Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons^™

Rapamycin Rescues Vascular, Metabolic And Learning Deficits In Apolipoprotein E4 Transgenic Mice With Pre-Symptomatic Alzheimer’S Disease, Ai-Ling Lin, Jordan B. Jahrling, Wei Zhang, Nicholas Derosa, Vikas Bakshi, Peter Romero, Veronica Galvan, Arlan Richardson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Apolipoprotein E ɛ4 allele is a common susceptibility gene for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Brain vascular and metabolic deficits can occur in cognitively normal apolipoprotein E ɛ4 carriers decades before the onset of Alzheimer's disease. The goal of this study was to determine whether early intervention using rapamycin could restore neurovascular and neurometabolic functions, and thus impede pathological progression of Alzheimer's disease-like symptoms in pre-symptomatic Apolipoprotein E ɛ4 transgenic mice. Using in vivo, multimodal neuroimaging, we found that apolipoprotein E ɛ4 mice treated with rapamycin had restored cerebral blood flow, blood–brain barrier integrity and glucose metabolism, compared …

Research News. Publications, 2015. Volume 2, University Of Mississippi. School Of Pharmacy, Soumyajit Majumdar

Publications (2015-)

Publications that appeared during the period July 1 through December 15, 2015

Research News. Grants, 2015. Volume 2, University Of Mississippi. School Of Pharmacy, Soumyajit Majumdar

Grants (2015-)

Grants and contracts awarded during May-December 2015

A Pilot Chemical And Physical Stability Study Of Extemporaneously Compounded Levetiracetam Intravenous Solution, Chenzira D. Raphael, Fang Zhao, Susan E. Hughes, Katherine Juba

Doctoral External Publications

Levetiracetam is a commonly used antiepileptic medication for tumor-related epilepsy. However, the 100 mL intravenous (IV) infusion volume can be burdensome to imminently dying hospice patients. A reduced infusion volume would improve patient tolerability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stability of 1000 mg/25 mL (40 mg/mL) levetiracetam IV solution in sodium chloride 0.9%. We prepared levetiracetam 40 mg/mL IV solution and added it to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bags, polyolefin bags, and polypropylene syringes. Triplicate samples of each product were stored at refrigeration (2–8°C) and analyzed on days 0, 1, 4, 7, and 14. Samples were subjected …

Effects Of Repeated Quetiapine Treatment On Conditioned Avoidance Responding In Rats, Jun Gao, Min Feng, Natashia Swalve, Collin Davis, Nan Sui, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study characterized the behavioral mechanisms of avoidance–disruptive effect of quetiapine in the conditioned avoidance response test under two behavioral testing (2 warning signals vs. 1 warning signal) and two drug administration conditions (subcutaneous vs. intravenous). In Experiments 1 and 2, well-trained adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were tested under the subcutaneous (s.c.) quetiapine treatment (5.0, 15.0, 25.0, 50.0 mg/kg) for 7 days in a novel procedure consisting of two conditioned stimuli (CS) (white noise serving as CS1 and pure tone as CS2). Only the highest dose (50.0 mg/kg) produced a persistent suppression of the avoidance response without impairing the …

Pharmacy Admissions: The Dating Game, Travis Mentch, Aaron Oliver, Joel Sanvee, Godfred Atta-Effa, Maame Debrah-Pinamang, Monica Saad, Aleda Chen, Stephanie M. Cailor, Kate Ford

Pharmacy and Nursing Student Research and Evidence-Based Medicine Poster Session

Abstract:

Background:

According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, as of July 2015, there are 132 US-based colleges and schools of pharmacy. The decision on which school students choose can be one of the most important decisions they will make in their lives. Many factors can affect these decisions, such as: curricular content, location/facilities, finances, and diversity. Although there are many factors that impact student decisions, the relative importance of these factors is unknown. This project will determine the importance of these factors in order to aid school recruitment.

Objectives:

The objective of this project is to determine …

High-Activity Mutants Of Butyrylcholinesterase For Cocaine Hydrolysis And Method Of Generating The Same, Chang-Guo Zhan, Hoon Cho, Hsin-Hsiung Tai

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Patents

A novel computational method and generation of mutant butyrylcholinesterase for cocaine hydrolysis is provided. The method includes molecular modeling a possible BChE mutant and conducting molecular dynamics simulations and hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical calculations thereby providing a screening method of possible BChE mutants by predicting which mutant will lead to a more stable transition state for a rate determining step. Site-directed mutagenesis, protein expression, and protein activity is conducted for mutants determined computationally as being good candidates for possible BChE mutants, i.e., ones predicted to have higher catalytic efficiency as compared with wild-type BChE. In addition, mutants A199S/A328W/Y332G, A199S/F227A/A328W/Y332G, A199S/S287G/A328W/Y332G, …

Retrospective Study To Evaluate Nausea, Vomiting, And Hypersensitivity Reactions In Patients Receiving Folfox For Colorectal Cancer At An Infusion Center Not Routinely Administering Prophylactic Dexamethasone, Marissa Csovelak Pharmd, Melissa Kratz Rn, Msn, Aocn, Janine Barnaby Rph, Bcop

Department of Pharmacy

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Pediatric Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns For Specified Indications In Primary Care Practices, Samantha Spishock Pharmd, Kristen Held Wheatley Pharmd, Bcop, Tibisay Villalobos Md, Faap

Department of Pharmacy

No abstract provided.

A Systematic Review Of The Cost-Effectiveness Of Chemotherapy Regimens, Nicholas Rudy, Hannah Chittenden, David Fisher, Abigail Moon, Lia G. Hickinbotham, Emily Bruce, Eric Blizzard, Aleda Chen, Chelsea Manion

Pharmacy and Nursing Student Research and Evidence-Based Medicine Poster Session

Background

The rising cost of chemotherapy dramatically increases the burden on healthcare and presents new challenges in achieving optimal patient outcomes. New treatments, in general, are more specialized but show minor progress in regards to efficacy. Accordingly, the threat of overpaying for chemotherapy regimens has increased. There is a need for a comprehensive review to compile relevant studies in order to inform clinician decisions on the basis of cost-effectiveness and quality of life.

Objectives

Therefore, the aim of this project is to assess the cost-effectiveness of anticancer medications with a special focus on the quality of life of patients undergoing …

College Student Awareness Of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Micah F. Bernard, Kale Hanavan, Vineeta Rao, Jacob Shaffer, Katherine Woodard, Dominic Yeboah, Phillip L. Thornton

Pharmacy and Nursing Student Research and Evidence-Based Medicine Poster Session

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) results from women drinking alcohol during pregnancy. This objective of this project is to assess college students’ awareness of FASDs and determine if education improves self-reported attitudes towards drinking while pregnant or when pregnancy is possible. Previously conducted studies have equipped healthcare professionals to provide education to at-risk mothers and to intervene in pregnant mothers. However, little research has been done on informing those who are not yet pregnant but who may become pregnant about this disease and its prevention. This study will attempt to address this gap by targeting college students, a population usually …

Reducing Perineal Tears: The Effect Of Pushing Methods And Length Of 2nd Stage Of Labor, Kristen A. Mohre, Jessica A. Wall, Chien-Yueh Lee

Pharmacy and Nursing Student Research and Evidence-Based Medicine Poster Session

Objective: To evaluate the current literature evidence for the effects of either instructed or spontaneous pushing on perineal laceration incidence during delivery and the duration of second stage of labor.

Background: Lacerations (tears) of the perineum are common among women during delivery, increasing pain, infection risk, and other problems for women. Furthermore, prolonged second stage of labor has been shown a risk factor for lacerations. Pushing methods could have an effect on the incidence of lacerations and duration of second stage of labor.

Methods: Thorough search of online databases for the highest levels of evidence relating to the topic within …

Perceptions Of Marijuana Use Among Adolescents, Kofi Amoah, James Baffoe, Katherine Distel, Matt Madden, Jordan Thomas, Insang Yang

Pharmacy and Nursing Student Research and Evidence-Based Medicine Poster Session

Background

The United States federal government has been discouraging use of marijuana for decades. Prior to 1970, the federal regulation of marijuana use was through taxes. In 1970, marijuana use was deemed a criminal offense, and overrode any states that considered it legal. In 2012, Colorado and Washington were the first two states to legalize marijuana for recreational use. A study found adolescent use was 8.68% higher in states allowing medical marijuana and had a significantly lower perception of risks associated with marijuana use (6.94%).

Objectives

To determine if an educational program about the effects of marijuana use can negatively …

The Different Artificial Sweeteners And Their Effects On Endothelial Cell/Blood Vessel Health: Possible Implications For Ringing In The Ear, Morgan R. Bailey, Jessica A. Ward, Belinda O. Darkwah, Brandon L. Spears, Casey A. Nelson, Myriam E. Shaw Ojeda, Rocco J. Rotello

Pharmacy and Nursing Student Research and Evidence-Based Medicine Poster Session

Abstract:

Background:

Tinnitus, a condition whose remarkable symptom is ringing in the ear (RIE), is a problem plaguing people all around the world in varying degrees of severity, though it is most common and severe in older populations. Literature is lacking on its etiology. Therefore, it is difficult to diagnose and treat. Several possible components could play a role in the development of tinnitus including neurological, physiological, traumatic, dietary and vascular factors. No factor has yet been definitively linked to the development of tinnitus. Vascular health can be significantly impacted by diet- especially in regard to sugars. As artificial sweeteners …

Herb-Drug Interaction Of Andrographolide On The Pharmacokinetics Of Carbamazepine In Rats, Elizabeth Aziz, Samuel Franklin, Ankit Pandav, Abigail Savino, Caleb Thompson, Caleb Vandyke, Ruth Choi, Elisha R. Injeti

Pharmacy and Nursing Student Research and Evidence-Based Medicine Poster Session

Objective: To determine if andrographolide (AND) impacts the pharmacokinetics of carbamazepine (CBZ).

Background: CBZ is an anticonvulsant medication that is metabolized in the liver by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. AND is an over-the-counter medication that is common in Eastern cultures to treat inflammation and is a CYP enzyme inhibitor. Because CBZ is metabolized in the liver by these specific CYP enzymes, coadministration of andrographolide and CBZ could result in a herb-drug interaction.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats (N=12) aged between 3 months and 6 months (250-350 g) will be split into control (N=6) and treatment (N=6) groups. The treatment group will receive …

The Impact Of A Flipped Classroom Compared To Lecture-Based Teaching On Achieving Course Outcomes, Victoria Bumgardner, Caleb Tang, Jasmine Gunti, Akwasi Appiah, Melissa J. Beck

Pharmacy and Nursing Student Research and Evidence-Based Medicine Poster Session

Education is one of the most vital components that compose a modern society and as such, its improvement and optimization is always sought. This study investigates the efficacy between two learning methods in a graduate level biochemistry course: complete active learning and a hybrid of active and passive learning. Active learning is one method of achieving course outcomes with an emphasis on student responsibility through self-studying of course material followed by classroom discussion. In comparison, passive learning emphasizes instructor responsibility through didactic lecturing of course material. The aftermath results following a hybrid form of active and passive learning (in-class didactic …

Anti-Cocaine Compositions And Treatment, Donald Landry, Chang-Guo Zhan, James H. Woods, Roger Sunahara, Diwahar L. Narasimhan, Joanne Macdonald, Victor Yang, Mei-Chuan Holden Ko, Shi-Xian Deng, John J. Tesmer, Tien-Yi Lee, Young Min Kwon, Daquan Gao

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Patents

Embodiments of the invention disclosed herein generally relate to anti-cocaine therapeutics. Specifically, some embodiments of the invention relate to highly efficient, thermostable, and long-lasting cocaine esterase (CocE) mutants that can protect against the toxic and reinforcing effects of cocaine in subjects. Provided herein are mutant CocE polypeptides displaying thermostable esterase activity. Also provided are methods of treating cocaine-induced conditions in a subject in need via administration of mutant CocE as well as methods for high-throughput screening of candidate esterase polypeptides.

Pamam Dendrimers As Promising Nanocarriers For Rnai Therapeutics, Prashant Kesharwani, Sanjeev Banerjee, Umesh Gupta, Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin, Subhash Padhye, Fazlul H. Sarkar, Arun K. Iyer

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Therapeutics based on RNA interference mechanisms are highly promising for the management of several diseases including multi-drug resistant cancers. However, effective delivery of siRNAs and oligonucleotides still remains challenging. In this regard, hyper-branched, PAMAM dendrimers having unique three-dimensional architecture and nanoscale size, with cationic surface charge can potentially serve as siRNA condensing agents as well as robust nano-vectors for targeted delivery. In addition, their surface functionality permits conjugation of drugs and genes or development of hybrid systems for combination therapy. Thus far, in vitro cellular testing of dendrimer-mediated siRNA delivery has revealed great potential, with reports on their in vivo …

Stability Of Extemporaneously Prepared Sodium Benzoate Oral Solution, Andrew S. Decker, Melinda E. Lull, David Hutchinson

Pharmacy Faculty/Staff Publications

Purpose: Sodium benzoate (NaC7H5O2), a common food preservative, is the salt form of benzoic acid. It is used as an alternative treatment in patients with hepatic encephalopathy or urea cycle disorders as it is believed help stimulate ammonia removal via a non-urea cycle based pathway. Despite its use, sodium benzoate is not an FDA approved medication and has no commercially available oral formulations, although an IV formulation is available in combination with sodium phenylacetate (Ammonul®). The objectives of this study were to prepare a sodium benzoate solution and determine the stability of an extemporaneously prepared oral solution over a 90-day …

Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen? Interdisciplinary Team Discharge Clinic Prevents Hospital Readmissions, Nabila Ahmed-Sarwar, Lauren Decaporale-Ryan, Shaula Woz, Katie Lashway, Karen Mahler, Tracy Lewis, Robbyn Upham

Pharmacy Faculty/Staff Publications

Establishment of Interdisciplinary healthcare teams have shown to improve health outcomes and lower readmission rates in medically complex patients during hospitalization. Exploration of interventions has happened largely during the pre-discharge phase rather than post-discharge. To extend the team based approach, we implemented a pilot study of an interdisciplinary discharge clinic to determine what impact a biopsychosocial approach to care can have on hospital readmission rates. This work was conducted at a large family medicine residency-based practice, and facilitated by a physician, behavioral health clinicians, a clinical pharmacist, nurse care managers, and medical assistant. Patients were seen in the discharge clinic …

Predicting Human Drug Toxicity And Safety Via Animal Tests: Can Any One Species Predict Drug Toxicity In Any Other, And Do Monkeys Help?, Jarrod Bailey, Michelle Thew, Michael Balls

Laboratory Experiments Collection

Animals are still widely used in drug development and safety tests, despite evidence for their lack of predictive value. In this regard, we recently showed, by producing Likelihood Ratios (LRs) for an extensive data set of over 3,000 drugs with both animal and human data, that the absence of toxicity in animals provides little or virtually no evidential weight that adverse drug reactions will also be absent in humans. While our analyses suggest that the presence of toxicity in one species may sometimes add evidential weight for risk of toxicity in another, the LRs are extremely inconsistent, varying substantially for …

Utilizing Monte Carlo Simulations To Optimize Institutional Empiric Antipseudomonal Therapy, Sarah J. Tennant, Donna R. Burgess, Jeffrey M. Rybak, Craig A. Martin, David S. Burgess

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common pathogen implicated in nosocomial infections with increasing resistance to a limited arsenal of antibiotics. Monte Carlo simulation provides antimicrobial stewardship teams with an additional tool to guide empiric therapy. We modeled empiric therapies with antipseudomonal β-lactam antibiotic regimens to determine which were most likely to achieve probability of target attainment (PTA) of ≥90%. Microbiological data for P. aeruginosa was reviewed for 2012. Antibiotics modeled for intermittent and prolonged infusion were aztreonam, cefepime, meropenem, and piperacillin/tazobactam. Using minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) from institution-specific isolates, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters from previously published studies, a 10,000-subject Monte …

Evaluating The Impact Of Pharmacist Health Education On The Perceptions Of The Pharmacist’S Role Among Women Living In A Homeless Shelter, Laura V. Tsu, Kelsey Buckley, Sarah Nguyen, Jennifer Kohn

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Objectives: To determine the impact of pharmacist-provided educational seminars on the participant’s perception of the pharmacist’s role in providing women’s health education. Secondary objectives include the participant’s level of perceived benefit from the information provided during each presentation, as well as determining characteristics of participants who are interested in attending seminars.

Methods: This is a prospective study conducted within a homeless women’s shelter in Phoenix, Arizona. Pharmacists and pharmacy students provided 10 monthly educational seminars on topics related to women’s health. Participants completed a pre- and post-seminar survey regarding their perceptions of the presentations and pharmacists.

Results: …

Cell Cycle-Dependent Phosphorylation Of Nucleophosmin And Its Potential Regulation By Peptidyl-Prolyl Cis/Trans Isomerase, Xuelian Zhao, Junfang Ji, Li-Rong Yu, Timothy Veenstra, Xin Wei Wang

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Nucleophosmin (NPM) is a ubiquitously expressed phosphoprotein involved in many cellular processes. Phosphorylation is considered the major regulatory mechanism of the NPM protein, associated with diverse cellular events. In this study, we characterized the phosphorylation status of several physiological phosphorylation sites of NPM, especially the newly confirmed

A Combination Approach To Treating Fungal Infections, Sanjib K. Shrestha, Marina Y. Fosso, Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Azoles are antifungal drugs used to treat fungal infections such as candidiasis in humans. Their extensive use has led to the emergence of drug resistance, complicating antifungal therapy for yeast infections in critically ill patients. Combination therapy has become popular in clinical practice as a potential strategy to fight resistant fungal isolates. Recently, amphiphilic tobramycin analogues, C₁₂ and C₁₄, were shown to display antifungal activities. Herein, the antifungal synergy of C₁₂ and C₁₄ with four azoles, fluconazole (FLC), itraconazole (ITC), posaconazole (POS), and voriconazole (VOR), was examined against seven Candida albicans strains. All tested strains …

Preparation And Evaluation Of Phospholipid-Based Complex Of Standardized Centella Extract (Sce) For The Enhanced Delivery Of Phytoconstituents, Suprit Saoji, Nishikant Raut, Pradip Dhore, Chandrashekhar D. Borkar, Michael Popielarczyk, Vivek S. Dave

Pharmacy Faculty/Staff Publications

In the present study, a phospholipid-based complex of standardized Centella extract (SCE) was developed with a goal of improving the bioavailability of its phytoconstituents. The SCE-phospholipid complex was prepared by solvent evaporation method and characterized for its physicochemical and functional properties. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photomicroscopy, and powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD) were used to confirm the formation of Centella naturosome (CN). The prepared complex was functionally evaluated by apparent solubility, in vitro drug release, ex vivo permeation, and in vivo efficacy studies. The prepared CN exhibited a significantly higher (12-fold) aqueous …

High Activity Mutants Of Butyrylcholinesterase For Cocaine Hydrolysis, Chang-Guo Zhan, Fang Zheng, Wenchao Yang

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Patents

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) polypeptide variants of the presently-disclosed subject matter have enhanced catalytic efficiency for (-)-cocaine, as compared to wild-type BChE. Pharmaceutical compositions of the presently-disclosed subject matter include a BChE polypeptide variant having an enhanced catalytic efficiency for (-)-cocaine. A method of the presently-disclosed subject matter for treating a cocaine-induced condition includes administering to an individual an effective amount of a BChE polypeptide variant, as disclosed herein, to lower blood cocaine concentration.

Pharmacology: The Pharmacodynamics Of Nutrients And Nutrient Interactions In Biological Functions, M. Hasan Mohajeri, Gunter P. Eckert, James R. Pauly, Christopher M. Butt

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Novel Approach To Identify Shared Fragments In Drugs And Natural Products, Ashkay Balasubramanya, Ishwor Thapa, Dhundy Raj Bastola, Dario Ghersi

Interdisciplinary Informatics Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Fragment-based approaches have now become an important component of the drug discovery process. At the same time, pharmaceutical chemists are more often turning to the natural world and its extremely large and diverse collection of natural compounds to discover new leads that can potentially be turned into drugs. In this study we introduce and discuss a computational pipeline to automatically extract statistically overrepresented chemical fragments in therapeutic classes, and search for similar fragments in a large database of natural products. By systematically identifying enriched fragments in therapeutic groups, we are able to extract and focus on few fragments that are …

Regulating Drug Promotion To Promote The Public Health: A Response To Bennett, Et Al., Patricia J. Zettler

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.