Yakugaku zasshi : Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
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Under new courses of study, medicine-related content has been incorporated into health and physical education at junior high schools, and classes on the "Correct use of medicine" began as part of this content in 2012. Based on the "School Health and Safety Law" implemented in April 2009, health guidance provided by school physicians, pharmacists, and dentists has also been incorporated. This has raised expectations that educational programs concerning the "Correct use of medicine" could be effectively implemented through cooperation between school pharmacists and health and physical education teachers. ⋯ It consisted of an introduction (7 min), a development portion (35 min), and a conclusion (8 min). After the class, a question and answer session was held with observers (n=11) and a questionnaire survey, which resulted in high evaluations, was conducted on the students. Comments including concern over the large volume of educational content and the need to raise awareness were heard, but the results of the questionnaire survey showed that many students found the class content useful and interesting.
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The widespread emergence of multidrug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is a high threat for human health. In the course of screening for active compounds against the above drug-resistant bacteria from microbial metabolites, we discovered three kinds of novel compounds designated tripropeptins, pargamicin, and amycolamicin. Tripropeptin C (TPPC), major component of tripropeptins, is the most promising compound because it is efficacious against MRSA and VRE both in vitro and in a mouse septicemia model, and shows no cross-resistance to available drugs including vancomycin. ⋯ Direct interaction between TPPC and undecaprenyl pyrophosphate (C(55)-PP) was observed by mass spectrometry and thin layer chromatography, and TPPC inhibits C(55)-PP phosphatase, which plays a crucial role in peptidoglycan synthesis at an IC(50) of 0.03-0.1 µM in vitro. From the analysis of accumulation of lipid carrier-related compounds, TPPC caused accumulation of C(55)-PP in situ, leading to the accumulation of a glycine-added lipid intermediate, suggesting a distinct mode of action from that of clinically important drugs such as vancomycin, daptomycin, and bacitracin. TPPC might represent a promising novel class of antibiotic against MRSA and VRE infections.
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Pharmacists are providing pharmaceutical care in general wards, but it is still not common in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, we have worked in ICU, and recommended the rational dosage regimen of the antibiotics to the physicians during the treatment period. Especially, the patients who were infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in ICU should be provided appropriate antibiotic therapy, otherwise they have a poor prognosis. ⋯ However, the achievement rates are 75.0% in intervention group and 66.7% in control group, if the goal of trough level of VCM is set from 5 to 15 µg/ml. Moreover, there are 75.0% in intervention group and 20.8% in control group, if the goal of trough level of VCM is set from 10 to 20 µg/ml, which is significantly different between the two groups. Therefore, it was suggested that the pharmacists in the ICU contributed to optimize the anti MRSA therapy and reduce the medical cost.
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Histamine has been reported to play an important role in pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. However, H1-blockers are not recommended as the first drug for asthma therapy in the guidelines. Histamine may play various roles in allergic airway inflammation through the H1 receptor (H1R), H2R, and H4R in immune cells including T lymphocytes and dendritic cells. ⋯ Comorbidity of asthma and allergic rhinitis is very high (70-80%) and they share similar allergic inflammation. H1-blockers are recommended as first-line drugs to treat allergic rhinitis in the guidelines. Therefore H1-blockers are strongly recommended for patients with both asthma and allergic rhinitis.
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Herpes zoster characterized by clustered vesicles and severe pain is caused by reactivation of varicella-zoster virus in the sensory ganglion in humans. In some herpes zoster patients, pain persists long after healing of the skin lesions, which is postherpetic neuralgia. Patients with postherpetic neuralgia report various types of pain. ⋯ The mechanisms that underlie the induction and maintenance of herpetic pain and postherpetic neuralgia remain unclear. Therefore we attempted to establish animal models of herpetic pain and postherpetic neuralgia. This review summarizes our findings regarding the development of mouse models of herpetic pain and postherpetic neuralgia, pharmacological characterization of mouse models, mechanisms of allodynia and risk factors for postherpetic neuralgia.