Description

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Pentoxifylline once was labeled as a treatment for "leg cramps" - "intermittent claudication". That original view has become almost irrelevant. The anti-inflammatory, immune modulating, and steroid-sparing effects of "pentox" stretch far beyond its vascular effects. Pentox is now known to treat - "off label" - kidney, liver, heart, & lung disorders - bone, joint, brain, & pain disorders - fibrotic, skin, & radiation-induced disorders - blood cell, pancreatic, & intestinal disorders - muscle, cancerous, & infectious disorders. Off-label use of pentox is both widespread and growing - with most of the uses relating to enhancement of blood flow or to reduction of inflammation. This monograph coherently assembles over 300 abstracts of the recent medical literature.

About the Author

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Robert Charles Powell, MD, PhD, is a physician & historian who, among other things, has been studying the development of uses of "pentox" for over a decade. Among his intriguing findings - here documented - is that "after pentoxifylline went off-patent in the United States in 1998 the supposedly more prestigious journals lost interest - while the generally non-Anglo-American journals retained or gained interest". "One has to wonder if this skewed publication pattern occurs concerning other medications - that certain editors, authors, and readers become less interested once a medication is not being promoted by a pharmaceutical company, while certain other editors, authors, and readers become more interested once the price of a medication is no longer supported by a patent."