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 Davidta Brown, Senior Staff Editor – The pain, nausea, and light or sound sensitivity that comprise a migraine attack afflict more than 10% of individuals around the world, easily making migraines one of the most globally debilitating diseases of the present day.1 According to the International Headache Society (IHS), migraines are defined by both…

By: Ada Seldin, Staff Editor – Intrathecal baclofen (ITB) is indicated for the treatment of intractable spasticity caused by spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, spinal ischemia or tumor, transverse myelitis, cervical spondylosis, cerebral palsy, and degenerative myelopathy.1 Baclofen inhibits both monosynaptic and polysynaptic reflexes at the spinal cord level by decreasing excitatory neurotransmitter release from…

By: Katharine Cimmino, Editor-in-Chief – Pressure ulcers can be a painful condition decreasing the quality of life of patients and prolonging hospital stays.1 About 10% of hospital inpatients and 26% of hospice admissions have pressure sores.2 Pressure ulcers are injuries that occur when pressure is applied for prolonged periods of time over bony prominences.1 There…

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: Jenny Park, PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – Methadone maintenance therapy is prescribed for opioid dependency. Many HIV patients who were former injection drug abusers rely on methadone maintenance. Although there is limited data, research suggests lamivudine, ritonavir, and zidovudine to be the most common concomitant drugs in methadone associated torsades and prolonged QT interval.1…

By: Sang Hyo Kim, Staff Editor – For the brand new year, we present an interview with Sherif Guorgui, the current Vice-President of Pharmacy at the Ontario Pharmacists Association and the former 2011-2012 President of the Ontario College of Pharmacists in Canada. Mr. Guorgui graduated in 1998 from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University…

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: Davidta Brown, Staff Editor – For the estimated 7.5 million individuals in the United States living with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), there is now a new alternative to iron supplements or time-consuming, repetitive infusions. On July 25, 2013, the FDA approved ferric carboxymaltose injection (Injectafer®) for the treatment of IDA, especially in patients who…

By: Tamara Yunusova, Senior Staff Editor – After a lengthy fifteen-year hiatus in recombinant drug approvals, FDA-approved Recombinant Coagulation Factor IX (Rixubis) has mounted to the forefront of Hemophilia B drug therapy. The recombinant coagulation factor gained orphan drug approval on June 26, 2013 for routine prophylaxis, control of bleeding episodes, and perioperative management in…

By: Sang Hyo Kim, Staff Editor – On June 27, 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AIDS.gov, and other national and local entities organized the 19th annual National HIV Testing Day. On this day, the theme of “Take the Test, Take Control” was employed to spread awareness of testing and prevention methods…

By: Sang Hyo Kim, Staff Editor – This year, on July 23rd, FDA advisers voted 7 to 6, with one abstention, in favor of approving the drug certolizumab (Cimzia®) for the indication of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). axSpA is a chronic imflammatory condition that includes ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spndyloarthristis (nr-axSpA).1,2 axSpA, AS and…

By: Ada Seldin PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – On April 16th, 2013, the FDA approved the labeling change for the reformulated OxyContin® (oxycodone hydrochloride controlled-release) tablets, made by Pharma L.P. This change reflects the abuse-deterrent properties of the reformulated OxyContin®, which were not present in the original formulation approved by the FDA in 1995. OxyContin®…

By: Erica Dimitropoulos, Senior Staff Editor – Lupus is highly unpredictable and occurs without warning; there is no known cause and no known cure. It affects over 1.5 million Americans, 90% of whom are women between the ages of 15 – 44.1 No two cases of lupus are alike, making it a very difficult disease…

By: Andy Zhang, PharmD Candidate c/o 2015 – On March 28, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of Tecfidera™ (dimethyl fumarate) for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults.1 Tecfidera™ (dimethyl fumarate) will be the third oral drug used for the treatment of MS. The manufacturer Biogen…

By: Diana Gritsenko, Pharm D. Candidate c/o 2015 – Most of us who work in a community pharmacy setting will usually get a few scripts a month for an Epi-pen™.  An Epi-pen™ is a device that autoinjects epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) into a patient who is experiencing anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe, whole-body allergic…

By: Bethsy Jacob, PharmD Candidate 2014 – On January 18, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new approval for Botox, generically known as OnabotulinumtoxinA. Patients diagnosed with urinary incontinence due to an overactive bladder can be prescribed Botox, if they are unable to take or are unresponsive to anticholinergic medications.  This…

By:  Miriam Maltz, PharmD Candidate c/o 2013, AMSCOP, Long Island University – Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia that is pursuant to insulin resistance, defects in insulin secretion, or both1. Chronic hyperglycemia is associated with detrimental effects on various organ systems that can increase mortality and impact the patient’s…

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: Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi, Associate Student Editor – Many of us have prepared for influenza season by receiving the flu vaccine.  (If you have not, please speak to your doctor or pharmacist soon!  Remember: even if you do not need it for your protection, get it for your patients’ well-being).  However, for the youngest members…

By: Elsa Thomas, PharmD Candidate c/o 2013 – Atropine is an anticholinergic used to treat various conditions, such as bradycardia, neuromuscular blockade, mydriasis, nerve agent poisoning, and salivary hypersecretion.1,2  Pharmacologically, it inhibits smooth muscle and glands innervated by postganglionic cholinergic nerves.1,2  It also has functions in the central nervous system (CNS); it could stimulate or…

By: Neal Shah, Co-Editor-In-Chief – Contrast dyes enhance imaging for computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), and X-rays.1  Dyes usually consist of barium, iodine, or gadolinium, depending on the procedure.2  CT and X-ray scans often use iodine for systemic imaging and barium sulfate for GI imaging, whereas MR imaging primarily uses gadolinium.2  Gadolinium and iodine…

By: Neal Shah, Co Editor-In-Chief – Dyskinesias are abnormal, involuntary movement disorders.  Subsets of dyskinesias include choreas and atheosis.  Chorea is irregular and sporadic contraction of muscles whereas athetosis involves a twisting and writhing of muscles.  These two dyskinesias often occur together and are thus termed choreathetosis.1  Common conditions which feature choreatheosis are Huntington’s, and…

By: Addolorata Ciccone, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – The following medications are easily confused.  Try to match each one with its corresponding fun fact.  This capsule should be swallowed whole; if chewed or dissolved orally, oropharyngeal anesthesia may occur, which poses a choking hazard.  Drinking a glass of water can help bypass this potential adverse…

By: Neal Shah – Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone characterized by decreased bone mineral density (BMD), which reduces the ability of bone to provide adequate structural support.  The main cause of this decreased BMD is inadequate calcium intake or absorption.  The decreased BMD can cause diffuse lesions throughout the skeletal system and can…

By: Mohamed Dungersi – On January 27, the FDA approved Bydureon® (exenatide extended-release) for use in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), as an adjunct to diet and exercise.  Bydureon®, a product of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, is a modified formulation of the twice-daily injection, Byetta® (exenatide).  It is the first once-a-week medication for T2DM in the market.…

By Lunbao (Jerry) Huang, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing focus on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, most commonly known as liver cancer).  In the United States, as of 2011, there have been an estimated 26,190 new cases and 19,590 deaths from both hepatic and intrahepatic bile duct cancer.  Defined by the…

By: Alisha Kumar, PharmD Candidate c/o 2012 – HIV transmission via organ transplantation is rare in the United States. However, after a public health investigation in 2010, a case of HIV transmission via kidney transplantation was confirmed. The kidney recipient had no history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), injection drug use, sex with injection drug…

By: Neal Shah – Dr. Ashby is a well-known Pharmacology professor for student pharmacists studying in their professional years. He graduated from the University of Louisville with a BA in Biology and Psychology in 1983. After obtaining his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Louisville in 1987, he continued his education by obtaining a…

By; Nikunj Vyas, PharmD Candidate c/o 2012 – Seasonal flu vaccines protect us against the three influenza viruses that researchers predict will be the most common viral strains during the flu season. The viruses in the vaccine change each year based on international surveillance and scientists‘ estimations about the types and strains of viruses that…