Questions tagged [pharmacology]
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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What's the difference between veterinary and human snake antivenom?
Recently, out of curiosity, I looked online if snake antivenom for humans were actually sold for individuals. I found out they aren't. Not only that, but bills can get really high on countries that ...
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Does one wing of fly contain harmful microbes and the other contain only antibodies? [closed]
There was this study but the conclusion and it's source's relability seemed a bit off. How come a house flies one wing contain all microbe and the other don't.
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Hi, could someone explain what use-dependence is? And does it differ from one drug type to another? For instance anaesthetics vs anti-epileptics?
I may have understood it incorrectly but I read that in case of local anaesthetics, the use dependence is such that more the number of open sodium channels, more the number of drug molecules entering, ...
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What retrospective analysis happens after a clinical trial fails?
After a failed pharmaceutical clinical trial, what retrospective analyses are typically performed to understand why the drug program failed the trial? For example, are further experiments done to ...
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In drug discovery, what is an undruggable target? [closed]
The term "undruggable" is often use in drug discovery. As far as I understand it, it means "for which no inhibitor has been found so far".
It's a fuzzy, non-satisfying, definition.
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Is there any bloodstream chemical composition software simulator?
Let's say I'd like to know how certain substance affects bloodstream levels of certain drug during a period of time. Is there any simulation software available publicly to run such kind of simulation?
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Mechanism of oral fluoride ion absorption
What is the mechanism by which F- ions are absorbed by the body when ingested? Is absorption due to conversion to hydrogen fluoride by the action of stomach acid and then subsequent diffusion across ...
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Why do different pain killers have different effects on people?
I've noticed some pain killers working great for me, while others have no effect.
Works for me
Aspirin
APC †
Naproxen
Doesn't work for me
Paracetamol
Diclofenac
Tramadol
I doubt there is ...
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drug-dna concentration
I want to understand how you calculate the final concentration of a Drug-DNA complex. I tried to mix equal concentration and volume of drug and DNA to form a complex and tried to see the absorbance ...
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How do you calculate the time until the steady-state of a drug?
I encountered a mathematically intriguing conundrum, in that it's related to medicine but is centered around mathematics.
Suppose drug A has a half-life in the body of 30 hours. The patient takes 40mg ...
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Why are there so many carbonic anhydrase structures in the Protein Data Bank?
I've been looking through PDB — the Protein Data Bank — and I noticed that the protein with the most structures is human carbonic anhydrase II (UniProt: P00918), with over a thousand X-ray structures.
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Does Povidone-Iodine that penetrates through the skin stays in the body (cells, liver etc)?
Here it says on povidone-iodine:
"Route of Elimination: Povidone-Iodine is intended for topical application and is not eliminated"
"Clearance: Povidone-Iodine is intended for topical ...
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Bioavailability -- what is the effect of absorption rate?
I learnt about Bioavailability and this is the definition given by many sources:
...the fraction (%) of an administered drug that reaches the systemic circulation.
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
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Does ellagic acid dissolved in DMSO react with Brain Heart Infusion media?
I dissolved 2mg of Ellagic acid in 500 microliter of DMSO. I used 100 microliters of this solution to test for antimicrobial susceptibility against E.faecalis by adding it to 100 microliters of BHI ...
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PEGylation safety and hybridomas
PEGylation is the covalent attachment of PEG (PolyEthylene Glycol) to molecules (e.g. proteins). It states in wikipedia ("PEGylation"):
The covalent attachment of PEG to a drug or ...
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Are drugs made bitter artificially to prevent being mistaken for candy?
All drugs I remember tasting (with the notable exception of Aspirin) have bitter taste. Is the taste due to the active substance, or is a bittering agent added to them, perhaps to prevent overdose?
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Can we develop a nucleos(t)ide analogue to cure rabies?
Nucleos(t)ide analogues have been successfully used to treat HIV, HBV and HCV. Since rabies virus is also a RNA virus that uses RdRp to replicate. If we develop an nucleos(t)ide against its RdRp, will ...
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Why is atropine a CNS stimulant, although it blocks the muscarinic receptors in the brain?
I know that atropine is a muscarinic antagonist, so why does atropine have excitatory actions on the brain while it is blocking muscarinic receptors?
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How does hypokalemia antagonize lidocaine's effect?
I was reading the lidocaine user's manual for dentistry use and according to it and I quote "Lidocaine in concomitant use with acetazolamide, thiazides and loop acting diuretics. The hypokalemia (...
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What are the psychedelic effects of (star) anise and how many people are affected?
Backstory:
My girlfriend reacts heavily to chocolate and drinks containing stellar anise, in a way that seems comparable to psychedelic drugs.
After consuming it, it takes approximately five minutes ...
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What is the physical dimension of international unit (IU)?
I was skimming through a study [mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine boosters induce neutralizing immunity against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, page 6, figure 3(A)] on vaccine and I came across the ...
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Why are drug dosages so high in some mice studies?
On reading through some research on the effects of certain drugs I often come across staggeringly high dosages such as in this paper:
Römer, B., Pfeiffer, N., Lewicka, S., Ben-Abdallah, N., Vogt, M. ...
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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 functions....
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What Produces the Postive Potenial in the lumen of the thick ascending loop of Henle?
In the Thick Ascending Loop of Henle, Paracellular diffusion of certain Solutes like magnesium and calcium takes place. Such diffusion is a result of the positive lumen potential.
Looking at the image ...
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How does Sodium Valproate cause neural plasticity
I have been reading a fascinating paper: Valproate reopens critical-period learning of absolute pitch
18 individuals were given Sodium Valproate (VPA) for a fortnight during which they trained on a ...
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how to perform ligand and DNA alignment in pymol
I need help in inserting ligand to specific base pair in DNA. I have a drug molecule and want to insert in between the base pairs I am interested in (it is dsDNA). Please note that it is a customed ...
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Difference between IC50 and Michaelis-Menten constant
I am new to biology, and getting to know the term IC50, I found that there is a connection between IC50 and Michaelis-Menten constant by the Cheng-Prusoff equation
$K_{i}=\frac{\mathrm{IC}_{50}}{1+\...
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Is it true that ethanol can have some positive effects?
I recently was reading this inforgrafics about excessive alcohol use. It is written:
No one should begin drinking or drink more frequently based on
potential health benefits
I am surprised. Is ...
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Why does the Scatchard plot have a negative gradient?
I am very confused as to why the scatchard plot has a negative gradient. If the x axis shows increasing B, specific binding to a receptor, and on the y axis the specific binding (B)/concentration of ...
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Calculation of drug efficacy- mathematical biology approach
I am participating in a mathematical biology project.
I would like to discuss the following problem:
Let A be a drug such that $x_{o}$ chemical units of it kills 12% of $y$ cells per 1 day, I would ...
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What specific interaction between methylphenidate and quetiapine causes toxicity concerns?
A number of reputable sources on drug interactions posit a potential interaction between methylphenidate and quetiapine, described on Medscape as follows:
quetiapine increases toxicity of ...
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What constitutes FDA's First in Class designation for New Molecular Entities?
What constitutes a First in Class designation for new molecular entities? I've seen this term on FDA documents, as well as in databases (Chembl for example), but I was curious if there are any set ...
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Is it advised to calculate QED parameters for salts?
QED (quantitative estimation of drug-likeness) is a score which helps you to predict if a small molecule is desirable as an orally absorbed drug, described in the Quantifying the chemical beauty of ...
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Can LSD in very small amounts increase mental ability?
Can one take a small amount of LSD(acid) and not trip but still benefit from the intended purpose? It was said the military experimented with it for extra sensory abilities. It has also been said it ...
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Meaning of "acute LSD"
I am currently reading this research paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/1395848, and I'm confused by this line: "Serotonin Receptor mRNA Levels Are Unchanged by Acute LSD".
What is the ...
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What mechanism causes the presence of photosensitizers in mitochondria to change membrane ionic currents?
In the original question, the article in question was talking about specifically about this compound, Benzoporphyrin:
Characterization of Perturbing Actions by Verteporfin, a Benzoporphyrin ...
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What Effect would Cannabinoids have on the Acute Porphyrias?
I should be clear in saying that this question is NOT intended for personal medical advice. Rather what I am looking for is journal articles and/or books that touch on this subject because I think it ...
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How does aspirin "thin" blood?
As we all know, aspirin doesn't actually thin the blood, as it has been explained to me, it makes it "slippery". Slippery blood doesn't stick to itself hence this helps prevent internal blood clots (...
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Medical Physiology
I've come across the topic of the influence of inhaled ammonia (caustic ammonia) on breathing rate and some cardiovascular changes. All of this stuff is thought to be mediated through the fifth ...
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What determines if a compound is primarily uptaken by the lymphatic extensions rather than the portal vein blood supply in villi of the intestine?
I am currently studying the intestinal absorption/transport systems, but confused about one part specifically. There are hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds (to varying degrees), and they get ...
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If blood vessels mostly aren't supplied by parasympathetic nerves, how effects through M3-ACh receptors are mediated?
Blood vessels throughout the body mostly aren't supplied by any parasympathetic fibres. But the effects of ACh through M3-ACh receptors would infact release NO (which acts on VSM and causes ...
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How easy is it for quantum dots to enter the intracellular portions of cells?
As quantum dots have better quantum yield than organic dyes, many are being developed as a substitute for them. Nonetheless, could these substitutes be small enough to enter inside cells as current ...
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Why do the mRNA vaccines for COVID need special lipids?
I've read that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine is delivered to the cell by encapsulating the fragile mRNA into a lipid nanoparticle. However, the lipid has to be PEGylated in order to avoid immunogenecity. ...
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Concentration of active ingredient
For some time now, I have been wondering why, when a tablet is taken, the concentration of active ingredient undergoes an exponential decrease after the maximum concentration value in the blood is ...
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Why does warfarin decrease biological activity of protein C?
Warfarin inhibits VKOR. Hence it disrupts vitamin K dependent $\gamma$-carboxylation of Fc- II, VII, IX, X.
But what exactly it does to Protein C and Protein S? How does it also affect anticoagulant ...
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How are drugs distributed in regards to bone marrow?
I know that as volumes of distribution increase they correspond to the blood, then the vascular rich group (heart, kidneys, liver, brain if BBB permeable), then muscle then adipose. But things like ...
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Can you find the mass of drug X remaining in the body after an oral dose with only bioavailability and half-life?
I'm reviewing this question and think you can't find the answer with the information given.
A patient receives 1g of drug X as a single oral dose. Drug X has a
half-life of 12 hours and an oral ...
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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 ...
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Salbutamol's Pathways of Interaction and Classification
Salbutamol is a very commonly used direct-acting β2-agonist.
This suggests me that it is sympatholytic.
However, it has sympathomimetic pathways, see PubChem for Sympathomimetic.
I am trying to ...
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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 ...
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