By: Azia Tariq, Staff Editor – With the sale of counterfeit drugs reaching an alarmingly higher rate than ever, The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in collaboration with the Skoll Global Threats Fund, the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the multi-agency…

By: Elissa Tam PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – HIV/AIDS continues to be a persistent problem in the United States and in various countries around the world. In 2010 alone, there were around 47,500 new HIV infections in the United States with about 1.1 million Americans living with HIV at the end of 2010.1 When left…

By: Sherin Pathickal, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – The mandatory receipt of vaccinations as a preventive public health measure has long been a controversial issue in our society.1 Despite the popular use of immunizations, many reservations about vaccine constituents and their safety have prevailed, leading to increasing numbers of unvaccinated people.1 Opponents of vaccinations have…

By: Daniel Mathan, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016, Anita Kachappilly, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016, & Amrita Singh, PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a debilitating autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs in the body and can potentially become life threatening.1 The incidence of SLE is about 50 cases for every 100,000 people; it…

By: Hayeon Na, Co-Copy Editor [Content-Focused] – On October 8th of 2013, Bayer’s new drug riociguat (Adempas®) was approved for the treatment of patients whose pulmonary hypertension (PH) belongs in WHO groups 1 and 4.1 Riociguat (Adempas®) is a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator, and currently the only one of its kind on the market.…

By: Ada Seldin, Staff Editor – Since the first release of the Surgeon General’s Report on smoking 50 years ago, it has become clear that smoking results in premature death and a myriad of diseases, affecting almost every organ system. Public health initiatives to increase awareness, prevent initiation, and promote smoking cessation have been marginally…

By: Beatrisa Popovitz, Senior Staff Editor – On January 31st 2014, the FDA announced the release of a revolutionary new drug, tasimelteon (Hetlioz®). Tasimeleton is the first developed treatment of non-24-hour sleep-wake cycle syndrome in blind individuals.1 Formulated by Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc., this melatonin receptor agonist works by binding to and activating the MT1 and…

By: Sabrina Ahmed, PharmD Candidate c/o 2017 – One recent stride towards combating worldwide infectious disease has been in the improved surveillance of Japanese encephalitis in Asia, predominantly in South and South-East Asia. This potentially deadly virus is transmitted to humans via mosquito bites. The Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is the leading cause of encephalitis…

By: Ada Seldin, Staff Editor – On November 22, 2013, simeprevir (Olysio®), a new agent to treat chronic hepatitis C, received approval under the FDA’s priority review program. Simeprevir is an NS3/4A protease inhibitor that blocks the replication of the hepatitis C virus. Two other drugs from the same class, boceprevir and telaprevir, which were…

By: Katharine Cimmino, Editor-in-Chief – Marijuana, also known as “grass,” “pot,” “joint,” “weed,” “reefer,” “hashish,” and “Mary Jane,” is a very popular illicit drug.1 According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “In 2012, 5.4 million persons aged 12 or older used marijuana on a daily or almost daily basis in the past 12…

By: Jenny Park, PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – Lung cancer takes away the lives of about 160,000 individuals annually, which is more than a quarter of all cancer deaths.1 The U.S Preventive Service Task Force is now recommending lung cancer screenings for heavy smokers which could save up to 20,000 lives a year (or about 13%…

By: Aleena Cherian, Co-Copy Editor, Graphics Focused – Selecting APPE Rotations You’ve made it past the progression interviews at the end of 2nd year, the White Coat Ceremony, and the mind-boggling compounding and kinetics equations. You’re almost done with those labs and late night D&D study sessions. Now, halfway through the first semester of your…

By: Andy Zhang, PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – On August 1st, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a new warning of serious acetaminophen associated skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP).1 Acetaminophen is one of the most widely used over-the-counter (OTC) medication, and…

By: Nathan Trustman, PharmD Candidate c/o 2013, AMSCOP at LIU – Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater. It is thought to be the result of an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure, possibly due to a number of genetic and environmental factors.1 It is estimated…

By: Kristin M. Cheng, PharmD candidate c/o 2014  –       The Drug Information Association (DIA) 2013 Annual Meeting took place from June 23rd to June 27th at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Twenty-one students from the St. John’s University DIA student chapter attended this year. The purpose of the meeting was…

By: Aleena Cherian, PharmD Candidate c/o 2014 – Although opioid analgesics are among the most effective drugs to treat pain, they are associated with a growing number of public health issues including addiction and severe, often fatal, overdoses. The recent increase in incidences of opioid overdose is directly correlated to rapidly increasing and widespread use…

By: Fawad Piracha, Pharm. D Candidate c/o 2016 – The 2012-2013 influenza season has developed into one of the greatest nationwide flu outbreaksof the decade.1 Amid this crisis, many flocked to healthcare providers with flu-like symptoms, while others scoured doctors’ offices, clinics, and pharmacies for the vaccine. With the flu claiming many lives throughout the…

By Nancy Rizkalla, PharmD candidate c/o 2015 –        Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with subsequent stent implantation is a highly effective approach in reducing the risk of death or ischemic complications following a myocardial infarction as well as improving the quality of life in patients with stable angina. PCI is ultimately performed in 60 –…

By:  Christina Tarantola, PharmD, PGY-1 Resident at Kings Pharmacy – The New York State Department of Health issued a health advisory on November 8, 2012 in response to Hurricane Sandy. The document outlined guidelines on recommended immunizations and disaster relief efforts for volunteers and the general public. Due to an increased risk of exposure to…

By:  Maria Sorbera, PharmD Candidate c/o 2013, AMSCOP, LIU – Hepatitis C is the leading cause of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, presenting a global health challenge.  Approximately 170 million people worldwide, 3% of the population, are infected with the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), roughly 3.2 million of whom reside in the United States.  The…

By: Steve Soman, Co-Editor-in-Chief – Varicella Zoster Immune Globulin (Varizig®) was approved by the FDA on December 21st of 2012. The Canadian pharmaceutical company Cangene Corporation, which is owned in-part by Apotex Inc., markets the new product.  The drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce “the severity of chicken pox…

By Sunhae Chang, PharmD Candidate c/o 2013 – When patients complain of heartburn, the blame usually shifts to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).  Therefore, patients receive the “standard therapies for GERD”: antacids, histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs), proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), or prokinetics.1,2  Luckily, most patients respond well to these agents.1,2  Unfortunately, the not-as-lucky ones, despite PPI…

By: Elsa Thomas, Pharm.D. c/o 2013 – Human body uses various complex mechanisms to maintain its body temperature within a narrow range despite extreme environmental temperature changes as well as physiological changes. Several factors can affect body temperature such as disease states, growth, exercise, hormonal changes, and medications. Hypothermia can occurs as a result of…

By: Joo Hee Kwon, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – There are 3 antigenic types of influenza: A, B, and C. Influenza C causes mild illness and therefore does not cause epidemics.  In contrast, influenza A and B are capable of causing mild to severe flu and in some cases death.  An epidemic can occur depending…

By: Steve P. Soman – Mirabegron (Mybetriq®), known also by the brand name Betanis®in Japan, is a new once daily oral drug.   First in its class, it is a selective β(3)-adrenoceptor agonist that improves symptoms associated with over active bladder (OAB) such as urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency by enhancing storage function and relaxing…

By: Raymond Wu, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013   The 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5HT3) antagonists (e.g. ondansetron [Zofran®]) are commonly used in the prevention and treatment of nausea and vomiting in the inpatient setting.1  Overall, ondansetron is a well-tolerated medication with few side effects.1  Constipation, dizziness, and headache are the most commonly reported side effects associated…

By: Mohammad A. Rattu, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2012 –       We sometimes need to step back and look at our foundations for success.  Clearly, without the support of past and present Rho Chi executive boards, there would be no Rho Chi Post newsletter.  Over the next five issues, we will learn about each of our…

By: Alexandra Alleva, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – On February 17, 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first medication indicated specifically for patients with endogenous Cushing’s syndrome, a hormone disorder characterized by elevated blood levels of cortisol.  Mifepristone (Korlym®) is for the treatment of glucose intolerance and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus…

By: Shannon Tellier – Dr. Tran is an assistant clinical professor at St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, and a clinical pharmacy manager in Internal Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian: Columbia University Medical Center.  She received her BS in Public Health and Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel…

By: Ruby Lin, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – Rotation selection begins around mid-October for fifth year pharmacy students.  You may begin to panic about what sites you should choose from the huge selection that St. John’s University offers.  Your upperclassmen may try to help you by sharing their rotation experiences.  Alas, what do you do…