Hydrocortisone

SATURDAY, Aug. 17, 2024 -- It's that time of year when mosquitoes are at their peak, buzzing around barbecues and stinging at will. But you don't have to become their next victim, says one expert who offers tips on how to avoid being bitten. Dr. John Wolf , a professor of dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, says it comes down to preparation. First, if you plan to be outside, know that mosquitoes are most abundant at dawn and dusk, so you might want to avoid working in your yard at those times. If you do venture out, wear loose-fitting clothes made of lighter fabrics that have long sleeves and pants. “Wearing bright-colored clothing, cologne or perfume will attract mosquitoes to you,” Wolf warned. Now, how can you make your yard less attractive to these pesky insects? Mosquitoes breed in water, so empty any pots, containers or wagons on your property that have standing water in them. What about bug zappers? “They’re not very effective," Wolf said in a Baylor news release. "While they may kill some mosquitoes, they actually kill a lot more useful insects like butterflies or dragonflies.” Some people choose to use homemade bug repellants. Natural scents and plants like lavender, eucalyptus, lemon or lemongrass, cedar or citronella are commonly used, but Wolf said they may not always work. The most effective mosquito repellants contain up to 30% DEET or picaridin. “While there is no perfect way to avoid mosquito bites, repellants with these ingredients are proven to be safe, reliable and effective," he said. "DEET, specifically, is approved for adults and children over 2 months.” Products with up to 30% DEET can guard against bites for nearly 10 hours, but they shouldn't be applied to the face because they can irritate the mouth and eyes, Wolf said. If you plan to use a repellant with DEET and sunscreen, Wolf advised applying the sunscreen to your skin first, and then apply the bug spray. “We don’t recommend using a product with a combination of sunscreen and a repellant with DEET. This is because, with sunscreen, you should reapply it every two to four hours. DEET should only be applied once or twice a day," Wolf explained. If all these prevention efforts fail and you are bitten by a mosquito, Wolf recommended using a cold compress or an ice pack to reduce swelling and itching. You can also try an over-the-counter hydrocortisone lotion or cream or an antihistamine. If you have a serious reaction to a mosquito bite, go to an urgent care facility or an emergency room, Wolf advised. SOURCE: Baylor College of Medicine, news release, Aug. 13, 2024 Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

Xanamem is designed to halt the excess production of the stress hormone cortisol in brain cells. Actinogen Medical’s cortisol blocker has missed the primary endpoint of a phase 2 study in depression, leaving the Australian biotech to focus on its potential in Alzheimer’s disease.The drug, called xanamem, blocks the 11β-HSD1 enzyme in order to halt the excess production of the stress hormone cortisol in brain cells. Today’s results came from a phase 2 study of 167 patients with cognitive dysfunction and major depressive disorder who received xanamem 10 mg or placebo over six weeks.The XanaCIDD study’s primary endpoint was a composite of computerized tests of attention and memory. Investigators recorded similar 0.3-point and 0.4-point improvements in the xanamem and placebo groups, respectively.The company speculated that this “unexpectedly large placebo mean improvement may have impaired the ability of the trial to observe any short-term pro-cognitive effects of xanamem.”Actinogen’s stock plummeted 60% on Monday in the wake of the news, although the biotech’s previously low share price meant the difference was negligible. The company’s stock ended trading on the Australian Securities Exchange today at 3 Australian cents compared to a Friday trading price of 7 cents.Rather than focus on the failure, Actinogen’s leadership tried to find the positives in the data, including a “clinically significant” 1.5-point improvement in the MADRS depression score at six weeks for patients who received xanamem compared to placebo. The 2.7-point improvement seen at just four weeks was “statistically significant,” the company pointed out.The biotech also zoomed in on a subgroup of 81 patients with less severe depression, who saw a 3.6-point improvement in their MADRS score after the end of treatment. “This encouraging result on depression is very positive to the whole xanamem program and confirms 10 mg daily is an active clinical dose with the ability to potentially modify underlying biological processes in the brain,” Actinogen Chief Medical Officer Dana Hilt, M.D., said in the release.“We will continue to examine these topline data in detail and the larger dataset to better understand the complete results and determine next steps for the depression program,” Hilt added. “The unexpected cognition placebo effect appears to have impaired the ability of xanamem to show the pro-cognitive effects that we have observed in three previous studies.”CEO Steven Gourlay stressed in the same release that the company’s “primary objective” remains an ongoing phase 2b trial assessing xanamem's ability to slow or halt Alzheimer's progression over 36 weeks.The biotech noted that the Alzheimer’s trial will not be using the same cognitive measurements that sunk today’s depression study, instead focusing on a “broader range of tests.”“I believe the results on acute symptomatic cognitive enhancement in XanaCIDD do not alter the chances of success for xanamem in Alzheimer's disease where cortisol is implicated in the underlying biology of long-term disease progression reflected as functional and cognitive decline,” Hilt added in the release.