Could you tell me what does a cardiology pharmacist do, please? Is there any Cardiology Pharmacy in Malaysia that I can visit? My doctor explained that because I was born to a parent with coronary heart disease, therefore I have 50% chance to develop the condition one day when I get older.

Hi Mercy, thanks for your explanation.

Theoretically, is there any drug or (ACE inhibitor) that one can take to repair the mitral valve (due to the complication of rheumatic fever) without undergo an open heart surgery?

So, it's like a living time bomb.

I remember you mentioned that your meaningful research is on the production of drugs to activate adenosine receptors in order to reduce cell death during a heart attack. Were you referring the cell death to heart cells or brain cells?

Many people know that heart failure is a major health problem of worldwide proportions and congestive heart failure (CHF) most commonly appears in patients with previous myocardial infarction (MI) who have developed ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM).

But most people do not know that a crucial step in the progression of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and CHF is cardiac remodeling. By definition, remodeling involves alterations in both the cardiac myocytes and the cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM), the latter includes the activation of proteolytic enzymes leading to the degradation and re-organization of collagens. Indeed, progressive cardiac remodeling results in the onset of LV dilatation with relatively proportional increases in LV mass, a process that is named ventricular hypertrophy.

At least some of the cytoplasmic signaling pathways thought to be responsible for pathological hypertrophy are mediated through increased levels of growth factors signaling through G-protein coupled cell-surface receptors (GPCR). In addition, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), through its guanylyl cyclase-A (GC-A) receptor, locally moderates cardiomyocyte growth. To characterize the anti-hypertrophic effects of ANP, the possible contribution of Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE-1) to cardiac remodeling was recently examined in a model of GC-A-deficient (GC-A−/−) mice.

I want to see you succeed in your novel drug design as an effective non-invasive strategy to treat the above factors of Cardiac Maladaptive Remodeling, because I want to be a good man with the good heart.

Hi Farmer_C & zstan,

At the pharmacy schools, do you manually count individual pills on a tray, or rely on hands-free automated pill counter?

If counting manually, are there any rules of thumb for a pharmacist to dispense prescription of drugs safer, more accurate and more efficient?

Thanks Farmer_C and zstan for both of your explanations.

In terms of medical information on prescription drugs, vitamins and over-the-counter medicines, do pharmacists share the same knowledge as the general physicians?

Say I developed some health-related symptoms and I went over the counter at a pharmacy. Do the pharmacists know all types of general medications for the gastrointestinal tract, the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system, pain and consciousness, musculo-skeletal disorders, the eye, the ear, nose and oropharynx, the respiratory system, endocrine problems, the reproductive system or urinary system, contraception, obstetrics and gynecology, the skin, infections and infestations, the immune system, allergic disorders, and nutrition?

This post has been edited by Critical_Fallacy: Jun 25 2013, 07:55 PM

Thank you for your wonderful explanations. Pharmacists are indeed respectable health professionals.

Could you tell how does the job description of a Pharmacy Assistant (shown below) differ from the Clinical Pharmacist’s one? If a Pharmacy Assistant works smart and long enough, will his or her knowledge be competitive as of the Clinical Pharmacist on the drugs inside out (doses, side effects, indications, contraindications, food/drug interactions)?



This post has been edited by Critical_Fallacy: Jun 28 2013, 04:43 PM

Hi Farmer_C & zstan,

Thanks for helpful answers and explanations. Just out of curiosity, have you ever produced Heroin No.4 or any other restricted drugs in your university lab? Is Heroin-assisted treatment allowed in Malaysia?



Amaran: Penyalahgunaan Dadah akan mendatangkan kesan-kesan buruk dan bahaya ke atas kesihatan dan fungsi sosial seseorang.

This post has been edited by Critical_Fallacy: Jul 18 2013, 03:04 AM

Thanks for telling me something about restricted drugs in pharmaceutical settings. I came across of Heroin-assisted Treatment (HAT) from these links when I was searching about Heroin.

(1) Heroin-assisted Treatment (HAT) a Decade Later: A Brief Update on Science and Politics
(2) Heroin-assisted treatment safe and effective: study
(3) New heroin-assisted treatment

I understand that paracetamol taken orally for a toddler (less than 1 year-old) has variable absorption rates and variable serum concentrations, which may be unpredictable. Therefore, how do I use the concept of bioavailability to calculate dosages for oral route of drug administration? Do the age and weight of the person play important roles?

This post has been edited by Critical_Fallacy: Jul 19 2013, 04:10 PM

Thanks for your interesting explanation. Drug delivery has been a fascinating interdisciplinary field concerned with the proper administration of bioactive compounds to achieve a desired clinical response in humans. And drug delivery technologies are beneficial to billions of people worldwide.

As intriguing as it may sound, heart failure may be defined as inadequate cardiac function due to either coronary artery disease or a primary myocardial disorder that leads to insufficient cardiac output and a terminally debilitated state of the affected patient.

Improving myocardial function to ameliorate heart failure requires both drug discovery and the development of a feasible delivery system to administer the cardiac drugs. And I know currently, Farmer_C’s honorable research is looking at the development of novel drug therapies with minimal side effects to reduce cell death during a heart attack.

I also read articles saying that implanting a sustained release preparation to the myocardium poses a major challenge. First, the rapid beating of the heart makes secure implantation easier said than done. Moreover, because different sectors of the heart have characteristic susceptibilities, sectors such as conducting tissue or blood vessels could be locally scarred by site-specific implants, making myocardial sustained-release system implantation potentially risky. In addition, the cardiac muscle is highly vascularized and thus released agents are rapidly eliminated, compromising attainment of sufficient therapeutic levels of many agents of interest.

At present, although the Steroid Eluting Cardiac Pacing Lead has been highly successful used as the only Myocardial Controlled Release System, this design concept unfortunately does not address Cardiac Arrhythmias, one of the most common myocardial diseases, that can lead to loss of consciousness, heart failure, and sudden death.

Therefore, is there any promising therapy for arrhythmia associated heart failure at present clinical research?

As a natural process, ventricular remodeling occurs after a myocardial infarction or heart attack. Because the initial remodeling after a myocardial infarction is considered beneficial to repair the necrotic area and myocardial scarring that may help the heart to improve left ventricular function and to maintain cardiac output to some extent in the short term, can a biodegradable compression mesh cage be implanted to the heart to prevent the stretching of the heart muscles beyond the irreversible deformation yield point?

Have you learned the common endings to official Drug Names?

-zepam ... [Diazepam]
-zolam ... [Alprazolam]
-sone ... [Prednisone]
-lone ... [Prednisolone]
-profen ... [Ibuprofen]
-olac ... [Ketorolac]
-olol ... [Propranolol]
-tidine ... [Cimetidine]
-prazole ... [Omeprazole]
-dipine ... [Nifedipine]
-thromycin ... [Erythromycin]

In linguistic study, the "pseudo-" carries non-genuine or negative connotation. MetaDoctor probably sounds better.

Hi Tan,

Where do I get Quercetin supplementation for healthy lung?

Thanks Jerky!

So the Quercetin can act as an adenosine-receptor antagonist?

Hi SNOW,

Do you have any idea at what temperature do these bullet-shaped object MELT?

Do you memorize the Generic, Chemical, and Proprietary Names?

For example,

ibuprofen = (±)-2-(p-isobutylphenyl)propionic acid = Motrin

acetaminophen = N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)acetamide = Tylenol

fluoxetine HCl = (±)-N-Methyl-3-phenyl-[(α,α,α-trifluoro-p-tolyl)oxy]propylamine = Prozac

Most of us take paracetamol without giving much thought, to reduce fever, and to relieve some kinds of headache. However, I know all drugs produce toxic effects that can lead to death. What is the Therapeutic Index of paracetamol?

Hi zstan and Rustaman69,

Could you name a few drug–food interactions that produce adverse or beneficial effects? My told me that drinking grapefruit juice inhibits the metabolism of the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin, which increasing the drug’s effects. Is that true?

The reason I asked these because I want to avoid undesired drug–food interactions, as well as to educate the young children.

This post has been edited by Critical_Fallacy: Feb 15 2014, 04:57 PM

Thanks! I also heard if men take PDE5 inhibitors, they must avoid concurrent administration of grapefruit juice. Is that true?