A 12 months treatment with a nutraceutical compound based on isoflavones and Lactobacillus sporogenes at the recommended doses is safe for endometrium, mammary glands and liver function in postmenopausal women.

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The effectiveness of dothiepin (a tricyclic anti-depressant) at a dose of 75 mg given orally at night was compared with placebo for 4 weeks in alleviating pain in 60 patients with classical or definite active rheumatoid arthritis. Patients were classified as either 'depressed' or 'not depressed'. The week before, during and 2 weeks after the study, 600 mg ibuprofen was given orally three times daily to all patients. Compared with placebo, dothiepin produced a significant reduction in daytime pain by the end of the treatment period. The Hamilton rating scale in 'depressed' patients was significantly improved in patients given dothiepin. The Cassano-Castrogiovanni self-evaluation rating scale in both 'depressed' and 'not depressed' patients showed a tendency (not significant) to be improved following dothiepin treatment compared with placebo. These results suggest that patients with rheumatoid arthritis may experience an increase in pain symptoms due to an alteration of mood. Therapy with tricyclic anti-depressants, such as dothiepin, therefore, may determine an improvement of pain indexes besides having an anti-depressant effect.

A double-blind study comparing the efficacy and tolerability of dothiepin with that of placebo in the treatment of primary fibromyalgia syndrome was carried out. Dothiepin was shown to improve significantly the condition of patients with primary fibromyalgia syndrome and there was a significant difference between dothiepin and placebo in all the clinical variables measured. Only mild and transient side-effects were reported. Further controlled studies are required to define the effects of dothiepin on fibromyalgia.

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The combination of oral and topical isoflavones was shown to be more effective than oral treatment alone in reducing the problems of postmenopausal vaginal dystrophy.

Eight subjects, aged 6-12 years and weighing 18.8-36.7 kg, received single doses of flurbiprofen 50 or 75 mg (corresponding to 1.4-2.7 mg/kg) as syrup and suppository in a Latin square design. Half-life (2.7-3.2 h), elimination constant (0.22-0.26 h-1), area under the plasma level curve (72.4-77.3 micrograms X h X ml-1) and time to reach the concentration peak (1-0.75 h) were similar after the syrup and suppository. Flurbiprofen showed equivalent bioavailability after oral and rectal administration and the same pharmacokinetic profile was confirmed in children as observed in adults.