Pharmaceutical Preparations Commons^™

A Conserved Mechanism For Hormesis In Molecular Systems, Sharon N. Greenwood, Regina G. Belz, Brian P. Weiser

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Hormesis refers to dose-response phenomena where low dose treatments elicit a response that is opposite the response observed at higher doses. Hormetic dose-response relationships have been observed throughout all of biology, but the underlying determinants of many reported hormetic dose-responses have not been identified. In this report, we describe a conserved mechanism for hormesis on the molecular level where low dose treatments enhance a response that becomes reduced at higher doses. The hormetic mechanism relies on the ability of protein homo-multimers to simultaneously interact with a substrate and a competitor on different subunits at low doses of competitor. In this …

Biowill - Characterising Willow Bark Bio-Actives For Skin Therapies, Arnold Marisa

ORBioM (Open Research BioSciences Meeting)

Willow bark is considered as a disposable by-product when processing willow for biomass. Willow (Salix) is known to contain high value bioactive compounds which include salicin and its derivatives, and other phytochemicals of interest such as polyphenols and flavonoids. The plant is historically known as the primary source of salicylates to which the well-known drug aspirin is derived from. The work forms part of the Interreg project BioWILL, which is focused on integrated “Zero Waste” biorefinery utilising all fractions of willow feedstock for the production of biochemicals and renewable energy. This project aims to investigate the crude and …

Full- Versus Sub-Regional Quantification Of Amyloid-Beta Load On Mouse Brain Sections, Yuu Ohno, Riley Murphy, Matthew Choi, Weijun Ou, Rachita K. Sumbria

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Extracellular accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques is one of the major pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and is the target of the only FDA-approved disease-modifying treatment for AD. Accordingly, the use of transgenic mouse models that overexpress the amyloid precursor protein and thereby accumulate cerebral Aβ plaques are widely used to model human AD in mice. Therefore, immunoassays, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunostaining, commonly measure the Aβ load in brain tissues derived from AD transgenic mice. Though the methods for Aβ detection and quantification have been well established and documented, the impact of the size of the …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Bioactivity Of 3-Substituted Coumarins As An Undergraduate Project, Karsen King, Nicholas Campbell, Ronald Okoth, Wathsala Medawala

Georgia Journal of Science

Coumarins are an important class of phytochemicals, a chemical defense presumed to be secreted by plants. More recently, Coumarins have gathered popularity for their basis in anti-cancer agents. This paper dives into the organic synthesis of two 3-substituted coumarins from o-vanillin using the Knoevenagel condensation reaction. The 3-substituted coumarin were characterized using melting point analysis, ¹H-NMR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. In addition, the anticancer activity of synthesized 3-substituted coumarin compounds were assayed against topoisomeraseIIα, which is the target enzyme of FDA approved anti-cancer drug etoposide since it is an active enzyme in cancer cell replication. The demonstrated procedures can be …

Updates In The Pharmacologic Prophylaxis And Treatment Of Invasive Candidiasis In The Pediatric And Neonatal Intensive Care Units, James Hunter Fly, Seerat Kapoor, Kelly Bobo, Jeremy S. Stultz

Faculty Publications

Purpose of review The goal of this review was to provide an update on the prevention and treatment options for invasive candidiasis (IC) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Recent findings Studies have further validated the use of fluconazole for IC prophylaxis among high-risk patients in the NICU. It remains unclear if prophylaxis leads to resistance development and the ideal dosage regimen is still not clear. Recent studies have been published comparing caspofungin and micafungin to amphotericin B and illustrated similar efficacy outcomes in the NICU. Micafungin now has approval from the United …

The Role Of Age Ligand And Rap1a In Myofibroblast Signaling Cascade In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus-Induced Cardiomyopathic Conditions, Camilla Puglia

Honors Theses

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, taking more than 90,000 lives annually. Type 2 diabetes mellitus-induced cardiac fibrosis is a common condition seen in diabetic patients. The AGE/RAGE signaling cascade has been strongly associated with this supposed cardiac fibrosis along with hyperactive myofibroblasts which excessively remodel extracellular matrix tissue, leading to damaged and enlarged heart muscle tissue. In diabetic patients, Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) are produced in abundance and accumulate in the extracellular matrix of heart tissue. To investigate the role of of the AGE ligand on fibroblast behavior, increasing amounts of …

Case Report: Covid Arm (Covid Vaccine Arm), Joseph Pagano, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Henry Schuitema

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report the case of a 38-year-old male physician who was vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. He experienced arm pain and swelling on the vaccinated arm as well as systemic symptoms, including fever, chills, headache and weakness. The systemic symptoms improved after the use of oral prednisone. A review of the literature on the COVID vaccine is presented.

Digoxin Toxicity And Acute Renal Failure In A 75 Year-Old Female, Daniel Zaayenga, Andrew Caravello, Nicholas Tomasello

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Digoxin toxicity can present with varying manifestations. While pathognomonic symptoms such as xanthopsia (object appearing yellow) are a board favorite it is not a required finding and is in fact not seen with most patients. Rather digoxin toxicity presents with more non-specific symptoms such as GI distress (anorexia, N/V) neurological distress (lethargy, fatigue, delirium, confusion, disorientation, weakness. EKG findings are varied and include premature ventricular contractions, bradycardia, atrial tachyarrhythmias with AV block, ventricular bigeminy, junctional rhythms, various degrees of AV nodal blockade, ventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation. Although rarely seen, digoxin is one of the only causes of bidirectional ventricular …

Seizure To Drug Induced Schizophrenia: A Rare Case Of Keppra-Induced Psychosis, Shadi Shams, Riddhima Issar, Nardin El-Shammaa, Munaza Khan

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Levetiracetam is a broad-spectrum antiseizure medication and is approved as adjunctive therapy to treat focal-onset seizures in children and adults with epilepsy. Levetiracetam has a wide margin of safety and patient-friendly pharmacokinetics that distinguish it from other currently available antiepileptic drugs.

Most common side effects are fatigue, somnolence, dizziness, and upper respiratory infection. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are reported. Psychotic symptoms, paranoid ideation, hallucinations, and behavioral problems may occur in adult and pediatric patients. Among all adverse effects, the rate of psychosis is very low and ranges from less than 1% to 1.4%. A retrospective study showed that this rate is higher …

A Systematic Review Of The Barriers Of Opioid Addiction Treatment For Young Adult Males (Ages 18-26) Living In Low Income Areas In The United States Of America, Atish Gandhi, Asim Shafique, Jillian Baker

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

NOTE: This is a broad literature review, not a systematic review.

This systematic review aims to analyze the reasons behind reduced access to opioid addiction treatment for individuals of low socioeconomic standing. Understanding these barriers may allow communities to build a more comprehensive plan to lower addiction rates. In addition, this review will be examining further developments of theopioid crisis due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The literature search used publications from the following databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, and NCBI. The keywords searched were “opioid addiction”, “substance abuse”, “low-income area”, “barriers to treatment”, “young male addiction”, “opioid treatment”, “Narcan”. There …

Implementing Best Practices For Co-Prescribing Naloxone In Your Agency: A Guide For Healthcare Professions, Michael Anyanwu, Emmanuel Asenso Jr., Ahmad Hussein, Jessica Baaklini, Michael Sunderhauf

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

From April 2020 to April 2021, it has been recorded that there have been 75,673 opioid overdose-related deaths in the United States. This number is up almost 20,000 more from the last period that deaths were recorded, coming in at 56,064 from April 2019 to April 2020. The use of naloxone, has been proven to save the lives of overdose patients on opioids by reversing its effects. It has already shown significant reduction in opioid overdose related mortality. Pharmacists are now able to prescribe naloxone with opioid prescriptions without a script from a doctor. EMS units are active in communities …

Riluzole For Pediatric Patients With Treatment-Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Maheen Mohammad, Stuti Parikh

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) occurs in about 1-3% of the pediatric population, but many do not respond to standard therapies. Riluzole, a glutamate antagonist, has shown to be an effective treatment for refractory OCD in adults, however few trials have been conducted to show the effectiveness of Riluzole in children to treat refractory OCD. The study investigates the potential use of riluzole in children to treat refractory OCD.

What Motivates Patients To Enroll In A Naloxone Co-Prescribing Program?, Christina Kanagawa, David Aloisio, Eshani Choksi, Manasa Gowda, Tyler Klecha, Charles M. Defendorf

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Patients were contacted via phone call to establish knowledge of and prescription status regarding naloxone. They were then invited to enroll in a research study consisting of two online surveys.

The patients who had been prescribed naloxone by the time the study had started ranked being persuaded by a medical professional as being the most important reason for accepting the naloxone prescription.

Insufficient data collected during the six-week time frame to draw statistically significant conclusions about what motivates patients to receive naloxone co-prescriptions.

Correlations seen in this study are interesting and warrant further investigation.

Too Much Of A Good Thing: Case Of Fluoride Toxicity, Swet Patel, John Polunin, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Trent Malcolm

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Overall, the beneficial role of fluoride for the maintenance of proper dental hygiene has been known for many decades which has been corroborated by a plethora of research. Media and culture have further highlighted how using fluoride supplementation can help with dental cavities. It is clear that just as there are benefits to fluoride usage, there also risks. Further awareness needs to be made that showcases the downfalls of excess fluoride use. Labels need to be placed on fluoride products that emphasizes the dosing. It is imperative that people are educated on the toxicity of fluoride as too much of …

The Role Of Physiologic Vision Deficits In Elderly Self Dispensing Medication Errors, Harrison Patrizio

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Elderly populations are more prone to self-dispensing medication errors. Although some of these errors can be attributed to a patient’s disease, many errors are preventable with behavioral modification. As we age, the lens of the eye becomes yellow. This tints all light that passes through it causing deficits in color distinguishability.(Andreasen, 1980) Additionally, the lens of the eye hardens over time. This results in presbyopia, an inability to focus close objects.(Wolffsohn, 2018) These changes can cause elderly patients to misread labels or dispensed incorrect medication due to color shade similarities.(Cardarelli, 2011) Although these visual changes are well documented, current research …

Case Study Of Metformin-Induced Lactic Acidosis, Kajel Patel, Kishan B. Patel

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Metformin induced lactic acidosis is when high levels of metformin cause dangerously high levels of lactic acid. Here is a case report of a 72-year-old female who came in for nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea found to have a high suspicion for metformin induced lactic acidosis. She stabilized in the emergency department, nephrology and ICU was contacted, and she went for emergent dialysis. For many patients the prognosis of metformin induced lactic acidosis is poor. This patient was made comfort care by her family.

Long-Term Lithium Use In The Younger Population: Do The Benefits Outweigh The Risks? - A Case Report, Seema Shekar, Alexander Garcia, Rachel Shmuts

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

For decades lithium has been the mainstay treatment for bipolar disorder. While its side effect profile is extensive and varied its most notable adverse effect, and one most feared by treating clinicians, is nephrotoxicity/ end-stage renal disease (ESRD). While the link between long-term lithium use and ESRD has been accepted by the medical community at large for many years, more recent scientific studies call the association into question. In fact, newer studies on the association between Li use and ESRD have shown a negative/inconclusive correlation. Despite this controversy the consensus still remains that ESRD secondary to long-term Li use is …

Characterizing The Roles Of Cannabinoid Receptor 1 & 2 In Zebrafish Behavior, Metabolism, And Seizure-Induced Activity, Kayci Kimmons

Honors Theses

Epileptic disorders like Dravet Syndrome require novel studies to determine the most ideal treatment. New research linking the endocannabinoid system (ECS) to epileptic disorders is arising, but there is still much to be discovered about the function and regulatory impact of the endocannabinoid system and its receptors in epilepsies like Dravet. In this study, knockout models of larval and adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) were used to investigate the roles of cannabinoid receptors 1 & 2 in behavior, brain mitochondrial metabolism, and seizure-induced activity following exposure to THC and CBD. Larval zebrafish which lacked cannabinoid receptor 1 exhibited increased …

Synthesis, Structural Characterization, And In Vitro Biological Assessment Of Trans- Platinum (Ii) Thionate Complexes As Potent Anticancer Agents, Mia Alshami

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

The content of this thesis has been originally reported in our published paper, “trans-Platinum (II) Thionate Complexes: Synthesis, Structural Characterization, and in vitro Biological Assessment as Potent Anticancer Agents” ChemPlusChem 2019 84, 1525-1535, DOI: 10.1002/cplu.201900394, in which I served as coauthor. Cancer caused 9.6 million deaths in 2018 worldwide, with 18.1 million new diagnoses during that same year.The most widely used metal in anticancer drugs is platinum (Pt), and these drugs are used to treat almost 50% of cancer patients. To optimize drug effectiveness, trans-configured Pt(II) complexes have been introduced as a strategy to potentially overcome the …

Estimating The Analytical Performance Of Raman Spectroscopy For Quantification Of Active Ingredients In Human Stratum Corneum, Hichem Kichou, Emilie Munnier, Yuri Dancik, Kamilia Kemel, Hugh Byrne, Ali Tfayli, Dominique Bertrand, Martin Soucé, Igor Chourpa, Franck Bonnier

Articles

Confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) has become a versatile technique that can be applied routinely to monitor skin penetration of active molecules. In the present study, CRM coupled to multivariate analysis (namely PLSR—partial least squares regression) is used for the quantitative measurement of an active ingredient (AI) applied to isolated (ex vivo) human stratum corneum (SC), using systematically varied doses of resorcinol, as model compound, and the performance is quantified according to key figures of merit defined by regulatory bodies (ICH, FDA, and EMA). A methodology is thus demonstrated to establish the limit of detection (LOD), precision, accuracy, sensitivity (SEN), and …

Succinic Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase Deficiency (Ssadhd): Qualitative Needs Assessment For Patients With A Rare Neurological Disorder, Cassandra Bovee, Kayla Woodring

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Combination Of Amphiphilic Cyclic Peptide [R4W4] And Levofloxacin Against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria, Muhammad Imran Sajid, Sandeep Lohan, Shun Kato, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Bacterial resistance is a growing global concern necessitating the discovery and development of antibiotics effective against the drug-resistant bacterial strain. Previously, we reported a cyclic antimicrobial peptide [R₄W₄] containing arginine (R) and tryptophan (W) with a MIC of 2.67 µg/mL (1.95 µM) against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Herein, we investigated the cyclic peptides [R₄W₄] or linear (R₄W₄) and their conjugates (covalent or noncovalent) with levofloxacin (Levo) with the intent to improve their potency to target drug-resistant bacteria. The physical mixture of the Levo with the cyclic [R_{4 …}

Emerging Drug Targets And New Drugs In The Treatment Of Psoriatic Arthritis, Carmen Lariccia, Natalie Lennartz, Jessica Lewe, Jeffery Allison

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease characterized by painful skin lesions. When joints and connective tissue also become involved, the condition is referred to as psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Current treatments for moderate to severe PsA include therapies used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) despite differences in disease presentation which includes factors such as peripheral disease, sacroiliitis, stiffness, presence of rheumatoid factor and psoriasis. Treatment out-comes for PsA are measured by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Responder Index (ACR20) and the Dis-ease Activity Score for 28 joints (DAS28). First-line treatment includes disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) such as methotrexate, sulfasalazine or leflunomide …

Management Of Hyperkalemia To Prevent Cardiac Arrest, Jennifer Harklerode, Amber Paul, Crystal Zheng, Olivia Vanscoy, Olivia Henton, Mark Olah

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Hyperkalemia is a metabolic problem that may be life threatening if left untreated. Cardiac arrhythmias may develop with the potential to lead to cardiac arrest and death. Hyperkalemia can oftentimes be undiagnosed due to the lack of clear, specific symptoms and inconclusive variations in electrocardiogram (ECG) readings and lab values. Therefore, it is important to recognize risk factors that can potentially in-crease serum potassium levels. Screening for medications that increase serum potassium levels and educating patients are steps that both inpatient and outpatient health care professionals can take to increase early detection and prevention of a hyperkalemic episode. It is …

Daclizumab (Zinbryta®): An Emerging Therapy For The Treatment Of Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis, Morgan Homan, Sunitha Jones, Michaela Louden, Molly Wheeler, Anh Dao Le, Lindsey Peters

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system characterized by the deterioration of the myelin sheath, causing axonal damage which leads to debilitating symptoms. Most therapies for the treatment of MS, including daclizumab, primarily target relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a form of MS where patients experience periods of exacerbated symptoms as well as intermittent periods of remission. Daclizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that is administered as a once monthly subcutaneous injection. The SELECT trilogy of trials have been instrumental in providing safety and efficacy data for daclizumab. The DECIDE study was the first randomized controlled …

Structural And Computational Studies Of The Sars-Cov-2 Spike Protein Binding Mechanisms With Nanobodies: From Structure And Dynamics To Avidity-Driven Nanobody Engineering, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Nanobodies provide important advantages over traditional antibodies, including their smaller size and robust biochemical properties such as high thermal stability, high solubility, and the ability to be bioengineered into novel multivalent, multi-specific, and high-affinity molecules, making them a class of emerging powerful therapies against SARS-CoV-2. Recent research efforts on the design, protein engineering, and structure-functional characterization of nanobodies and their binding with SARS-CoV-2 S proteins reflected a growing realization that nanobody combinations can exploit distinct binding epitopes and leverage the intrinsic plasticity of the conformational landscape for the SARS-CoV-2 S protein to produce efficient neutralizing and mutation resistant characteristics. Structural …

Investigating The Physical Stability Of Amorphous Pharmaceutical Formulations, Travis W. Jarrells

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Amorphous formulations, including amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), consisting of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) intimately mixed in a polymeric matrix, are an attractive formulation approach to improve drug delivery, dissolution, and solubility. However, an amorphous API in an ASD is in a higher energy state compared to the crystalline drug and results in most ASDs being inherently unstable. The polymer helps to stabilize the amorphous drug against crystallization such that the resulting homogenous mixture maintains its solubility advantage relative to the crystalline form. One challenge of ASDs is that the presence of impurities including crystals or residual solvent, variations in …

Succinylated Polyethylenimine Gene Delivery Agents For Enhanced Transfection Efficacy, Md. Nasir Uddin

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Gene therapy aims to treat patients by altering or controlling gene expression. Today, most clinical approaches are viral-based due to their inherent gene delivery activity. However, there is still a significant interest in nonviral alternatives for gene delivery, particularly synthetic lipids and polymers, that do not suffer the immunogenicity, high cost, or mutagenesis concerns of viral vectors. Polymeric vectors are of particular interest due to the ability to further tune the polymer properties through the incorporation of additional functional units such as targeting ligands or shielding domains. Polyethylenimine (PEI), a highly cationic polymer, is often considered a benchmark for polymer-based …

The Water Solubility Of Ursolic Acid Complexes At Different Choline Concentrations, Sera Lim, Renjie Zhan, Phillip M. Gerk

UROP Posters

No abstract provided.

Biologic Tnf-Α Inhibitors Reduce Microgliosis, Neuronal Loss, And Tau Phosphorylation In A Transgenic Mouse Model Of Tauopathy, Weijun Ou, Joshua Yang, Juste Simanauskaite, Matthew Choi, Demi M. Castellanos, Rudy Chang, Jiahong Sun, Nataraj Jagadeesan, Karen D. Parfitt, David H. Cribbs, Rachita K. Sumbria

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays a central role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology, making biologic TNF-α inhibitors (TNFIs), including etanercept, viable therapeutics for AD. The protective effects of biologic TNFIs on AD hallmark pathology (Aβ deposition and tau pathology) have been demonstrated. However, the effects of biologic TNFIs on Aβ-independent tau pathology have not been reported. Existing biologic TNFIs do not cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), therefore we engineered a BBB-penetrating biologic TNFI by fusing the extracellular domain of the type-II human TNF-α receptor (TNFR) to a transferrin receptor antibody (TfRMAb) that ferries the TNFR into the brain via …