SALVAT pharmaceutical company reaffirms its commitment to ocular safety with this new development. Launch of TEBARAT®, the first preservative-free azelastine for allergic conjunctivitis.
The inflammatory process associated with conjunctivitis increases the vulnerability of ocular surface tissues, so the use of antihistamines containing preservatives is not advisable. Most of the eye drops currently prescribed contain benzalkonium chloride, a preservative that can be very harmful, especially if the eye’s surface is already sensitised as a result of the allergic condition. Tebarat®, by Laboratorios SALVAT, is presented as the first preservative-free azelastine eye drops, indicated in the prevention and treatment of allergic conjunctivitis.
First choice in allergic conjunctivitis
Although most of the eye drops currently used still contain potentially harmful preservatives, there is a clear tendency to eliminate them. In the last few years, molecular biologists, ophthalmologists and neurologists have agreed that, “based on experimental and clinical reports, it is advisable to use solutions free of BAK (benzalkonium chloride) whenever possible” (Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, 2010). Recently (March 2011), a paper in another important journal in basic and applied ophthalmologic research, Molecular Vision, confirmed that, specifically in cases of allergic conjunctivitis, eye drops with benzalkonium chloride in their formulas cause reduced corneal cell viability, increased apoptosis (programmed cell death) and epithelial barrier loss. Therefore, this clinical research conducted in France concludes that “eye drops free of benzalkonium chloride should be the treatment of choice in allergic conjunctivitis”. Ocular allergies affect a significant number of people in Spain; it is estimated that at least 25% of the population suffers from this problem, which particularly affects young people. Allergies peak in the spring, in what is known as “seasonal al ergy”, due to the pollen in the atmosphere; however, a large part of the population suffers from these problems all year, largely due to allergies to the mites and dust produced by air conditioning and heating systems. This form is known as “perennial allergy” and, although less intense than the seasonal version, it is chronic in most patients. Ocular allergies cause inflammation of the conjunctiva, which is why it is known as allergic conjunctivitis. In addition to inflammation, the usual signs and symptoms are itchy eyes, lacrimation, photophobia and a sensation of a foreign body in the eye. It can also affect the nasal mucosa (sneezing, itching, runny nose or congestion), the bronchi (cough, expectoration, wheezing or dyspnoea) or the skin (itching, erythema, etc.). When referring to allergies, we usually speak of “antihistamines” to refer to the medicines available for their treatment; however, depending on where they act, we can divide them into mast-cell stabilisers (they prevent mast cells from releasing histamines) or antihistamines (they prevent histamine from biding to receptors and triggering the allergic process). Mast-cell stabilising active substances have a preventive effect, and are usually less effective in stopping an allergic process. Antihistamines, however, are able to control an allergic process but not prevent it. Of the active substances used in medicines for the treatment and prevention of allergic conjunctivitis, azelastine acts on both levels, as both a mast-cell stabiliser and an antihistamine, and it also has anti- inflammatory effects. Tebarat®, the first azelastine eye drops in a sterile, preservative-free, single-dose presentation, is the most cutting-edge treatment for allergic conjunctivitis. Thanks to its triple effect as a mast-cell stabiliser, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory agent, Tebarat® is the best alternative for treating an allergic process affecting the eyes, whether by ophthalmologists or general practitioners. Tebarat® has been developed by Laboratorios SALVAT with its own technology.
Dear Jan, Your letter addressed me as "Giles", below the more formal Michael G. Kotcher. This distinction suggests that you--- or one of our contemporaries who attended the EQV reunion-- remembered me. Your name was immediately familiar, though I could not put a face from 48 or 49 years ago to your name. I was at Wesleyan only from September 1958 until January 1960. My memories of EQV are
• Show all problem solving steps. Raise your hand if you need extra paper. • Please choose any 100 points from all 130 points to answer. It is said that sufferers of a cold virus experience symptoms for 7 days. However, the amountof time is actually a normally distributed random variable whose mean is 7.5 days and whosestandard deviation is 1.2 days. (a) What proportion of cold sufferer