Category Internal Medicine

Aripiprazole

See also Neuroleptic drugs General information Aripiprazole (Abilify®), an antipsychotic drug, has been said to be the prototype of a new third generation, the so-called “dopamine–serotonin system stabilizers” [ ]. Its mechanism of action differs from previous typical and atypical…

Arginine

General information l -Arginine is an amino acid that is commonly used to sustain and promote healthy heart function. According to Health Canada, patients who have previously had a heart attack should not use arginine supplements, because of recent evidence…

Argatroban

See also Direct thrombin inhibitors General information Argatroban is a direct thrombin inhibitor that has been used to treat thrombosis in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia [ ] or heparin allergy [ ]. However, in some patients overanticoagulation has occurred and…

Arecaceae

See also Herbal medicines General information Genera in the family of Arecaceae ( Table 1 ), also known as Palmaceae, include various types of palm. Table 1 Genera of Arecaceae Acoelorraphe (palm) Cocos (coconut palm) Pritchardia (pritchardia) Acrocomia (acrocomia) Copernicia…

Araliaceae

See also Herbal medicines General information Genera in the family of Araliaceae ( Table 1 ) include aralia, ginseng, and ivy. Table 1 Genera of Araliaceae Aralia (spikenard, angelica) Kalopanax (castor aralia) Pseudopanax (pseudopanax) Cheirodendron (cheirodendron) Meryta (meryta) Reynoldsia (reynoldsia)…

Aprotinin

General information Because of increased mortality (see Death below), aprotinin was temporarily withdrawn worldwide in 2007, after consultation with the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada, and other…

Aprindine

See also Antidysrhythmic drugs General information The pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, clinical uses, efficacy, and adverse effects of aprindine have been extensively reviewed [ ]. The adverse effects of aprindine most commonly affect the central nervous system. However, other less common…

Aprepitant

General information Aprepitant is a neurokinin-1 (NK 1 ) receptor antagonist. Substance P, a regulatory peptide that is the preferred endogenous ligand at NK 1 receptors, is found in the gastrointestinal tract (vagal afferents) and areas of the central nervous…

Apomorphine

General information Apomorphine, a very potent non-selective dopamine agonist, which acts on both D1 and D2 receptors, has been used with some success in Parkinson’s disease, particularly in patients with severe long-term adverse effects of levodopa. Because of first-pass metabolism…

Apocynaceae

See also Herbal medicines General information Genera in the family of Apocynaceae ( Table 1 ) include dogbane, oleander, and periwinkle. Table 1 Genera of Apocynaceae Adenium (desert rose) Landolphia (landolphia) Allamanda (allamanda) Lepinia Alstonia (alstonia) Macrosiphonia (rock trumpet) Alyxia…