Efficacy of an H1 antagonist, astemizole, for chronic allergic rhinitis.
Astemizole, a new histamine H1 receptor antagonist, was tested in a double-blind cross-over comparison study with chlorpheniramine maleate, a very effective conventional H1 antagonist, in patients with chronic allergic rhinitis. Astemizole was found to be equally effective, yet there was a significant decrease in the side effects of sleepiness (P less than .01) and dry mouth (P less than .05). Astemizole has a completely different structure and binding curves from terfenadine. It is approved for clinical use in the United Kingdom, Canada, and many European countries.
D016589:Astemizole; D001562:Benzimidazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002744:Chlorpheniramine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006634:Histamine H1 Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000188:drug therapy*
D001562:Benzimidazoles; D006634:Histamine H1 Antagonists; D002744:Chlorpheniramine; D016589:Astemizole