S-Ibuprofen versus ibuprofen-racemate

✍ Scribed by K. P. Stock; G. Geisslinger; D. Loew; W. S. Beck; G. L. Bach; K. Brune

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 349 KB
• Volume: 11
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0172-8172
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00332562

✦ Synopsis

Ibuprofen (ibu) is a racemic 2-arylpropionic acid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug whose activity is due mainly to the S-enantiomer. So far only the racemic compound is in clinical use. A double-blind randomized trial was carried out for a 2-week period in 50 patients with classical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (Steinbrocker II-III) to compare the effectiveness and tolerance of S-ibu (400 mg T.I.D.) with that of the racemic compound (600 mg T.I.D.). Ritchie-index, limitation of movement, joint pain on pressure and pain at night decreased significantly in both groups. Due to lack of effectiveness, the dose had to be increased in 3 patients from the S-ibu group as well as in 6 patients from the racemic group resulting in mean daily doses of 1220 mg S-ibuprofen and 1870 mg racemic ibu. No statistically significant difference could be found between both groups concerning efficacy and unwanted effects. Therefore, S-ibu given alone may be advantageous because the metabolic load to the human body is reduced and patients are more likely to comply with drug doses of 1.2 g/day as compared to 1.8 g/day.