Comparing Blood Lead Level among Oral/inhaled Opium Addicts with a Non-addict Control Group in the Southeast of Iran

Background: Opium is widely used among addicts in the Middle East countries such as Iran. Recent reports suggest that opium sellers cheat their customers by adding lead to the opium. Contaminated opium can threaten the health of consumers. This study was designed to evaluate the lead concentration in blood sample of oral and inhaled opium user’s referring to Amir Al-Momenin Hospital in Zabol, Iran, during spring 2015 in comparison with those of control group.Methods: Blood lead level (BLL) of 188 subjects with a mean age of 52.06 years in three categories - including oral opium addicted (55 patients), inhaled opium addicted (55 patients), and healthy control group (n = 78) - was assessed. The BLL of all the subjects was assessed using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer.Findings: Almost all participants consumed “Tariak” (99.09%). Mean ± standard deviation (SD) duration of opium addiction was 13.21 ± 10.26 years. The average blood lead concentration among oral users, inhaled users, and control group were 34.31 ± 21.54, 41.13 ± 26.40, and 9.86 ± 4.40 µg/dl, respectively (P = 0.001).Conclusion: Our study showed significant differences of BLLs between opium users and control group. We also did not find any association between blood lead concentration and method of opium consumption

Behavioural and molecular study of the effects of rosuvastatin on acquisition and retention of spatial memory impaired by H-89 in rats

There is controversy on the effect of statins on cognitive functions such as spatial memory. In the present study, effect of ten- day oral gavage of rosuvastatin (Ros, 20 mg/kg) on spatial learning and spatial memory retention impaired by H-89, was investigated in male rats. This study was comprised of two sets of experiments each including the following 3 groups (n = 8): Control group treated with DMSO; H-89 group received bilateral intra-hippocampal H-89 (10 μM/side, in DMSO) and Ros- H-89 group orally treated with Ros (20 mg/kg) and H-89 (similar to the H-89 group). For spatial learning (acquisition phase) assessment, from day 7 of Ros gavage, rats were trained in the Morris water maze (MWM) for four days (one block of 4 stages each day) and received daily H-89, 30 min after Ros gavage. On day 11, the probe test was performed. Also, to assess spatial memory retention, from day 7 to 10 of Ros gavage, rats were trained in MWM but received H-89 on day 10 only. On day 12, the probe test was performed. Besides, CREB and p-CREB protein expression was assessed in hippocampal samples and oxidative stress status was assessed in serum samples. We observed that H-89 led to a clear impairment of the spatial learning and spatial memory recall, increased levels of lipid peroxidation and downregulated CREB and p-CREB proteins, compared to the control group. However, Ros prevented H-89-induced deleterious consequences which might be probably in part due to its ameliorative effects on lipid peroxidation index and CREB and p-CREB expression

Prediction of Pharmacokinetic Parameters Using a Genetic Algorithm Combined with an Artificial Neural Network for a Series of Alkaloid Drugs

An important goal for drug development within the pharmaceutical industry is the application of simple methods to determine human pharmacokinetic parameters. Effective computing tools are able to increase scientists’ ability to make precise selections of chemical compounds in accordance with desired pharmacokinetic and safety profiles. This work presents a method for making predictions of the clearance, plasma protein binding, and volume of distribution for alkaloid drugs. The tools used in this method were genetic algorithms (GAs) combined with artificial neural networks (ANNs) and these were applied to select the most relevant molecular descriptors and to develop quantitative structure-pharmacokinetic relationship (QSPkR) models. Results showed that three-dimensional structural descriptors had more influence on QSPkR models. The models developed in this study were able to predict systemic clearance, volume of distribution, and plasma protein binding with normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) values of 0.151, 0.263, and 0.423, respectively. These results demonstrate an acceptable level of efficiency of the developed models for the prediction of pharmacokinetic parameters

Antinociceptive and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Teucrium persicum Boiss. Extract in Mice

Background. Therapeutic properties of Teucrium species as antioxidant, antibacterial, analgesic, anticancer, diuretic, and tonic compounds have been proved earlier. Materials and Methods. In this study, the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of the aqueous extract of Teucrium persicum on chronic pain, sciatic nerve ligation as a model of neuropathic pain, and inflammatory models were investigated by formalin, hot-plate, and cotton pellet-induced granuloma models in mice, respectively. T. persicum aqueous extracts (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) were orally gavaged for one week. On 8th day, the time spent and the number of lickings were recorded in formalin test. Morphine and Diclofenac were used intraperitoneally as positive controls. In sciatic nerve ligated animals, as a model of neuropathic pain, doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) of T. persicum extract (TPE) were orally gavaged for 14 consecutive days. The analgesic effect of this extract was examined 14 days after sciatic nerve ligation using the hot-plate test. Controls received saline and Imipramine (40 mg/kg, i.p.) was used a positive control for neuropathic pain model. Results. In the formalin test, a week oral gavage of all TPE doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) caused a significant decrease on the licking response compared to the control negative animals. In the hot-plate test, doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg showed significant analgesic effects in sciatic nerve ligated animals. Oral gavaged of TPE revealed significant analgesic effect on chronic pain in both formalin test and sciatic nerve ligated animals. The TPEs did not have any significant anti-inflammatory effects in cotton pellet-induced granuloma formation in mice. Conclusions. These results suggest that the aqueous extract from T. persicum Boiss. produced antinociceptive effects. Its exact mechanism of action still remains indistinct

Impact of Pharmacy Training Software, on pharmacy students’ knowledge in Zabol University of Medical Sciences and Their Opinion about it

Introduction: Community pharmacy training course is one of the most important parts of pharmacy training program. As we faced so many problems presenting this course in Zabol pharmacy school, community pharmacy teaching software was designed to decrease the existing problems. Here we evaluated the input of our designed software on knowledge of pharmacy students of Zabol University of Medical Sciences and their opinion about it. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study in two consecutive groups of our students (44 students). We used the combination of classic method of lecturing and pharmacy placement in 2006 entry students (22 students as control group ) and lecturing session (same as control group) plus using our software, and then pharmacy placement in 2007 entry students (22 students as experiment group). We gave them a written exam at the end of the course and compared their mean scores. The experiment group also completed a researcher made questionnaire on their viewpoints about the software. Descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and T-test were used for data analysis. Results: The mean score in the experiment group (13.1± 3.89) was significantly higher compared to that of the control (10.75±3.71) group (t=2.054, p=.046).Eighteen students from the study group (81.80%) agreed that the software could increase their quality of learning. Altogether, students in the study group approved using the pharmacy training software. Conclusion: Our study results showed that this software increased the quality of learning and students had positive attitude about the effectiveness of this complementary teaching method. As this software can be used outside the pharmacy environment and does not need internet access, it can be used as a helpful teaching aid in community pharmacy training

Auraptene consolidates memory, reverses scopolamine-disrupted memory in passive avoidance task, and ameliorates retention deficits in mice

Objective(s): Auraptene (7-geranyloxycoumarin) (AUR), from Citrus species has shown anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and beta-secretase inhibitory effects. Scopolamine is a nonselective muscarinic receptor antagonist which causes short-term memory impairments and is used for inducing animal model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This research aimed to investigate the effect of AUR on scopolamine-induced avoidance memory retention deficits in step-through task in mice. Materials and Methods: The effect of four-day pre-training injections of AUR (50, 75, and 100 mg/kg, subcutaneous (SC)) and scopolamine (1 mg/kg, IP), and their co-administration on avoidance memory retention in step-through passive avoidance task, was investigated by measuring the latency to enter to the dark chamber. Results:Pre-training administration of AUR caused significant increase in step-through latency in comparison with control group, 48, 96, and 168 hr after training trial. The findings of this study showed that scopolamine (1 mg/kg, IP, for four consecutive days) impaired passive avoidance memory retention compared to saline-treated animals. Step-through passive avoidance task results showed that AUR markedly reversed scopolamine-induced avoidance memory retention impairments, 24 and 168 hr after training trial in step-through task. Conclusion: Results from co-administration of AUR and scopolamine showed that AUR reversed scopolamine-induced passive avoidance memory retention impairments

Potential drug-drug interactions in prescriptions dispensed in community and hospital pharmacies in East of Iran

Objective: This study aim to evaluate and compare type and prevalence of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in prescriptions dispensed in both community and hospital setting in Zabol, Iran. Methods: A total of 2796 prescriptions were collected from community and inpatient and outpatient pharmacy of Amir-al-momenin only current acting hospital in Zabol, Iran. The prescriptions were processed using Lexi-Comp drug interaction software. The identified DDIs were categorized into five classes (A, B, C, D, X). Findings: Overall 41.6% of prescriptions had at last one potential DDI. The most common type of interactions was type C (66%). The percentage of drug interactions in community pharmacies were significantly lower than hospital pharmacies (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Our results indicate that patients in Zabol are at high risk of adverse drug reactions caused by medications due to potential DDIs. Appropriate education for physicians about potentially harmful DDIs, as well as active participation of pharmacists in detection and prevention of drug-related injuries, could considerably prevent the consequence of DDIs among patients

Low Dose Morphine Enhances Morphine Antinociception Effectsin the Animals Pretreated with Selective and Non-Selective Phosphodiestrase Inhibitors: Effects of phosphodiesterase inhibitors on morphine antinociception

In this study, we investigated the interactive effects of intraperitoneal (i.p.)injections of three different phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDEIs) on morphine-induced analgesia in mice using tail-flick method. Subcutaneous administration of morphine (1, 3 and 6 mg/kg) caused significant antinociceptive effects in a dose dependent manner. Administration of pentoxifylline (12.5, 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg,i.p.), milrinone (3 and 4.5 mg/kg, i.p.) and theophylline (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg, i.p.)as selective and non-seletive phosphodiesterase in hibitors in duced analgesia inmice. We also examined the antinociceptive effects of these three PDEIs incombination with non-effective dose of morphine (1 mg/kg). These combinations increased analgesia effects compared to the either morphine or respective phospho-diestrase inhibitor groups significantly. Our findings strongly suggest that PDEIs can induce analgesia and potentiate morphine antinociception effect via possible interactions on the same molecular or biochemical pathways