Bacillus Coagulans GBI-30 (BC30) improves indices of Clostridium difficile-Induced colitis in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Probiotics have beneficial effects in rodent models of <it>Clostridium difficile </it>(<it>C. diffiicle</it>)-induced colitis. The spore forming probiotic strain <it>Bacillus Coagulans </it>GBI-30, 6086 (BC30) has demonstrated anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating effects <it>in vitro</it>. Our goal was to determine if BC30 improved <it>C. difficile</it>-induced colitis in mice. Starting on study day 0, female C57BL/6 mice were dosed by oro-gastric gavage for 15 days with vehicle (saline) or BC30 (2 × 10⁹CFU per day). Mice in the <it>C. difficile </it>groups received an antibiotic mixture (study days 5 to 8 in the drinking water), and clindamycin (10 mg/kg, i.p., on study day 10). The <it>C. difficile </it>strain VPI 10463 was given by gavage at 10⁴CFU to induce colitis on day 11. On day 16, stools and colons were collected for further analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All mice treated with BC30 survived on study day 13, while two mice treated with vehicle did not survive. On day 12, a significant difference (p = 0.0002) in the percentage of mice with normal stools (66.7%) was found in the BC30/<it>C. difficile </it>group, as compared to the vehicle/<it>C. diffcile </it>group (13.0%). On study day 16, 23.8% of mice treated with BC30 had normal stools, while this value was 0% with vehicle treatment (p value = 0.0187). On this day, the stool consistency score for the BC30/<it>C. difficile </it>group (1.1 ± 0.2) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than for the vehicle/<it>C. difficile </it>cohort (1.9 ± 0.2). BC30 modestly attenuated the colonic pathology (crypt damage, edema, leukocyte influx) that was present following <it>C. difficile infection</it>. Colonic MIP-2 chemokine contents (pg/2 cm colon) were: 10.2 ± 0.5 (vehicle/no <it>C. difficile</it>), 24.6 ± 9.5 (vehicle/<it>C. difficile</it>) and 16.3 ± 4.3 (BC30/<it>C. difficle</it>).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The probiotic BC30 improved some parameters of <it>C. difficile</it>-induced colitis in mice. BC30 prolonged the survival of <it>C. diffiicle </it>infected mice. Particularly, this probiotic improved the stool consistency of mice, in this infectious colitis model.</p

The Big Ten IPE Academic Alliance: A regional approach to developing Interprofessional Education and practice

Interprofessional practice and education (IPE) efforts has greatly increased in the past few years, primarily through the leadership of several national and international organizations. These organizations have sponsored forums for information exchange and best practices, which has significantly influenced the development of programs across various educational institutions and practice environments. Several regional groups have emerged, organized around a common purpose and geographic proximity, to share ideas and implement new IPE programs across the cooperating organizations. This article describes the history and growth of one of the newer regional groups, the Big Ten IPE Academic Alliance. Included in this discussion is how the group was created, its governing structure and the various results of its efforts. The intent is to provide expanded guidance how to develop regional groups that are effective vehicles for the successful implementation of IPE within educational and health settings

Developing an international concept-based curriculum for pharmacology education: The promise of core concepts and concept inventories

\ua9 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by John Wiley &amp; Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.Over recent years, studies have shown that science and health profession graduates demonstrate gaps in their fundamental pharmacology knowledge and ability to apply pharmacology concepts in practice. This article reviews the current challenges faced by pharmacology educators, including the exponential growth in discipline knowledge and competition for curricular time. We then argue that pharmacology education should focus on essential concepts that enable students to develop beyond ‘know’ towards ‘know how to’. A concept-based approach will help educators prioritize and benchmark their pharmacology curriculum, facilitate integration of pharmacology with other disciplines in the curriculum, create alignment between universities and improve application of pharmacology knowledge to professional contexts such as safe prescribing practices. To achieve this, core concepts first need to be identified and unpacked, and methods for teaching and assessment using concept inventories developed. The International Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology Education Section (IUPHAR-Ed) Core Concepts of Pharmacology (CCP) initiative involves over 300 educators from the global pharmacology community. CCP has identified and defined the core concepts of pharmacology, together with key underpinning sub-concepts. To realize these benefits, pharmacology educators must develop methods to teach and assess core concepts. Work to develop concept inventories is ongoing, including identifying student misconceptions of the core concepts and creating a bank of multiple-choice questions to assess student understanding. Future work aims to develop and validate materials and methods to help educators embed core concepts within curricula. Potential strategies that educators can use to overcome factors that inhibit adoption of core concepts are presented

Initial Efforts to Manage IPE during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reports from the Big Ten Academic Alliance

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic required higher education institutions to quickly transition to a virtual platform. This was challenging for those involved in interprofessional education (IPE), given the goal that students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with one another. The Big Ten IPE Alliance is a subgroup of the larger Big Ten Academic Alliance. The purpose of this paper is to share the collective experiences of multiple large, research intensive universities in addressing the challenge of implementing IPE programs under the conditions established by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: To better understand how the Big Ten schools dealt with the transition to virtual learning for didactic and clinical IPE given the COVID-19 pandemic, a subset of representatives from the Big Ten IPE Alliance met to discuss best practices for virtual learning in the IPE realm. Each participating university completed an electronic 14 question survey related to their IPE curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 thru August 2020 and the responses were analyzed. Results: Four categories were identified as needing to be addressed to develop and implement successful interprofessional didactic and clinical experiences. The categories identified included content/assessment, virtual technologies, faculty and facilitators, and learners. Conclusions/Recommendations: Consider including authentic and innovative mechanisms to deliver IPE experiences that meet the learning needs and accreditation requirements. Interinstitutional collaborations such as within the Big Ten IPE Alliance can be beneficial in assessing current and future best practices in IPE

Development and implementation of an herbal and natural product elective in undergraduate medical education

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medical students have consistently expressed interest in learning about alternative healing modalities, especially herbal and natural products. To fill this void in medical education at our institution, a novel elective was developed and implemented for fourth year medical students. This herbal/natural product course uses guest lecturers, classroom presentations, and active learning mechanisms that include experiential rotations, case-based learning, and team-based learning to increase student knowledge of herbal/natural product safety and efficacy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Knowledge outcomes were evaluated via administration of a pre- and post-course test (paired student <it>t</it>-test). End-of-course evaluations (Likert-type questions and narrative responses) were used to assess student opinion of knowledge and skills imparted by the elective and overall course content (mean, standard deviation).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over three academic years, 23 students have enrolled in this elective. More than 60% of participants have been female and nearly half of the students (43%) have pursued residencies in primary care. Completion of the course significantly increased student knowledge of common herbal/natural product mechanisms, uses, adverse effects, and drug-interactions as determined by a pre- and post-course knowledge assessment (45% ± 10% versus 78% ± 6%; p < 0.0001). The course was highly rated by enrollees (overall course quality, 4.6 of 5.0 ± 0.48) who appreciated the variety of activities to which they were exposed and the open classroom discussions that resulted. While students tended to view some alternative medical systems with skepticism, they still believed it was valuable to learn what these modalities encompass.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Development and implementation of a herbal/natural product elective that engages undergraduate medical students through active learning mechanisms and critical analysis of the literature has proven effective in increasing knowledge outcomes and is deemed to be a valuable curricular addition by student participants. In the future, it will be of interest to explore mechanisms for expanding the course to reach a larger number of students within the time, financial, and logistical constraints that currently exist.</p

Identifying the core concepts of pharmacology education : a global initiative

Background and Purpose: In recent decades, a focus on the most critical and fundamental concepts has proven highly advantageous to students and educators in many science disciplines. Pharmacology, unlike microbiology, biochemistry or physiology, lacks a consensus list of such core concepts . Experimental approach: We sought to develop a research-based, globally relevant list of core concepts that all students completing a foundational pharmacology course should master. This two-part project consisted of exploratory and refinement phases. The exploratory phase involved empirical data mining of the introductory sections of five key textbooks, in parallel with an online survey of over 200 pharmacology educators from 17 countries across six continents. The refinement phase involved three Delphi rounds involving 24 experts from 15 countries across six continents. Key Results: The exploratory phase resulted in a consolidated list of 74 candidate core concepts. In the refinement phase, the expert group produced a consensus list of 25 core concepts of pharmacology. Conclusion and Implications: This list will allow pharmacology educators everywhere to focus their efforts on the conceptual knowledge perceived to matter most by experts within the discipline. Next steps for this project include defining and unpacking each core concept and developing resources to help pharmacology educators globally teach and assess these concepts within their educational contexts

Drug-Induced Acute Kidney Injury: A Standardized Patient Case for Clerkship Students

Introduction: Drug-induced nephrotoxicity is a common yet preventable cause of acute renal failure. With the upward trend of prescription and over-the-counter medication use, it has become increasingly important for health care professionals to not only be able to identify acute renal failure precipitated by medications, but also to recognize medications that are eliminated by the kidneys and adjust dosages accordingly to prevent further damage. Methods: In this activity, third-year clerkship medical students are presented with a standardized patient portraying an acute medical problem in which students must ascertain the underlying cause of the problem and draw from their knowledge of pharmacology, pharmacokinetic principles, and clinical therapeutics to develop a plan to address the patient\u27s medical concerns. Results: We found that few students were able to identify the underlying cause of the patient\u27s acute condition, and none were successful at applying pharmacokinetic principles appropriately. Discussion: Implementing this case with third-year medical students has identified the need to revisit pharmacokinetic principles in an applied setting. As a result, this topic is being added to a course that highlights the relevance of basic sciences in clinical contexts for clerkship students

Collaborating with Pharmacists to Strengthen Primary Care Infrastructure and Student/Resident Training

According to predictions, the ratio of primary care practitioners (primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician’s assistants) to the population is expected to fall nine percent between 2005 and 2020. As a country, we spend almost as much money on problems caused by medications as we do on the medications themselves. Team-based care has been proposed as the most viable solution to save our primary healthcare system, and thus should also be emphasized in the way medical professionals are trained at all levels. In 2011, the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association’s (PPA) commissioned a white paper to provide information, answer questions, and raise awareness to the roles of pharmacists in the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of healthcare. Features of PCMHs include: enhanced access to and continuity of care, population management, planned and managed care, self-care and community support, tracking and coordinating care, and measuring and improving performance outcomes. Considering the extent to which pharmacists are trained and many are credentialed, by working at the “top of their license”, pharmacists are competent to perform PCMH duties that involve medication management with physician supervision. Using concepts/components from the PCMH model as a springboard, this session will focus on describing existing collaborative efforts between pharmacists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals that 1) provide medication management infrastructure in primary care settings and 2) provide support for educating students and residents at all levels of training. Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will: 1. Identify three areas in which pharmacists can provide infrastructure for medication management in a primary care setting 2. Identify strategies for incorporating pharmacists into student and resident education in academic and clinical settings