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Full-Text Articles in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Memantine: Can It Be Used To Treat Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder?, Austin Brown, Katherine Liu, Pul Lee, Rachel Muhlenkamp, Manoranjan D'Souza Dec 2019

Memantine: Can It Be Used To Treat Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder?, Austin Brown, Katherine Liu, Pul Lee, Rachel Muhlenkamp, Manoranjan D'Souza

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairment in social, behavior and communicative skills. The current therapy for ASD only targets the associated symptoms such as aggression, self-harming acts or temper tantrums but not the core symptoms of social dysfunction. The pathology of ASD is not fully understood. Interestingly, imaging studies in ASD patients have reported abnormal high levels of glutamate in certain brain regions that play an important role in social interaction and communication. Thus, it has been hypothesized that medications attenuating glutamate transmission may be used as treatment for some of the core symptoms of …


Cannabinoids For The Treatment Of Chronic Headaches, Kevin Krivanek, Lucy K. Wagala, Brian Heilbronner, Kimberly Loughlin, David Kinder Dec 2019

Cannabinoids For The Treatment Of Chronic Headaches, Kevin Krivanek, Lucy K. Wagala, Brian Heilbronner, Kimberly Loughlin, David Kinder

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Species of the Cannabis plant genus were among the earliest medicinal plants cultivated by man, with historical accounts of their medicinal uses dating back before the Common Era. Despite its current legal status, Cannabis has garnered nationwide attention as a therapeutic agent for various disease states, including chronic headaches, due to its medical indications as an antispastic, analgesic, antiemetic, neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory agent. Since headaches have a high prevalence in the American population and greatly impair simple daily aspects of living, chronic headaches have become a particular point of interest in regard to the therapeutic potential of Cannabis. Clinical trials …


Marijuana And Its Cardiovascular Implications, Albert Bui, Daniel Powell, Victoria Cho, Kelsey Lindsley, Lindsey Peters Dec 2019

Marijuana And Its Cardiovascular Implications, Albert Bui, Daniel Powell, Victoria Cho, Kelsey Lindsley, Lindsey Peters

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

As marijuana becomes legalized for medical use, it is important for prescribers and pharmacists to be knowledgeable about the important aspects of marijuana such as mechanism of action, indications and abuse potential. Although marijuana's medicinal benefits are frequently reported, the risks, namely cardiovascular risks, associated with its utilization are often overlooked. Use of marijuana has been reported to increase the risk of myocardial infarction, tachycardia and hypotension, among others. Health care providers must determine if marijuana's benefits outweigh such risks when marijuana therapy is an option. It is also important for pharmacists to understand how to successfully counsel patients using …


Hormonal Therapy And Preventive Care Of Transgender Patients, Angela Chu, Jana Randolph, Austin Hopkins, Victoria Cho, Sophocles Chrissobolis Oct 2019

Hormonal Therapy And Preventive Care Of Transgender Patients, Angela Chu, Jana Randolph, Austin Hopkins, Victoria Cho, Sophocles Chrissobolis

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Transgenderism occurs when an individual's gender identity conflicts with the individual's biological sex. A variety of methods may be used in order to reconcile this disparity in transgender individuals including psychological counseling, cross-sex hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery. The most important role for pharmacists in the treatment of transgender patients is in dispensing hormonal medications for cross-sex treatment. Hormone therapy may be used to suppress characteristics of the patient's biological sex as well as to induce development of characteristics that correlate with the patient's gender identity. In male-to-female (MtF) transgender patients, the most commonly used medications include agents which …


Pharmacologic And Nonpharmacologic Approaches To Palliative Care In Oncology, Daniel Powell, Sunitha Johns, Samia Alam, Isabel E. Cwikla, Brendan Rasor, David W. Koh Oct 2019

Pharmacologic And Nonpharmacologic Approaches To Palliative Care In Oncology, Daniel Powell, Sunitha Johns, Samia Alam, Isabel E. Cwikla, Brendan Rasor, David W. Koh

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

In recent decades, few fields have changed as drastically as oncology. A wide variety of approaches must be taken in order to best care for cancer patients. With the globalization of health care and modern society, nontraditional management of cancer symptoms is once again increasing in popularity. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has also recently updated their palliative care guidelines. These guidelines provide a detailed approach for the care of a wide range of cancer patients but largely focus on traditional pharmacotherapy. An increasing number of studies are being conducted on nonpharmacologic approaches to care for patients with cancer. …


Antibiotic Stewardship And Overcoming Antibiotic Resistance In Upper Respiratory Tract Infections, Katherine Elsass, Austin Hilverding, Steve Blake, Brendan Rasor, Steven N. Leonard Oct 2019

Antibiotic Stewardship And Overcoming Antibiotic Resistance In Upper Respiratory Tract Infections, Katherine Elsass, Austin Hilverding, Steve Blake, Brendan Rasor, Steven N. Leonard

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Antibiotic resistance has rapidly become one of the most significant challenges facing modern health care. Despite widespread public education efforts by the national government and health organizations worldwide, there remains a significant lack of public understanding of antibiotic resistance, how to prevent it and the implications if the science and health care communities fail to find a solution. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Physicians (ACP) recently published updated guidelines for appropriate antibiotic use in upper respiratory tract infections. These guidelines include several key recommendations for acute bronchitis, pharyngitis and acute rhinosinusitis (including …


A Pharmacist's Role In Educating On The Health Risks Of Smoking During Pregnancy And Helping Patients With Smoking Cessation, Alexandra Herman, Cassandra Hacker, Emily Wells, Brian Heilbronner, Brittany L. Long Oct 2019

A Pharmacist's Role In Educating On The Health Risks Of Smoking During Pregnancy And Helping Patients With Smoking Cessation, Alexandra Herman, Cassandra Hacker, Emily Wells, Brian Heilbronner, Brittany L. Long

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

While many people know smoking causes cancer, heart disease and other major health problems, smoking during pregnancy causes additional fetal health complications including birth defects, premature birth and infant death. Cigarettes contain carbon monoxide and nicotine, both of which can cause a decrease in oxygen delivery to the fetus' developing tissues causing organs like the brain, lungs, kidneys and ears not to develop properly. If children are exposed to these toxins through secondhand smoke after birth, they are more likely to experience severe health problems such as ear infections, cataracts, lung cancer and heart disease. It is also known that …


Legislation Across The Nation And The Impact On Pharmacy Practice, Sabrina Hamman, Hannah Lamb, Jennifer Harklerode, Elizabeth Kramer, Steven Martin Oct 2019

Legislation Across The Nation And The Impact On Pharmacy Practice, Sabrina Hamman, Hannah Lamb, Jennifer Harklerode, Elizabeth Kramer, Steven Martin

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Pharmacy legislation is constantly being updated, giving pharmacists a larger role in the health care field. In the past 20 years, pharmacists have seen expansions to legislation involving contraceptive authority, medical marijuana, vaccines and provider status. There is a greater pharmacist impact from legislation passed on the state level in comparison to the national level. As a result, pharmacists have different opportunities to provide new and advanced services to patients based on the state in which they are practicing. Comparing these various laws across the nation allows the profession to determine which sections of the law are problematic and which …


Latest Trends In The Heroin Epidemic And The Responsibility Of The Pharmacist In Controlling Heroin Abuse, Alexandra Herman, Cassandra Hacker, Emily Wells, Sabrina Hamman, Manoranjan D'Souza Oct 2019

Latest Trends In The Heroin Epidemic And The Responsibility Of The Pharmacist In Controlling Heroin Abuse, Alexandra Herman, Cassandra Hacker, Emily Wells, Sabrina Hamman, Manoranjan D'Souza

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Over the last few years, there has been an exponential increase in morbidity and mortality associated with heroin abuse. The current rise in heroin abuse and overdose is attributed to widespread use and abuse of prescription opioids, which can produce significant euphoric effects in humans. In fact, reports suggest that heroin abusers initially become addicted to prescription opioids but subsequently switch to heroin because it is cheaper and more easily available than prescription opioids. Over the years, the purity of heroin available for illicit use has been on the decline. Smugglers and heroin vendors have started mixing heroin with other …


Treatment Of Basal Cell Carcinoma With Vismodegib, Sunitha Johns, Katlyn Brown, Emily Loudermilk, Crystal Zheng, Anh Dao Le, Sophocles Chrissobolis Oct 2019

Treatment Of Basal Cell Carcinoma With Vismodegib, Sunitha Johns, Katlyn Brown, Emily Loudermilk, Crystal Zheng, Anh Dao Le, Sophocles Chrissobolis

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

The most prevalent nonmelanoma skin cancers are basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (aBCC). Current, effective first-line treatments for BCC aim to remove and destroy cancerous skin cells through excision surgery, Mohs surgery, radiation therapy and cryotherapy, while treatment of aBCC remains limited. An emerging treatment option for aBCC that promotes tumor size reduction is vismodegib, a pharmaceutical product approved in 2012 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Vismodegib was approved for the treatment of aBCC, metastasized HCC (mBCC) or recurrent BCC after surgery as well as for use in adults who are not …


The Effects Of Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use And Withdrawal In The Elderly, Lydia Suchecki, Hannah Granger, Jamie Kellner, Mary Ellen Hethcox Oct 2019

The Effects Of Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use And Withdrawal In The Elderly, Lydia Suchecki, Hannah Granger, Jamie Kellner, Mary Ellen Hethcox

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Benzodiazepines remain a commonly prescribed medication in the United States, and the high usage of this drug class is especially a concern in the elderly population for several reasons. First, elderly patients metabolize drugs differently, leading to varying responses. Age-related changes also have a significant impact on the effects of benzodiazepines. Second, elderly patients are more likely to be taking multiple centrally-acting drugs, which can further exacerbate negative effects. In regard to long-term benzodiazepine use, elderly patients experience an increased risk of cognitive impairment, motor vehicle accidents, decline in physical performance, falls and subsequent fractures, and sleep disturbances. Withdrawal is …