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| |  ACAAI: Combination Alocril (Nedocromil Sodium Ophthalmic Solution) And Oral Fexofenadine Improves Allergic Conjunctivitis By Emma Hitt Special to DG News ORLANDO, FL -- November 18, 2001 -- Supplementing oral fexofenadine therapy with Alocril (nedocromil sodium 2% ophthalmic solution) relieves ocular symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. The combination also allows effective control of rhinitis symptoms with half the recommended dosage of fexofenadine, according to new study findings. Alocril, marketed by Allergan Inc., of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, United States, is the first pyranoquinoline mast cell stabilizer formulated for topical use. Unlike traditional mast cell stabilizers, it inhibits both early- and late-phase responses in allergic conjunctivitis. Michael Alexander, MD, an allergist in private practice in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues conducted a five-week, open-label, multi-center prospective study of 89 patients with documented ragweed pollen allergy. Patients were randomized during ragweed pollen season into three groups: one receiving Allegra (fexofenadine, Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, United States) once a day and Alocril twice a day; another receiving Alocril twice a day with Allegra rescue; and the other receiving Allegra twice a day with Alocril rescue. Rescue treatment allowed patients to take one capsule or one drop up to two times daily to alleviate symptoms not alleviated by primary treatment. All three treatment groups showed a significantly improved mean symptom severity score for ocular itching, burning, tearing, redness, grittiness, discharge, light sensitivity, and swelling. Similarly, all groups experienced significant improvement in ocular clinical signs, including erythema, edema, discharge, conjunctival injection, and conjunctivitis, as well as in quality-of-life scores. The researchers presented the findings yesterday (Nov. 17) at the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) 47th annual meeting, in Orlando, Florida. "Supplementation of oral fexofenadine therapy with nedocromil sodium 2% ophthalmic solution allows effective control of rhinitis symptoms with half the recommended dosage of fexofenadine," they conclude. The authors point out that although patients in all three groups showed similar results, significantly more patients in the low-dose Allegra groups reported a willingness to continue therapy than in the high-dose group. Dr. Alexander also noted that cost is a critical issue in using this combination therapy. "It is much cheaper to use nedocromil twice daily than to use fexofenadine twice daily," he noted. "We mainly wanted to demonstrate that when we use a topical anti-inflammatory agent such as nedocromil [Alocril], we get such a significant improvement we don’t have to use oral antihistamines," Dr. Michael Alexander told Doctor’s Guide "We recommend that physicians use nedocromil twice daily and add fexofenadine on a rescue basis," he said. Alocril is marketed by Allergan Inc., of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, United States.
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