Anti Bacterial Nanorobot

Nanoparticle drug delivery in cancer theraphy

Nanoparticles are particles between 1 and 100 nanometers in size. In nanotechnology, a particle is defined as a small object that behaves as a whole unit with respect to its transport and properties. Particles are further classified according to diameter.

Nanoparticle exerts its site-specific drug delivery by avoiding the reticuloendothelial system, utilizing enhanced permeability and retention effect and tumors pecific targeting. These carriers are designed in such a way that they are independent in the environments and selective at the pharmacological site. The formation of nanoparticle and physiochemical parameters such as pH, monomer concentration, ionic strength as well as surface charge, particle size and molecular weight are important for drug delivery. Further, these nanoparticles have the capability to reverse multidrug resistance a major problem in chemotherapy

 Tumor markers are substances that are produced by cancer or by other cells of the body in response to cancer or certain benign (noncancerous) conditions. Most tumor markers are made by normal cells as well as by cancer cells; however, they are produced at much higher levels in cancerous conditions. These substances can be found in the blood, urine, stool, tumor tissue, or other tissues or bodily fluids of some patients with cancer. Most tumor markers are proteins. However, more recently, patterns of gene expression and changes to DNA have also begun to be used as tumor markers.

Many different tumor markers have been characterized and are in clinical use. Some are associated with only one type of cancer, whereas others are associated with two or more cancer types. No “universal” tumor marker that can detect any type of cancer has been found.

There are some limitations to the use of tumor markers. Sometimes, noncancerous conditions can cause the levels of certain tumor markers to increase. In addition, not everyone with a particular type of cancer will have a higher level of a tumor marker associated with that cancer. Moreover, tumor markers have not been identified for every type of cancer.

CA15-3/CA27.29

• Cancer type: Breast cancer

• Tissue analyzed: Blood

• How used: To assess whether treatment is working or disease has recurred

A doctor takes a sample of tumor tissue or bodily fluid and sends it to a laboratory, where various methods are used to measure the level of the tumor marker.

If the tumor marker is being used to determine whether treatment is working or whether there is a recurrence, the marker’s level will be measured in multiple samples taken over time. Usually these “serial measurements,” which show whether the level of a marker is increasing, staying the same, or decreasing, are more meaningful than a single measurement.

Cancerous tumors are characterized by cell division, which is no longer controlled as it is in normal tissue. “Normal” cells stop dividing when they come into contact with like cells, a mechanism known as contact inhibition. Cancerous cells lose this ability. Cancer cells no longer have the normal checks and balances in place that control and limit cell division. The process of cell division, in both normal and cancerous cells, is through the cell cycle. The cell cycle goes from the resting phase, through active growing phases, and then to mitosis (division).

The ability of chemotherapy to kill cancer cells depends on its ability to halt cell division. Usually, the drugs work by damaging the RNA or DNA that tells the cell how to copy itself in division. If the cells are unable to divide, they die. The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells, causing the tumor to shrink. They also induce cell suicide (self-death or apoptosis).

Duplicate medicines

Beware of duplicate medicines.

PharmaSecure - Just SMS to 9901099010 and check whether your medicines are genuine or fake.

As we came to know few incidents in pharma industry,that defective manufacture may affect the life cycle of the innocent people.

CASE: DIZZINESS

History

A 75-year-old man is brought to hospital with an episode of dizziness. He still feels unwell when he is seen 30min after on the onset. He was well until 6 months ago and then started having falls. On some occasions the falls have been associated with loss of consciousness, although he is unsure of the length of time he was unconscious. On other occasions he has felt dizzy and has had to sit down, but has not lost consciousness. These episodes usually happened on exertion, but once or twice they have occurred while sitting down. He recovers over 10–15 min after each episode.

He lives alone, and most of the episodes have not been witnessed. Once his granddaughter was with him when he blacked out. Worried, she called an ambulance. He looked so pale and still that she thought that he had died. He was taken to hospital, by which time he had recovered completely and was discharged and told that he had a normal electrocardiogram (ECG) and chest X-ray.

ere is no history of chest pain or palpitations. He has had gout and some urinary frequency. A diagnosis of benign prostatic hypertrophy has been made, for which he is on no treatment. He takes ibuprofen occasionally for the gout. He stopped smoking 5 years ago. He drinks 5–10 units of alcohol weekly. Dizziness and blackouts have not been associated with alcohol. There is no relevant family history. He used to work as an electrician.

Examination

He is pale with a blood pressure of 96/64 mmHg. The pulse rate is 33/min, regular. There are no heart murmurs. The jugular venous pressure is raised 3 cm with occasional rises. There is no leg edema; the peripheral pulses are palpable except for the left dorsalis pedis. The respiratory system is normal.

ANSWER

The blackouts do not seem to have had any relationship to posture. They have been a mixture of dizziness and loss of consciousness. The one witnessed episode seems to have been associated with loss of color. Is suggests a loss of cardiac output usually associated with an arrhythmia. This may be the case despite the absence of any other cardiac symptoms. There may be an obvious flushing of the skin as cardiac output and blood flow return.

The normal ECG and chest X-ray when he attended hospital after an episode do not rule out an intermittent conduction problem. On this occasion the symptoms have remained in a more minor form. The ECG shows third degree or complete heart block (Figure 1.2). There is complete dissociation of the atrial rate and the ventricular rate, which is 33/min. the episodes of loss of consciousness are called Stokes–Adams attacks and are caused by self-limited rapid tachyarrhythmias at the onset of heart block or transient a systole. Although these have been intermittent in the past, he is now in stable complete heart block, and if this continues, the slow ventricular rate will be associated with reduced cardiac output, which may cause fatigue, dizziness on exertion or heart failure. Intermittent failure of the escape rhythm may cause syncope.

On examination, the occasional rises in the jugular venous pressure are intermittent ‘cannon’ a-waves as the right atrium contracts against a closed tricuspid valve. In addition, the intensity of the first heart sound will vary.

The treatment should be insertion of a pacemaker. If the rhythm in complete heart block is stable, then a permanent pacemaker should be inserted as soon as this can be arranged. This should be a dual-chamber system pacing the atria, then the ventricles (DDD, dual sensing and pacing, triggered by atrial sensing, inhibited by ventricular sensing) or possibly a ventricular pacing system (VVI, pacing the ventricle, inhibited by ventricular sensing). If there is doubt about the ventricular escape rhythm, then a temporary pacemaker should be inserted immediately.

• ***

  	Key Points
  •   When a patient suffers transient loss of consciousness, a careful history from a witness may help with the diagnosis. •   Normal examination and ECG do not rule out intermittent serious arrhythmias. •   Large waves in the jugular venous pressure are usually regular giant v-waves in tricuspid regurgitation or intermittent cannon a-waves in complete heart block.

  

                                        

                                           Reference from

                                           St omas’ Hospitals, London, UK.

Pharm d in India

No college management is working on the basic developments of pharm d.

Some of the roles of PharmD (community) pharmacists are as follows:
1. Patient medication history interview
2. Medication order review
3. Patient counseling regarding safe and rational use of drug
4. Adverse drug reaction monitoring
5. Drug interaction monitoring
6. Therapeutic drug monitoring
7. Participating in ward rounds – (what are they going do to there??)
8. Providing drug information at the drug information and poison information centre

That means ultimately doctors are going to loose the entire control of medicines and so called pharma doctors are going to gain the total control of medicines. In such a situation no medical representatives are going to meet the doctors and there will not be any up gradation in the drug information to a doctor. A doctor in the future is going to be unaware of any drug formulations. Doctors need only to diagnose the disease or carry out any clinical procedures and rest will be done by these Pharma doctors. Now the said course is introduced in India as if it is a doctoral qualification for pharmacy students and also to upgrade the Indian pharmacy education standard to the International level. But see that each improvement in this field is, definitely, at the expense of professional importance and freedom of doctors.