Tip Sheet

Pharmacologists and researchers from 15 countries will present more than 400 presentations during the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT) annual meeting March 6-10 at Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel.

Never-before published, peer-reviewed findings will include the following:

Nicotine Helps The Brain Stay Alert
Nicotine can stimulate parts of the brain that play a role in helping people pay attention. Edward Domino, MD of the Pharmacology Department at the University of Michigan and his colleagues, report that when small amounts of nicotine are sprayed into the nose, blood flow and glucose metabolism in the cerebral cortex and visual cortex are increased. These results are objective measures of the findings of studies looking at the impact of nicotine on behavior. (Poster PI-110)

Lidocaine Cream Can Help With Migraine Pain
Preliminary research with 40 subjects shows that lidocaine cream on the forehead can significantly reduce the pain of a migraine. Frederick Freitag, DO, of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, found that compared to a placebo, lidocaine cream significantly reduced migraine pain. After eight hours, eight patients were completely free of pain compared to none given placebos. Lidocaine is an anesthetic typically used locally. Freitag said lidocaine apparently works to stop the migraine by carrying pain-killing messages from the peripheral nerves back to the areas in the brain where migraines are believed to start. There were no significant adverse side effects. Larger studies are planned. Epicept Corp. of Englewood, N.J. is developing a patch of lidocaine cream to treat migraines. (Poster PI-3)

Juices Interfere With Popular Allergy Medicine
A glass of grapefruit, orange or apple juice is healthful and tasty, but researchers report that these juices can interfere with a specific protein's ability to take drugs from the intestine into
'"/>

Contact: Sam Franklin
sam@kmcpr.com
202-331-0175
K-M Communications
6-Mar-2001