Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2014 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
Although physical training remains the primary way of changing and developing appearance, there is a range of substances being used by some to enhance the effects of training. Performance Enhancing Drugs refer to substances that are generally used to enhance muscle growth or to reduce body fat. The expected benefits of using these types of substances range from increasing the size and definition of muscles, reducing water retention and body fat, to increasing physical strength and endurance. Performance enhancement in Olympic and Professional has now become a medical, ethical and legal problem for modern athletes and athletic organizations.The review will provide history of performance enhancement drugs and focus on the most widely used anabolic androgenic steroids, growth hormone, protein hormones, diuretics, beta-2 agonists and other hormones such as insulin and thyroxin. Performance enhancement in Olympic and Professional has now become a medical, ethical and legal problem for modern athletes and athletic organizations....
Purpose.The case of a kidney transplant recipient who experienced a probable drug interaction between sirolimus and ranolazine\r\nis reported. Summary. The narrow therapeutic window of immunosuppressive therapy in transplant recipients requires close\r\nmonitoring for potential drug-drug interactions. The patient, a 57-year-old Caucasian male kidney transplant recipient, was\r\nstable for years on sirolimus as his primary immunosuppressive agent and had a history of chronic angina, for which he was\r\nprescribed ranolazine. Upon addition and dose escalation of ranolazine, whole blood sirolimus levels more than tripled, rising\r\nto immeasurably high concentrations. After holding sirolimus on multiple occasions and reducing dosage more than 50%, blood\r\nlevels returned to therapeutic range, while continuing ranolazine. Conclusion. Since ranolazine is a documented P-GP and CYP3A\r\ninhibitor, and sirolimus a known substrate for both pathways, it is proposed that ranolazine inhibition of P-GP and CYP3A4\r\ncontributed to the significant elevation in sirolimus exposure. No alternative causes for the rise in sirolimus exposure were found,\r\nand assessment with the Drug Interaction Probability Scale finds this interaction to be probable. Clinicians should be aware of the\r\npotential for this interaction to cause elevated sirolimus exposure and subsequent increase in clinical effect or toxicity, in this case\r\noverimmunosuppression....
This study explored how a sample of Australian pharmacists would convey\r\ninformation about the side effects of a medicine, if they were to counsel a patient. A qualitative\r\nmethod was selected and written responses to a case-based scenario were analysed using\r\ninductive thematic analysis. The grounded theory approach elicited a fluid and dynamic\r\nmodel for side effect counselling. The study identified strategies for counselling, such as\r\nencouraging adherence through emphasising the benefits of the medication, referral to the\r\nprescriber, and providing empathy and reassurance to ease anxiety and address concerns.\r\nPharmacists acknowledged the potential for risk, although only a minority used numerical\r\ndescriptors. The final themes or outcomes were that pharmacists aim to allay fears,\r\nminimise harm and promote medication use when counselling about side effects.\r\nProfessional empathy, the acknowledgment of patient concerns, and the importance of\r\nproviding tailored information to promote medication adherence, emerged as features of\r\nthe quality use of medicines. This study contributes to existing literature by identifying the\r\nrole of allaying patients� fears when conveying side effect information. It also describes a\r\nprocess to convey tailored information. Implications for practice include the importance of\r\neffective use of communication strategies to encourage adherence, as the appropriate use of\r\nmedication can lead to positive health outcomes....
To review pharmacist-led screening programmes for estimation of cardiovascular\r\ndisease (CVD) risk using validated screening tools, studies were identified using a search\r\nof the following electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Knowledge and the\r\nCochrane library databases. Each database was searched from inception to December 2011.\r\nThe search terms used were: ââ?¬Å?cardiovascular diseaseââ?¬Â, ââ?¬Å?screeningââ?¬Â, ââ?¬Å?risk estimationââ?¬Â,\r\nââ?¬Å?pharmacistââ?¬Â and ââ?¬Å?pharmacyââ?¬Â. Titles, abstracts and full manuscripts were screened to\r\ndetermine eligibility. Inclusion criteria were: (i) Pharmacist-led CVD screening; and (ii) Use\r\nof validated screening tool or tools for CVD. From each included study information was\r\ncollected on the following: Study author; year of publication; setting; inclusion and exclusion\r\ncriteria; tools used and outcomes measured. Articles were grouped and independently\r\nverified to ensure they met with the inclusion criteria. Over 7,000 citations were found.\r\nTwenty full-length articles were retrieved for analysis, of which twelve were excluded, as\r\nthey did not meet the inclusion criteria. The eight remaining articles were included in this\r\nliterature review. Whilst pharmacists undertake screening in their own practice, this\r\napproach will only go so far. To have a population-health impact, pharmacists should be\r\ninvolved in proactive screening in a variety of settings....
With the changes in the Bologna process and the European directive on sectoral\r\nprofessions, the education and training of the pharmacists in the European Higher Education\r\nArea is moving towards a quality system based on competences. In this paper we analyze\r\nthe existing quality assurance and accreditation systems in 10 countries and examine how\r\nfar these systems have evolved from a resources and curriculum basis towards a\r\ncompetences basis. This is the first step towards the goal of the PHAR-QA project: establishment\r\nof a European quality assurance system based on competences. Existing systems of quality\r\nassurance for pharmacy education and teaching are based mainly on resources and\r\nmanagement not competences. Furthermore, they are national, obligatory, and do not\r\nrecognize all the current activities of the pharmacists. The PHAR-QA system that will be\r\ndeveloped by the consortium of the same name will be based on competences; it will be\r\nEuropean, consultative, and will encompass pharmacy practice in a wide sense....
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