These findings suggest that treatment with ALA using a well-tolerated oral dose of 800 mg/day for 4 months may slightly improve CAN in NIDDM patients.

The medium to low intrinsic resistance of the Novolizer permits a relatively high PIF through this device. Together with the feedback mechanisms, this makes the Novolizer particularly valuable for inhalation therapy in asthmatic children with drugs such as salbutamol, formoterol, or budesonide.

administration with the greatest values observed for the former. All the studied formulas decreased the intact parathyroid hormone level in serum although the greatest change was observed for CaPyr and CaCarb. The administration of CaPyr induced gastrointestinal side effects, dyspepsia and diarrhea in 16.6 % of the studied individuals. No serious adverse events were noted. CaPyr demonstrates both a promising source of Ca and a potential for use in osteoporosis prevention. Further investigations should focus on the long-term dietary effects of CaPyr supplementation to assess its safety and potential beneficial effect on human Ca turnover.

No abstract

We compared the peak inspiratory flows (PIF) generated through a novel dry powder inhaler device, the Novolizer (PIF-N), and the Turbuhaler (PIF-T). Forty-six pediatric patients with stable bronchial asthma were randomized in an open-label, multicenter, crossover trial. No drug was administered during the inhalation maneuvers that were spaced by 10 min. There was neither a carryover nor a sequence effect. The patients were characterized by mean age of 8.5 years, mean FEV(1) of 1.79 L, and mean PIF without any device (baseline, PIF-B) of 185 L/min. Through the devices mean PIF-N of 94 L/min and mean PIF-T of 69 L/min were achieved, calculated from the maxima of three inhalations. This resulted in p < 0.0001 for the difference. The median PIFN/PIF-T ratio was estimated as 1.39. Each child achieved a higher PIF-N than PIF-T and was able to release the feedback mechanisms of the Novolizer indicating sufficient inhalation performance. We conclude that the PIF through the Novolizer is higher than the PIF through the Turbuhaler in stable asthmatic children. The flow rates achieved through the Novolizer allow for sufficient lung deposition even in children as young as 6 years.