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Articles 241 - 270 of 334

Full-Text Articles in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Medication-Related Problems In Older Adults: A Focus On Underuse Of Warfarin And Warfarin-Antibiotic Interactions, Parinaz K. Ghaswalla Dec 2011

Medication-Related Problems In Older Adults: A Focus On Underuse Of Warfarin And Warfarin-Antibiotic Interactions, Parinaz K. Ghaswalla

Theses and Dissertations

The work presented in this dissertation focuses on two important medication-related problems in older adults, that is, untreated indication and drug-drug interactions, specifically with respect to a high-risk medication such as warfarin. Warfarin is a challenge to use in clinical practice due to its narrow therapeutic index, variability in dose-response and its interactions with numerous foods and drugs. This dissertation presents the research from two projects. In the first project the prevalence and predictors of warfarin use in nursing home (NH) residents with atrial fibrillation (AF), and use of secondary stroke prevention strategies was determined, in order to understand the …


Development Of A Novel Approach To Assess Qualitative And Quantitative Dynamics Associated With The Subcutaneous Or Intramuscular Administration Of Pharmaceuticals And Associated Parenteral Delivery Systems, Eric Edwards Dec 2011

Development Of A Novel Approach To Assess Qualitative And Quantitative Dynamics Associated With The Subcutaneous Or Intramuscular Administration Of Pharmaceuticals And Associated Parenteral Delivery Systems, Eric Edwards

Theses and Dissertations

There has been a significant increase in the number of injectable pharmaceutical products over the last decade that have been incorporated into unique delivery systems such as pen injectors, auto-injectors, or pre-filled syringes. The advancement of these delivery systems and the paradigm shift towards administration of injectables in the out-of-hospital or home setting have introduced variables that can affect the bioavailability of injectable drugs and potential pharmacologic outcomes. An approach that allows for the qualitative and quantitative dispersion assessment of an injectable at the moment of tissue deposition coupled with an assessment of systemic exposure parameters could provide substantial information …


Fluctuations And Instantons In Complex Landscapes: From Ligand Unbinding To Proton Transfer, Justin Elenewski Dec 2011

Fluctuations And Instantons In Complex Landscapes: From Ligand Unbinding To Proton Transfer, Justin Elenewski

Theses and Dissertations

Biophysical entities are complex systems systems with strong environmental coupling, dominated by fluctuations on a hierarchy of timescales. These properties confound simulation of ligand binding and catalysis, inflating the scale of the problem to one tractable only with a considerable outlay of resources. In an attempt to ameliorate this restriction, several techniques are developed to accelerate biomolecular simulations while collaterally lending physical insight. The first segment of this dissertation is concerned with directed simulations of ligand binding in a model system. Using the serum retinol binding protein as a prototype, the potential of mean force associated with ligand binding is …


Designing Allosteric Inhibitors Of Thrombin, Preetpal Sidhu Nov 2011

Designing Allosteric Inhibitors Of Thrombin, Preetpal Sidhu

Theses and Dissertations

Thrombin is a key enzyme of the coagulation cascade exhibiting important roles in both pro-coagulation and anti-coagulation processes. Most clinically used anticoagulant drugs, including polymeric heparin, warfarin, hirudin, argatroban and the recently approved dabigatran, aim to reduce thrombin activity. There are several binding domains on thrombin including the active site, anion-binding exosites I and II, and the sodium binding site. We hypothesized that thrombin may be better regulated through an allosteric process mediated by small molecules binding to either exosite I or II. An appropriately designed allosteric regulator that reduces the procoagulant signal in a finely tuned manner may maintain …


Effect Of Combined Oral Contraceptives On Insulin Clearance In Lean And Obese Pre-Menopausal Women, Vidya Moorthy Aug 2011

Effect Of Combined Oral Contraceptives On Insulin Clearance In Lean And Obese Pre-Menopausal Women, Vidya Moorthy

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Obese women are predisposed to greater risks of insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia. Likewise, African-Americans, appear to be inherently insulin resistant and hyperinsulinemic even after controlling for obesity. Hyperinsulinemia has been attributed to insulin resistance and a compensatory insulin hyper-secretion by the pancreas, as well as decreased insulin clearance, notably in obesity. Pharmacological agents that may worsen insulin resistance/hyperinsulinemia in obese women is of clinical relevance. Previous data from our group suggested that combined oral contraceptives (COCs) may worsen insulin sensitivity particularly in obese women, but limited information on insulin clearance is available in obese women or African-American women. …


Water Molecules: A Closer Look At Their Behavior At Protein-Protein Interfaces And Their Contributions To The Docked Model Of Pyridoxal Kinase - Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase Complex, Mostafa H. Ahmed Aug 2011

Water Molecules: A Closer Look At Their Behavior At Protein-Protein Interfaces And Their Contributions To The Docked Model Of Pyridoxal Kinase - Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase Complex, Mostafa H. Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

The work in this thesis is divided into two aims. The first aim is to provide a detailed analysis of water molecules at protein-protein interfaces as well as quantifying their contributions with respect to different residue types. To achieve this aim a data set of 4741 water molecules abstracted from 179 high-resolution (≤ 2.30 Å) X-ray crystal structures of protein-protein complexes was analyzed with a suite of modeling tools based on HINT. The second aim is to observe the effect of adding interfacial water molecules in developing a model for the protein-protein interaction between pyridoxal kinase and serine hydroxymethyltransferase. This …


Quantifying Polypharmacy In Diabetes Patients In The U.S., Jing Tao Jul 2011

Quantifying Polypharmacy In Diabetes Patients In The U.S., Jing Tao

Theses and Dissertations

ix Objectives: To quantify polypharmacy and assess the socio-economic predictors of medication use and expenditure in diabetics. Methods: This study analyzed adult diabetes patients using a nationally representative sample in Medical Expenditure Panel Survey in 2006. Top ten most highly utilized drug classes were identified. Descriptive statistics were used to portray the patients’ medication utilization and spending. Generalized linear models were conducted to assess the socio-economic variants in drug use and spending. Results: On average, a diabetes patient had 45 prescriptions in 2006, for total annual spending of $3,161. A diabetes patient used drugs from 3.43 classes within top ten …


Analysis And Fingerprinting Of Glycosaminoglycans, Joseph King Jul 2011

Analysis And Fingerprinting Of Glycosaminoglycans, Joseph King

Theses and Dissertations

Heparin is a complex mixture of sulfated polysaccharides derived from animals and one of the oldest drugs in use. While an efficacious anticoagulant, heparin is beset by side effects and pharmacokinetic difficulties. Low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) are made by depolymerizing unfractionated heparin (UFH) and present improvements in these areas. However, they still retain a phenomenally high level of complexity due to their polydispersity and the introduction of non-native structural features. This makes the structural characterization LMWHs a daunting task. This work details the development of a novel capillary electrophoretic (CE) method for fingerprinting LMWHs. Since their complexity normally results …


Sythesis And Biological Screening Of A Series Of Novel Chemokine Receptor Ccr5 Antagonists, Soundarya Vaithianathan Jul 2011

Sythesis And Biological Screening Of A Series Of Novel Chemokine Receptor Ccr5 Antagonists, Soundarya Vaithianathan

Theses and Dissertations

The chemokine receptor CCR5 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cancers and AIDS. A series of novel piperidine derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated as CCR5 antagonists. The ability of the new ligands to inhibit the increment of intracellular calcium level stimulated by endogenous ligand CCL5 was measured in the calcium mobilization assay as an indication of its CCR5 receptor antagonism. The anti-proliferation assay was performed to measure the ability of these new compounds to inhibit the proliferation of prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and M12. A new lead compound has been identified which showed micromolar level of inhibition …


Synthesis Of A Library Of Sulfated Small Molecules, Shrenik Mehta Jul 2011

Synthesis Of A Library Of Sulfated Small Molecules, Shrenik Mehta

Theses and Dissertations

The discovery of heparin in 1916 resulted in a huge impact on the practice of medicine. Heparin has played a major role in alleviating thrombotic disorders and has also exhibited effects on almost every major system in the human body. Over the past few decades, more and more heparin-protein interactions have come to light. It is implicated to modulate several important processes such as cell growth and differentiation, inflammatory response, viral infection mechanism etc. More interesting is the observation that these interactions are considerably specific with regard to oligosaccharide sequences which have specific spatially oriented sulfate groups modulating the responses. …


Impact Of Medicare Part D Coverage Gap On Beneficiaries' Adherence To Prescription Medications, Urvi Desai May 2011

Impact Of Medicare Part D Coverage Gap On Beneficiaries' Adherence To Prescription Medications, Urvi Desai

Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Medicare Part D provides prescription drug coverage to seniors through a benefit plan with a major deductible inserted in the middle. It is important to study the extent to which this structure affects seniors’ adherence to prescription medications. Therefore, this study had the following objectives: (1) To identify characteristics of beneficiaries reaching and not reaching the coverage gap, (2) To study the entry and exit times from the coverage gap, (3) To study the impact of a complete gap in coverage on beneficiaries’ adherence to prescription medications, (4) To study the impact of a partial gap in coverage on …


Application Of Pharmacometric Methods To Improve Pediatric Drug Development, Mallika Lala May 2011

Application Of Pharmacometric Methods To Improve Pediatric Drug Development, Mallika Lala

Theses and Dissertations

Pharmacometrics is a quantitative science that is rapidly changing the landscape of drug development, and particularly so for the pediatric population. The motivation behind the research underlying this dissertation is to contribute towards the improvement of pediatric drug development by the astute application of pharmacometric methods. Two distinct research areas have been focused upon: 1- improving pediatric pharmacokinetic (PK) trial design and 2- improving pediatric dosing of warfarin by using a genetics-based dosing regimen. The first project examined in detail the feasibility of and simulation-based methodology for implementing a recent regulatory PK quality standard. The focus was on designing pediatric …


Bound Water At Protein-Protein Interfaces: Partners, Roles And Hydrophobic Bubbles As A Conserved Motif, Mostafa H. Ahmed, Francesca Spyrakis, Pietro Cozzini, Parijat K. Tripathi, Andrea Mozzarelli, J. Neel Scarsdale, Martin A. Safo, Glen E. Kellogg Jan 2011

Bound Water At Protein-Protein Interfaces: Partners, Roles And Hydrophobic Bubbles As A Conserved Motif, Mostafa H. Ahmed, Francesca Spyrakis, Pietro Cozzini, Parijat K. Tripathi, Andrea Mozzarelli, J. Neel Scarsdale, Martin A. Safo, Glen E. Kellogg

Medicinal Chemistry Publications

Background

There is a great interest in understanding and exploiting protein-protein associations as new routes for treating human disease. However, these associations are difficult to structurally characterize or model although the number of X-ray structures for protein-protein complexes is expanding. One feature of these complexes that has received little attention is the role of water molecules in the interfacial region.

Methodology

A data set of 4741 water molecules abstracted from 179 high-resolution (≤ 2.30 Å) X-ray crystal structures of protein-protein complexes was analyzed with a suite of modeling tools based on the HINT forcefield and hydrogen-bonding geometry. A metric termed …


Applying An Empirical Hydropathic Forcefield In Refinement May Improve Low-Resolution Protein X-Ray Crystal Structures, Vishal N. Koparde, J. Neel Scarsdale, Glen E. Kellogg Jan 2011

Applying An Empirical Hydropathic Forcefield In Refinement May Improve Low-Resolution Protein X-Ray Crystal Structures, Vishal N. Koparde, J. Neel Scarsdale, Glen E. Kellogg

Medicinal Chemistry Publications

Background

The quality of X-ray crystallographic models for biomacromolecules refined from data obtained at high-resolution is assured by the data itself. However, at low-resolution, >3.0 Å, additional information is supplied by a forcefield coupled with an associated refinement protocol. These resulting structures are often of lower quality and thus unsuitable for downstream activities like structure-based drug discovery.

Methodology

An X-ray crystallography refinement protocol that enhances standard methodology by incorporating energy terms from the HINT (Hydropathic INTeractions) empirical forcefield is described. This protocol was tested by refining synthetic low-resolution structural data derived from 25 diverse high-resolution structures, and referencing the resulting …


Influence Of Continuous Venovenous Hemofiltration And Continuous Venovenous Hemodiafiltration On The Disposition Of Doripenem, Iolanda Cirillo, Nicole Vaccaro, Dainius Balis, Rebecca Redman, Gary R. Matzke Jan 2011

Influence Of Continuous Venovenous Hemofiltration And Continuous Venovenous Hemodiafiltration On The Disposition Of Doripenem, Iolanda Cirillo, Nicole Vaccaro, Dainius Balis, Rebecca Redman, Gary R. Matzke

Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science Publications

The pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of a single 1-hour, 500-mg intravenous infusion of doripenem were assessed in dialysis-dependent subjects with stage 5 chronic kidney disease undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) via 12-hour continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) (n = 6) or continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) (n = 5). Healthy volunteers were also assessed (n = 12). Concentrations of doripenem and the primary metabolite doripenem-M-1 were measured in plasma and ultrafiltrate or ultrafiltrate/dialysate by a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. In dialysis-dependent subjects, levels of systemic exposure to doripenem and doripenem-M-1 were approximately 3- and 5-fold greater, respectively, than those …


Synthesis, Screening And Cocrystallization Of Adenosine Based Inhibitors With Methyltransferases, Ermc' And Ksga, Matthew Baker Jan 2011

Synthesis, Screening And Cocrystallization Of Adenosine Based Inhibitors With Methyltransferases, Ermc' And Ksga, Matthew Baker

Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotic resistance threatens to throw mankind back into an era when infectious disease was the predominant cause of death. In an effort to mitigate this danger, we targeted ErmC’ and KsgA. Both methylate N6-adenosine of ribosomal RNA, though each serve different roles in their bacterial host. ErmC’ dimethylates A2058 on 23S rRNA, conferring resistance to MLSB antibiotics (macrolides, lincosamides, streptogramin B). KsgA aids in ribosome assembly, binding inactive 30S until dimethylating A1518/A1519 of 16S rRNA. Like most methyltransferases, ErmC’ and KsgA use cofactor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) as their methyl source, which binds adjacent to their specific adenosine substrate. ErmC’ inhibitors could …


Biochemical Evaluation Of Lignin-Like Molecules, Jay Thakkar Jan 2011

Biochemical Evaluation Of Lignin-Like Molecules, Jay Thakkar

Theses and Dissertations

Current anticoagulants carry a serious risk of bleeding complications. In addition, narrow therapeutic index, drug interactions, immunological reactions, toxicity and high cost to benefit ratio limits the effective use of these drugs in patients with thrombotic conditions.Heparin is the most widely used anticoagulant. We hypothesized that one of the major drawback of heparins, its non-specific interaction with the plasma proteins arises as a result of negative charges. To reduce these non-specific interactions, our laboratory designed sulfated low molecular weight lignin (LMWL) like biomacromolecules, which were found to be direct inhibitors of thrombin and factor Xa, acting through a unique exosite-2 …


“Clicked” Bivalent Multifunctional Ligands In Alzheimer’S Disease., Ronak Gandhi Jan 2011

“Clicked” Bivalent Multifunctional Ligands In Alzheimer’S Disease., Ronak Gandhi

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by beta-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation/oligomerization, biometal dyshomeostasis, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. The multifactorial nature of AD may indicate the therapeutic potential of multifunctional ligands that tackle various risk factors simultaneously as effective AD-modifying agents. This notion is further supported by the fact that while numerous AD-modifying agents targeting one single risk factor have been developed and a number of them entered clinical trials, none of them has been successfully approved by the FDA. Furthermore, neuronal cell membrane/lipid rafts (CM/LR) have been demonstrated to associate with all the indicated risk factors, indicating that this …


Utilization Patterns And Economic Impact Of Iv Iron And Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents In Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Multi-Hospital Study, Avani Joshi Oct 2010

Utilization Patterns And Economic Impact Of Iv Iron And Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents In Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Multi-Hospital Study, Avani Joshi

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects approximately 20 million Americans and is the cause of significant morbidity and mortality. Anemia, common in CKD, develops early in the disease process. It contributes to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hospitalization, mortality, and diminishes health-related quality of life. Intravenous iron and Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents (ESAs) are recommended for anemia management in CKD. The utilization patterns of IV iron and ESA, and their impact on hospital costs and length of stay merits investigation. Objectives: There were five general objectives of this investigation. The rate and extent of utilization of IV iron in anemic CKD …


Development And Applications Of The Hint Forcefield In Prediction Of Antibiotic Efflux And Virtual Screening For Antivirals, Aurijit Sarkar Aug 2010

Development And Applications Of The Hint Forcefield In Prediction Of Antibiotic Efflux And Virtual Screening For Antivirals, Aurijit Sarkar

Theses and Dissertations

This work was aimed at developing novel tools that utilize HINT, an empirical forcefield capable of quantitating both hydrophobic and hydrophilic (hydropathic) interactions, for implementation in theoretical biology and drug discovery/design. The role of hydrophobicity in determination of macromolecular structure and formation of complexes in biological molecules is undeniable and has been the subject of research across several decades. Hydrophobicity is introduced, with a review of its history and contemporary theories. This is followed by a description of various methods that quantify this all-pervading phenomenon and their use in protein folding and contemporary drug design projects – including a detailed …


Investigation And Optimization Of A Solvent / Anti-Solvent Crystallization Process For The Production Of Inhalation Particles, Swati Agrawal Jul 2010

Investigation And Optimization Of A Solvent / Anti-Solvent Crystallization Process For The Production Of Inhalation Particles, Swati Agrawal

Theses and Dissertations

Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are commonly used to deliver drugs to the lungs. The drug particles used in these DPIs should possess a number of key properties. These include an aerodynamic particle size < 5μm and particle crystallinity for long term formulation stability. The conventionally used micronization technique to produce inhalation particles offers limited opportunities to control and optimize the particle characteristics. It is also known to induce crystalline disorder in the particles leading to formulation instability. Hence, this research project investigates and optimizes a solvent/anti-solvent crystallization process capable of directly yielding inhalation particles using albuterol sulfate (AS) as a model drug. Further, the feasibility of the process to produce combination particles of AS and ipratropium bromide monohydrate (IB) in predictable proportions and in a size suitable for inhalation is also investigated. The solvent / anti-solvent systems employed were water / ethyl acetate (EA) and water / isopropanol (IPA). Investigation and optimization of the crystallization variables with the water / EA system revealed that particle crystallinity was significantly influenced by an interaction between the drug solution / anti-solvent ratio (Ra ratio), stirring speed and crystal maturation time. Inducing a temperature difference between the drug solution and anti-solvent (Tdrug solution > Tanti-solvent) resulted in smaller particles being formed at a positive temperature difference of 65°C. IPA was shown to be the optimum anti-solvent for producing AS particles (IPA-AS) in a size range suitable for inhalation. In vitro aerosol performance of these IPA-AS particles was found to be superior compared to the conventionally used micronized particles when aerosolized from the Novolizer®. The solvent / anti-solvent systems investigated and optimized …


Insights Into The Catalytic Mechanism Of Retro-Aldol Cleavage Of Β-Hydroxy Amino Acids By Escherichia Coli L-Threonine Aldolase, Remsh Soumya Govinda Jul 2010

Insights Into The Catalytic Mechanism Of Retro-Aldol Cleavage Of Β-Hydroxy Amino Acids By Escherichia Coli L-Threonine Aldolase, Remsh Soumya Govinda

Theses and Dissertations

With over 140 vitamin B6 (Pyridoxal 5’-phosphate, PLP) dependent enzymes, serving vital roles in various transamination, decarboxylation, retro-aldol cleavage and synthesis pathways these enzymes constitute the most versatile catalytic systems in nature. Enzymes of this group have an inherent reaction as well as substrate specificity. A single co-factor namely, PLP is used by specific enzymes of this group to serve distinct roles during the catalytic reaction. An ordered evolutionary adaptation in these enzymes has led to specialization achieved by each enzyme for catalyzing specific reactions. L-Threonine aldolase (L-TA) is one such PLP- dependent enzyme that catalyzes the retro-aldol cleavage of …


The Effect Of Anticholinergic Burden On Functional Outcomes In Patients With Moderate To Severe Alzheimer’S Disease, Sheetal Dharia Jul 2010

The Effect Of Anticholinergic Burden On Functional Outcomes In Patients With Moderate To Severe Alzheimer’S Disease, Sheetal Dharia

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is characterized by a progressive loss of memory, judgment, and thinking in older adults. The current treatment is cholinesterase inhibitors, which increase acetylcholine at the synapse. Medications with anticholinergic (AC) activity are given for a variety reasons including for the treatment of comorbid conditions or side effects of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs). These drugs inhibit acetylcholine in the brain. Studies have shown the detrimental outcomes of using AC medications with ChEIs in older adults. Moreover, older patients take more medications and have an increased risk of developing AC toxicity …


Role Of Oxidative Reactive Species And Antioxidants In Metabolism And Transport Of Therapeutic Drugs, Svetlana Verenich Jan 2010

Role Of Oxidative Reactive Species And Antioxidants In Metabolism And Transport Of Therapeutic Drugs, Svetlana Verenich

Theses and Dissertations

Oxidative stress (OS) is a frequent complication of various disease conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, atherosclerosis, preeclampsia, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes including gestational diabetes, etc. OS is defined as an imbalance between the production of reactive species and the ability of an organism to detoxify the reactive intermediates and repair the damage. As a result of OS, the excess of reactive species such as oxygen superoxide (O2-), hydroxyl radical (OH), peroxynitrite (ONOO−), 4-hydroxynonenal (4HNE), etc., have a tendency to react with nearby proteins/nucleic acids/lipids changing their functionality or inactivating them completely. The organism has many ways to protect itself …


Prediction Of Human Systemic, Biologically Relevant Pharmacokinetic (Pk) Properties Based On Quantitative Structure Pharmacokinetic Relationships (Qspkr) And Interspecies Pharmacokinetic Allometric Scaling (Pk-As), Prajakta Badri Jan 2010

Prediction Of Human Systemic, Biologically Relevant Pharmacokinetic (Pk) Properties Based On Quantitative Structure Pharmacokinetic Relationships (Qspkr) And Interspecies Pharmacokinetic Allometric Scaling (Pk-As), Prajakta Badri

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed validated QSPKR and PK-AS models for predicting human systemic PK properties of three, preselected, pharmacological classes of drugs, namely opioids, β-adrenergic receptor ligands (β-ARL) and β-lactam antibiotics (β-LAs) using pertinent human and animal systemic PK properties (fu,, CLtot, Vdss, fe) and their biologically relevant unbound counterparts from the published literature, followed by an assessment of the effect of different molecular descriptors on these PK properties and on the PK-AS slopes for CLtot and Vdss from two species (rat and dog). Lipophilicity (log (D)7.4) and molecular weight (MW) were found to be the most statistically significant and biologically …


In-Vitro Metabolism And Protein Binding Of 5-Hmf, A Potential Antisickling Agent, Taghrid Obied Jan 2010

In-Vitro Metabolism And Protein Binding Of 5-Hmf, A Potential Antisickling Agent, Taghrid Obied

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose. 5-HMF is a potential antisickling agent forming a Schiff-adduct with hemoglobin (Hb). In-vitro studies were designed to identify the metabolic pathways of 5-HMF in human hepatic cytosol, to assess inter-species differences in its hepatic metabolism, and to predict in-vivo PK properties. Moreover, metabolism of 5-HMF in human RBCs was investigated. Finally, in-vitro studies were done to characterize 5-HMF binding kinetics with human Hb and albumin (HSA). Methods. NAD+ reduction was monitored at 340 nm in human hepatic cytosol for 5-HMF (26 mM) and prototypical ADH and ALDH substrates in the presence or absence of their inhibitors. Furthermore, concentration-dependency studies …


Novel Cinnamic Acid-Based Dehydropolymers For Emphysema: In Vitro And In Vivo Assessment Of Their Activities, Bhawana Saluja Jan 2010

Novel Cinnamic Acid-Based Dehydropolymers For Emphysema: In Vitro And In Vivo Assessment Of Their Activities, Bhawana Saluja

Theses and Dissertations

Pulmonary emphysema is a serious worldwide illness, causing progressive and irreversible alveolar wall loss and difficulty in breathing. It is caused mostly by cigarette smoking. However, its unresolved complex and multiple pathogenic mechanisms have left this disease without effective pharmacotherapy. This project hypothesized that cinnamic acid-based dehydropolymers (DHPs), originally discovered as novel anti-coagulants, protect against emphysema through their potent triple inhibitory actions against oxidative stress, inflammation and elastase, some of the pathogenic mechanisms associated with this disease. Three in vitro inhibitory activity assays for oxidative stress, lung inflammation and neutrophil elastase (NE) were developed and used to identify the most …


Quantitative Analysis Of Tobacco Specific Nitrosamine In Human Urine Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymers As A Potential Tool For Cancer Risk Assessment, Kumar Shah Nov 2009

Quantitative Analysis Of Tobacco Specific Nitrosamine In Human Urine Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymers As A Potential Tool For Cancer Risk Assessment, Kumar Shah

Theses and Dissertations

Measuring urinary tobacco specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and its glucuronide conjugate may provide the best biomarker of tobacco smoke lung carcinogen metabolism. Existence of differences in the extent of NNAL metabolism rates may be potentially related to an individuals’ lung cancer susceptibility. Low concentrations of NNAL in smokers urine (<1 ng/mL) require sensitive and selective methods for analysis. Traditionally, this involves extensive, time-consuming sample preparation that limits throughput and adds to measurement variability. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been developed for the analysis of urinary NNAL by offline cartridge extraction combined with LC-MS/MS. This method when reproduced demonstrated problems with matrix effects. In the first part of this work, investigation of matrix effects and related problems with sensitivity for the published offline extraction method has been conducted. In order to address the need to improve throughput and other analytical figures of merit for the original method, the second part of this work deals with development of a high-throughput online microfluidic method using capillary-columns packed with MIP beads for the analysis of urinary NNAL. The method was validated as per the FDA guidance, and enabled low volume, rapid analysis of urinary NNAL by direct injection on a microfluidic column packed with NNAL specific MIP beads. The method was used for analysis of urinary NNAL and NNAL-Gluc in smokers. Chemometric methods were used with this data to develop a potential cancer-risk-assessment tool based on pattern recognition in the concentrations of these compounds in urine. In the last part, method comparison approaches for the online and the offline sample extraction techniques were investigated. A ‘fixed’ range acceptance criterion based on combined considerations of method precision and accuracy, and the FDA bioanalytical guidance limits on precision and accuracy was proposed. Data simulations studies to evaluate the probabilities of successful transfers using the proposed criteria were performed. Various experimental designs were evaluated and a design comprised of 3 runs with 3 replicates each with an acceptance range of ±20% was found appropriate. The off-line and the on-line sample extraction methods for NNAL analysis were found comparable using the proposed fixed range acceptance criteria.


Impact Of Statin Therapy On Outcomes In Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients, Abdulkhaliq Alsalman Oct 2009

Impact Of Statin Therapy On Outcomes In Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients, Abdulkhaliq Alsalman

Theses and Dissertations

There is conflicting data on the effects of statins on cerebral vasospasm and clinical outcomes in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients. In this retrospective cohort study, patients were divided into those who received pravastatin (PRAV group) 40mg/d and those who did not (NP group). Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Eighty-one patients met inclusion criteria. There was a statistically significant decreased in the incidence of vasospasm in the PRAV group; however, this association did not retain significance after adjusting for WFNS, race, elevated WBC, and clipping (59% PRAV vs. 88% NP, p=0.08). There was no statistically significant difference in …


Effect Of Renin Angiotensin System Inhibition On Cardiovascular Sequelae In Elderly Hypertensive Patients With Insulin Resistance, Hala Zreikat Sep 2009

Effect Of Renin Angiotensin System Inhibition On Cardiovascular Sequelae In Elderly Hypertensive Patients With Insulin Resistance, Hala Zreikat

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Insulin resistance may play a pathogenic role in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Resistance to insulin has been associated with obesity, hypertension, and abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. The constellation of these features among insulin resistant subjects has been called the metabolic syndrome. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome increases with age and is most common in the elderly. Different criteria have been proposed to define the metabolic syndrome (ATP, WHO, AACE, EGIR). Current management of metabolic syndrome focuses on the specific risk factors that the patient may have without targeting the underlying insulin resistance. Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEI) and Angiotensin …