BACKGROUND Variceal bleeding is a life-threatening complication of liver cirrhosis with a high probability of recurrence. Treatment to prevent first bleeding or rebleeding is mandatory. AIM To provide an overview of the current knowledge on the best evidence-based therapeutic options to prevent first or recurrent bleeding from oesophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis. METHODS For the ...

NO donor drugs (eg, isosorbide mononitrate; ISMN) and phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (eg, sildenafil) have antihypertensive properties, and the combination can markedly reduce blood pressure (BP). The objective of this “proof-of-concept” study was to investigate the effect on BP of a combination of single oral doses of sildenafil (50 mg) and ISMN (10 mg) in patients with treatment-resistant hyp...

We designed two Phase I studies that assessed healthy volunteers in order to evaluate the safety and to optimize the dosing of the combination of the drugs isosorbide dinitrate, a nitric oxide donor, and ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug. We designed these studies with the aim of designing a Phase II trial to evaluate the drugs' efficacy in patients affected by Duchenne muscular d...

Two agro-based anionic surfactants containing an isosorbide moiety have been synthesized and their amphiphilic properties evaluated. Since isosorbide is now considered as an important platform chemical of the starch industry, these compounds could represent bio-sourced alternatives to the alkyl ether sulfates (notably lauryl ether sulfate, LES) that are based on petroleum-derived ethylene oxide...

Both EVL and drug therapy are effective in the prevention of variceal rebleeding. Comparisons between the two modalities are few, and only in cirrhotics. This prospective randomized controlled trial compared EVL with drug therapy (propranolol + ISMN) in the prevention of rebleeds from esophageal varices in cirrhotic and noncirrhotic portal hypertension (NCPH) patients. One hundred thirty-seven ...