Pharmacology is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function
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Why Does Salt Water Help Sore Throats?
I am having some trouble understanding how salt water, a simple solution, could so effectively remove the pains of a sore throat.
I do believe that the answer is closely related to hypo/hyper-tonic ...
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2answers
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If a human takes antibiotics are all bacteria in the body killed?
From my basic understanding, antibiotics kill living things, bacteria for example.
Do the antibiotics consumed by a human-being distinguish between what they kill? Or do they just kill every bacteria ...
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234 views
Why would diffusion be faster across a non-specialised tissue?
The standard protocol for a person experiencing chest pains is to chew a 300mg aspirin tablet, the argument being that chewing rather than swallowing the tablet results in the aspirin entering the ...
16
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1answer
1k views
How does laughing gas (N2O) work?
Laughing gas (N2O), well, makes people laugh.
How does just a gas make us do that, there has to be some hormones at work...
So, I wanted to know how this works? What is the mechanism?
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345 views
Intrinsically disordered proteins as potential drug targets
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are a class of proteins that do not adopt a stable secondary or tertiary structure under physiological conditions in vitro, but still have biological ...
12
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1answer
1k views
Why does Penicillin only affect bacterial cell walls
I was quite fascinated by the feature Should Science Pull the Trigger on Antiviral Drugs—That Can Blast the Common Cold? in this month's Wired magazine.
They explain that Penicillin is effective at ...
11
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1answer
279 views
Looking for a cancer drug target database to guide sequencing of patient tumor DNA
I have a question I would like to pose to the community. I have recently received access to a bench-top ion torrent DNA sequencer. Our idea is to use this machine to sequence the DNA from patient’s ...
10
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1answer
255 views
Why doesn't a substance like loperamide promote analgesia?
Loperamide is frequently used to slow gastrointestinal motility. It is available over the counter (in the US, I don't know about elsewhere) without any regulations whatsoever, yet it's derived from ...
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Does current evidence support the use of resveratrol as an anti-ageing drug?
A while back there was a lot of noise about resveratrol, a naturally occurring phenol which was touted as a potential anti-aging drug due to its role in regulating the SIRT 1 gene. A number of studies ...
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133 views
How do you design a drug to be delivered to the CNS?
I have just started reading up on structure-based methods for drug design (this is completely not my field so apologies for stupid questions that will be coming along!)
Clearly, some drugs are ...
9
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3answers
726 views
Is it better to take a half dose of paracetamol and a half dose of ibuprofen together rather than a full dose of either?
Recently, I heard on this health-related radio programme that it was better to take a half dose of paracetamol and a half dose of ibuprofen together, rather than the full dose of either one, for acute ...
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2answers
23 views
Resources for finding all drugs of a certain class
I may be embarking on a project involving a fairly extensive healthcare records data set, looking for the use of a particular type of drug (for example, "Proton Pump Inhibitors"). But these drugs are ...
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309 views
Why is methylcellulose used in pharmaceuticals?
Why is methyl cellulose used as a pharmaceutical excipient? Is it due to certain chemical properties? What are the reasons for relying on the chemical properties of methyl cellulose?
8
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1answer
115 views
What are the effects of caffeine on the mammalian circulatory system?
A friend of mine told me an anecdote about his mother, who drank too much caffeine, to the point she became hypotensive and would pass out. Because caffeine acts as a stimulant, I'm assuming the ...
7
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2answers
252 views
How does Iota-Carrageenan achieve an antiviral effect?
"Cold Defence" nasal sprays are recommended to be taken either preventatively or in the early stages of a cold. The active ingredient in these sprays is Carrageenan. After some research, the active ...
7
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2answers
162 views
Do hormone drugs affect whether a person feels sexual attraction to males or females?
I know that ingesting testosterone and other hormonal drugs may stimulate libido and increase sexual desire.
But I wonder, if a man ingests female hormones such as estrogen, will he experience sexual ...
7
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1answer
109 views
Making penicillin using animals - specifically, a goat
In the scifi novel Lucifer's Hammer, one of the characters (a biologist, if I remember correctly) finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world and tries to make penicillin to save his own life. To do ...
7
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1answer
157 views
Do drugs always degrade after they have passed their expiration date?
I have been wondering for some time whether several drugs really have an expiration date.
Let's narrow the scope and think about only "common" drugs, e.g NSAIDs, antibiotics etc.
For example, would ...
6
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1answer
357 views
Why do vaccines cause your arm to hurt?
When you get a shot for a vaccine (for example, the annual flu vaccine), the nurse frequently indicates that your arm will ache for a day or two, maybe more. This ache is typically not just a pain ...
6
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1answer
351 views
What hydrolyses aspirin within the digestive tract and blood stream?
I have had some further thoughts after my previous question regarding the buccal delivery of medication. The active compound in aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid or systematically 2-Acetoxybenzoic acid) ...
5
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1answer
136 views
Influence of alcohol on brain cells
As I am not related to biology, I would appreciate if you can keep your answers as simple as possible.
My question is about the influence of alcohol on the brain. As far as I know, drinking alcohol ...
5
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1answer
80 views
In what ways, if any, does administration of rapamycin *not* mimic calorie restriction?
Numerous sources like this say that rapamycin increases lifespan. And mTOR antagonism appears to be a large part of this (mTOR antagonism also appears to be a large part of calorie restriction's ...
5
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0answers
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Pharmacologically, can tricyclic antidepressants have a side-effect profile similar to neuroleptics?
Torticollis (wryneck, cervical dystonia) is a neurologic movement disorder causing involuntary muscle spasms in the neck. Often, neuroleptics can cause such a side effect. I'm wondering if this ...
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1answer
206 views
Is it possible for a substance to be absorbed by the hair or the scalp?
I've heard that the aplication of Monovin A in the hair would allow it to grow faster. Monovin A seems to be only A vitamin, according to the first website.
Could the application of A vitamin in the ...
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1answer
211 views
Can a person become addicted to tea?
Can one become addicted to tea like coffee addicts or smokers? I heard there are some common substances in tea and coffee, do they cause addiction?
4
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1answer
98 views
What is the biological mechanism underlying caffeine intolerance? (CYP1A2 or other?)
As far as I can tell, caffeine metabolism occurs primarily via the CYP1A2 enzyme. I am curious as to whether mutations in the CYP1A2 gene are associated with caffeine intolerance. Some site that is ...
4
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1answer
112 views
From inflammation to sickness and depression: when the immune system subjugates the brain
Recently, some research, for example this article has proposed that inflammation can cause innate immune cells to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines that act on the brain to cause sickness behaviour.
...
4
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1answer
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Conversion rate of topical Retinol to Retinoic Acid (Tretinoin)?
I'm wondering if someone out there has more information than me. Retinoids have well known metabolic pathways in vivo, and it's usually something like: ...
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Do mammals develop tolerance to anticholinergics?
I know that first generation H1 antagonists, commonly known as antihistamines have anticholinergic effects. Their sedative side effects go away due to tolerance, but as for their anticholinergic side ...
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How do the pharmacodynamics of the NSAIDs differ and are there “resistant” COX phenotypes?
I know that the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen) affect the enzymes cyclooxygenase (types I and II).
Is there any difference in the degree to which these ...
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0answers
36 views
Does a mydriatic drug neutralize the action of a miotic?
If a person were administered a mydriatic, would the subsequent application of a miotic neutralize the action of the former? If the sequence were reversed would a mydriatic neutralize the effect of a ...
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3answers
250 views
Looking for Kelly Chibale's paper on Malaria cure
From National Geographic, there has been a lot of hype on Kelly Chibale's work from University of Cape Town on the aminopyridine MMV390048. Unfortunately, this was from an announcement from an ...
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2answers
270 views
Why is Paracetamol so great?
Every time I get ill (cold, flu etc) I take a couple of these wonderful tablets for up to 4 times a day and I, eventually, get better. What exactly is paracetamol? Why is it so effective and is it ...
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1answer
90 views
How does paracetamol interfere with immune system?
Paracetamol is used to reduce body temperature when it is to high. The high body temperature (fever) is known to be an indication that immune system fights against an infection.
In this context I ...
3
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1answer
49 views
Do serotonergic (5-HT2A-mediated) psychedelics elicit stimulant effects?
I know that 5-HT2A partial agonism is the key mechanism of action of serotonergic psychedelics but I also know that some research (e.g. the selective (no activity on any other known receptor sites) ...
3
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1answer
32 views
How does Serotonergic (5-HT2A mediated) Psychedelia work?
How does serotonergic (5-HT2A specific) psychedelia work? I've read that there are some theories that it might involve the induction of a glutamate release in certain regions of the brain involved in ...
3
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2answers
157 views
Why is Botulinum toxin the most potent poison known?
Botulinum toxin (trade name Botox) inhibits acetylcholine release in neurons and causes botulism, an acute paralytic disease which leads to nerve degeneration and takes a long time to recover. I've ...
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How does the eugeroic modafinil work?
How does the drug, modafinil (Provigil), exert its eugeroic (wakefulness-promoting) effects? I've read that it works by increasing dopamine and histamine concentrations in the CNS and by serving as a ...
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Why do the brains of cocaine-users shrink faster than the brains of non-cocaine users?
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/04/cocaine-may-age-the-brain.html?rss=1
Cocaine-dependent individuals showed a significantly greater-than-normal age-related decline in gray matter in ...
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0answers
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If D1 receptors stimulate adenylate cyclase (through GPCRs) and D2 receptors inhibit it, then why do mutations in both have similar effects?
D1 and D2 both refer to specific types of dopamine receptors.
I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the D1 receptors are in regions different from D2 receptors.
I know that adenylate ...
2
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1answer
76 views
Circulation through the liver in light of drug metabolism
I have a lingering question which stems from an answer that I gave to What hydrolyses aspirin within the digestive tract and blood stream?
When a drug or any other substance is absorbed into the ...
2
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2answers
42 views
What's a good and reliable database on the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data of drugs both approved and unapproved?
What's a good and reliable database for the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data of drugs both approved (in the US and elsewhere) and unapproved?
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1answer
103 views
What are the effects of combining rapamycin with dietary restriction?
Are the effects additive or subadditive? In many ways, rapamycin acts like a CR mimetic, but even CR can only go so far.
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0answers
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How do you average Ki values?
It's embarrassing for me to ask this but well such is life. NIMH Psychoactive Drug Screening Program (PDSP) Ki Database is mentioned as the source of the average binding affinity (Ki) values given in ...
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0answers
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How long does it take for the Opioids listed in the Description to induce Analgesia when Administered via IV?
How long does it take for the Opioids listed in the Description to induce Analgesia when Administered via IV? Now I don't mean how long it takes for euphoria to come on but analgesia.
The opioids I ...
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0answers
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What's the Efficacy of Ampakines in the Treatment for ADHD?
What's the Efficacy of Ampakines in the Treatment for ADHD? Ampakines are a class of drugs that serve as potentiators of the AMPA glutamate receptor. By so doing they serve as nootropic, anxiolytics ...
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1answer
91 views
How do Benzodiazepines induce Rewarding (Euphoric) effects?
Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs that serve as positive allosteric modulators of the GABAA receptor by binding to their own "site" on the aforementioned receptor. By doing this they produce ...
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25 views
Do SSRIs downregulate or upregulate the 5-HT3 receptor?
What effect do SSRIs have on the expression of the ligand-gated ion channel, the 5-HT3 receptor?
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0answers
112 views
Are inflammation and anxiety connected?
I've been reading a curious paper about the use of cannabis, and one of the passages piqued my interest:
There’s also been a lot of work done on another constituent of
marijuana, cannabinoid, ...
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0answers
41 views
Are there any situations in which phenylephrine is preferred to pseudoephedrine?
In the mid 2000s in the US, due to issues of drug enforcement, pseudoephedrine containing medications were brought behind the pharmacy counter and in most cases require ID, and phenylephrine was ...
