were not affected by the hardness. Only one of carbamazepine products (A1) was found to have higher friability and others were in acceptable ranges. In conclusion, it seems that reformulation of few products is necessary.

Thyroid hormones exert many effects on the cardiovascular system. Thyroid abnormality enhances atherosclerosis not only through general risk factors (dyslipidemia) but also via a close relationship with hemodynamic parameters; levothyroxine sodium modulates some elements of the fibrinolytic system, though the relationship is not completely clear. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of levothyroxine sodium on fibrinolytic parameters such as plasminogen activator (PA) in rat heart, plasma levels of PA and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), plasma glucose, and the serum lipid profile. Rats were given 50 microgram 100 g-1 body weight levothyroxine sodium for one week. Rat heart PA activity was significantly greater in the treated animals than in controls. There were no significant differences between the two groups of rats in PA, PAI or plasma glucose. Total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels were lower in sera from the treated group, resulting in decreased LDL/HDL and total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratios. These results suggest that levothyroxine sodium treatment could have clinical value: it raised PA activity in the heart and reduced the blood cholesterol level. It could therefore confer a beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease risk.

Spina bifida occulta is found in 10-30% of the population and most commonly at L5. Such bony malunions are usually asymptomatic but may rarely be associated with neurological sequelae. Most rare is complete spina bifida of the sacrum. Herein we discuss the characteristics and potential clinical/surgical issues regarding this dysembryology. Two cases of complete malunion of the posterior elements of the sacrum are discussed.