Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Flashcards
What is an inflammatory response?
A short term, acute response that is defensive and quickly resolved.
What does the inflammatory response involve?
- Acute microvascular changes
- Release of inflammatory mediators
- Accumulation of inflammatory cells
- Repair and healing
What are the common inflammatory mediators in acute inflammation?
-Histamine
-Bradykinin
-Nitric oxide
-Eicosanoid
-Neuropeptides
What are the arterioles and venules involved in?
Arterioles = blood pressure changes
Venule = Oedema formation and cell accumulation
What happens in the acute inflammatory response?
Microvascular effects are triggered from a variety of cells and plasma in and around these vessels
Inflammatory mediators (also known as local hormones) released
Is histamine preformed?
Yes
Preformed = already stored in cells of the body (mast cells) ready to be released
What is histamine formed from and what is its major source?
Histamine formed from histidine
Major source: mast cells & basophils
When is histamine released?
Released in allergic/ hypersensitivity (IgE) responses.
What do H1 receptors mediate?
Increased blood flow,
increased microvascular permeability,
itch
What 2 categories do H1 antagonists fall into?
Sedating: chlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, promethazine
Non-sedating ones preferred today: loratadine, cetirizine, terfenadine, astemizole
Sedating = causes drowsiness
Non-sedating = less drowsiness
Give some examples of conditions where anti-histamines are used.
Allergy,
allergic rhinitis,
urticaria,
hay fever
skin irritations
Which sensory nerves are the pain fibres?
C and Aδ fibres
What are the roles of the C and Aδ fibres?
They have a dual role:
They transmit sensory information to CNS/initiate reflexes nociception- pain and itch
They release neuropeptides - many including substance P, CGRP and VIP (alleviate migraine)
What does the stimulation of the sensory nerves include?
Mechanical (pressure)
Temperature (cold & heat)
Chemical (mediators & capsaicin)
What is the conducting velocity of this subset of sensory nerves?
0.5 m/s (so it’s slow as it’s half the speed of normal C fibres)
What distinct subset of sensory nerves mediate itch?
~5% of afferent C fibres in skin
They respond to histamine but are insensitive to mechanical stimuli