Introduction to Pharmacology

Question 1

Vernonia amygadlina

Answer 1

traditional medicine to treat malaria and intestinal parasites

Question 2

Pica: what is it, best known example associated with:, due to?

Answer 2

• craving for non-nutritious food
• best known example associated with pregnancy
• thought to be due to mineral deficiencies

Question 3

Limitations of traditional medicines:

Answer 3

lack of understanding of the nature of disease

Question 4

Are herbal medicines drugs?

Answer 4

yes, they are if they have biological activity

Question 5

Homeopathy

Answer 5

use of extremely low dose of drugs

Question 6

Law of similars:

Answer 6

a successful drug produces symptoms in healthy people similar to the disease in patients

Question 7

What is a drug?

Answer 7

• beneficial biological activity

- doesn’t include dietary factors such as vitamins unless used in excess of normal dietary intake

Question 8

Issue with plants as drugs

Answer 8

• many substances are present, increasing likelihood of toxicity
• quantity of active ingredient present is unknown

Question 9

Digitalis

Answer 9

• known for its ability to treat dropsy
• active ingredient in foxglove
• narrow therapeutic index
• only pure glycoside used today

Question 10

St. John’s Wart

Answer 10

used to treat depression, induces CYP450’s (CYP3A4 and CYP2C9), causes many drug-drug interactions (Pill, anti-retrovirals)

Question 11

Paclitaxel

Answer 11

anti-cancer and anti-proliferative

Question 12

Penicillin

Answer 12

ability to kill staphylococcus aureus

Question 13

Immunosuppressants:

Answer 13

• cyclosporine
• tacrolimus
• rapamycin
• all inhibit immune system

Question 14

Hirudin

Answer 14

anti-coagulant

Question 15

Eptifibatide

Answer 15

anti-platelet

Question 16

Conventional drugs

Answer 16

use small synthetic molecules

Question 17

Target led vs chemistry led discovery

Answer 17

• chemistry led: select chemical, screen for biological activity, often mechanism unknown but effect known
• target led: choose a drug target (protein), screen chemicals for binding to target, mechanism known and effect predicted

Question 18

Problems with small molecules:

Answer 18

• many interactions are between proteins, and small molecule inhibitors are not possible
• chemistry is too difficult

Question 19

Hormones as drugs

Answer 19

• difficult to develop small molecule analogues of hormones
• purified from animals or from cadavers
• problems with antigenicity and infectivity
• now all are produced by molecular biology

Question 20

Issues with vaccinations

Answer 20

• cannot be used to block human receptors

- not reversible

Question 21

Anti-serum

Answer 21

• anti-venin is used to treat snake and spider bites

- usually serum from a horse that has been inoculated with snake venom is used

Question 22

Problems with anti-venin

Answer 22

• horse serum is foreign and can trigger immune reactions
• anti-horse antibodies can neutralize the anti-venin
• antibodies can trigger anaphylaxis (serum sickness)

Question 23

Advantages of monoclonal antibodies

Answer 23

• bind to a single epitope on a single antigen
• single type of antibody
• not necessary to use animals in the production
• large amounts of antibody can be produced
• predictable batch properties

Question 24

Disadvantages of monoclonal antibodies

Answer 24

• expensive to make
• antigenic leads to HAMA (human-anti-mouse-antibodies)
• have to be given IV

Question 25

Nucleic acids as drugs

Answer 25

- anti-sense molecules - mRNA exists as a single "sense" molecule, complementary mRNA chain can bind and inhibit transcription - aptamers are nucleic acid sequences that bind to proteins

Question 26

Alipogene Tiparvovec

Answer 26

gene therapy for lipoprotein lipase deficiency

Question 27

Strimvelis

Answer 27

gene therapy for adenosine deaminase deficiency (SCID)

Question 28

Stem cells: types, differences

Answer 28

- embryonic and adult - embryonic: can differentiate into any cell - adult: can only differentiate into cells from their tissue of origin

Question 29

Holoclar

Answer 29

- used for blindness due to burning (limbal stem cell deficiency) - replaces the damaged stem cells

Question 30

Using animal cells as drugs

Answer 30

- cells can be placed in a diffusion chamber to protect them from immune system but receive nutrients - bioartificial endocrine pancreas - liver cell bioreactors

Question 31

Drug-coated stents

Answer 31

- use of stents very important in cardiology but issue of re-occlusion - drug-coated stents, in particular rapamycin eluting stents are very effective