ABSTRACT
In the present study, the production of a reduced-sugar pomegranate juice jelly supplemented with an aqueous extract of pomegranate peel (PE) is described. Influence of different carbohydrate polymers (guar (G), xanthan (X) and tragacanth (T) gums) on rheological properties was studied. Combination GXT presented the most similar rheological behaviour to commercial jelly. Jelly (J) and jelly with PE (JE) were stored at 4°C over an 8week period for physical, chemical, antioxidant, microbiological and sensory analysis. J and JE showed similar values for °Brix, colour and Aw, though the pH of JE was lower than J. Thiol and phenolic compounds were higher in JE than in J. Antioxidant activity (radical scavenging activity and autoxidation of linoleic acid) was higher in JE than in J at 0weeks, and were decreasing with time. Pomegranate juice with additives was generally less accepted than J and JE.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/chemistry , Beverages/analysis , Fruit/chemistry , Lythraceae/chemistry , Plant Extracts/analysis , Adolescent , Beverages/standards , Carbohydrates/analysis , Female , Humans , Male , Taste , Young AdultABSTRACT
Information overload, proliferation of new drugs and curricular reforms have been recognized as three of the major factors contributing to the insufficient pharmacological education of medical students. To remedy this situation, it has been recommended that a curriculum more selective in knowledge content coupled with a restricted list of drugs be developed. Based on our own teaching experience, common educational objectives, competencies to be achieved, profiles of morbidity and mortality of the Mexican population, and knowledge of the literature, we have identified what should constitute the core content of pharmacology courses in medical schools. Selected themes were grouped in three categories and the number of drugs that undergraduate medical students have to manage is limited to 139. We have developed a concrete, medicine-focused, core pharmacology program dealing with themes and drugs that will best constitute the primary teaching/learning material for undergraduate medical students.
Subject(s)
Curriculum , Education, Medical, Undergraduate , Pharmacology/education , TeachingABSTRACT
Pharmacology is a core course in all medical school curricula. In most medical schools, pharmacology is taught during the second year and teaching covers both basic aspects and useful drugs for the treatment of human diseases. It is assumed that relevant pharmacologic knowledge is revisited during the clinical clerkships and that students are adequately trained to prescribe drugs upon graduation. However, for many years it has been noted that pharmacological training is sometimes insufficient and that inadequate and irrational prescription of drugs is a very common problem in clinical settings. Information overload and proliferation of new drugs have been recognized as two of the major contributing factors. To address this issue, many authors have recommended the development of a core curricula in pharmacology which all students would have to complete coupled with a restricted list of drugs. Based on our own teaching experience we have identified what should constitute the core content of pharmacology courses in medical schools and have written a study guide for this discipline. Both documents provide an organizational framework to help second year medical students ascertain what part of the vast knowledge in pharmacology they need to learn. The number of drugs that students have to manage is limited to 168. Our program constitutes the first effort to medicalize the teaching of pharmacology in medical schools. We expect that most medical schools will follow our guidelines as our program is applicable to all curricula modalities.
Subject(s)
Education, Medical/trends , Pharmacology/education , Schools, Medical , Curriculum , Forecasting , MexicoABSTRACT
La farmacología es una ciencia básica que estudia las interacciones entre los fármacos y la materia viva. En las escuelas de medicina se imparte en el segundo año y su estudio se centra en los fundamentos de la disciplina y en los fármacos útiles en el tratamiento de las enfermedades del hombre. Se asume que este conocimiento farmacológico se repasa y expande en los cursos clínicos y que los estudiantes están preparados para prescribir fármacos apropiadamente cuando se gradúan. Sin embargo, desde hace varios años se sabe que la educación farmacológica es insuficiente y que la prescripción irracional de medicamentos es muy frecuente. La sobrecarga de información y la proliferación de nuevos medicamentos son dos factores que contribuyen a este problema. Para enfrentar esta situación se ha recomendado la elaboración de programas básicos de farmacología y una lista de fármacos prototipo. Con base en nuestra experiencia docente identificamos el contenido de lo que debe constituir un programa básico de farmacología, y publicamos una guía para orientar el estudio de la disciplina. Ambos documentos permiten a los estudiantes apreciar qué necesitan aprender del conocimiento farmacológico y los fármacos que deben manejar; el total de ellos se limita a 168. Nuestro programa representa el primer esfuerzo para medicalizar la enseñanza de la farmacología en las escuelas de medicina; esperamos que la mayoría de ellas lo consideren, ya que se puede aplicar a todas las modalidades curriculares vigentes.
Pharmacology is a core course in all medical school curricula. In most medical schools, pharmacology is taught during the second year and teaching covers both basic aspects and useful drugs for the treatment of human diseases. It is assumed that relevant pharmacologic knowledge is revisited during the clinical clerkships and that students are adequately trained to prescribe drugs upon graduation. However, for many years it has been noted that pharmacological training is sometimes insufficient and that inadequate and irrational prescription of drugs is a very common problem in clinical settings. Information overload and proliferation of new drugs have been recognized as two of the major contributing factors. To address this issue, many authors have recommended the development of a core curricula in pharmacology which all students would have to complete coupled with a restricted list of drugs. Based on our own teaching experience we have identified what should constitute the core content of pharmacology courses in medical schools and have written a study guide for this discipline. Both documents provide an organizational framework to help second year medical students ascertain what part of the vast knowledge in pharmacology they need to learn. The number of drugs that students have to manage is limited to 168. Our program constitutes the first effort to medicalize the teaching of pharmacology in medical schools. We expect that most medical schools will follow our guidelines as our program is applicable to all curricula modalities.
Subject(s)
Education, Medical/trends , Schools, Medical , Pharmacology/education , Curriculum , Forecasting , MexicoABSTRACT
Temporal lobe epilepsy is one of the most common types of epilepsy. Progress in the understanding and treatment of this type of epilepsy would be greatly facilitated by the availability of an animal model, which reproduced the behavioral and electrographic features of this condition. In this context, kainic acid (KA, 2-carboxy-3-carboxymethyl-4-isopropenylpyrrolidine) administration causes a syndrome characterized by an acute status epilepticus and subsequent brain damage similar to that in temporal lobe epilepsy of humans. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether oxcarbazepine (10,11-dihydro-10-oxo-5 H -dibenz(b,f)azepine-5-carboxamide), an antiepileptic drug, protects against both epileptic activity and brain damage induced by KA administration. Chronically implanted adult male Wistar rats were polygraphically recorded during 10 continuous hours under 4 different conditions: a) control, b) after KA administration alone, c) after KA administration in oxcarbazepine pretreated animals and d) after the administration of oxcarbazepine alone. Animals treated with KA alone presented behavioral and electrophysiological convulsive activity as well as brain damage. Latency of seizure installation was lengthened significantly and convulsive activity was slightly reduced, however, brain damage was still present in oxcarbazepine pretreated animals. Administration of oxcarbazepine alone induced a hypnotic behavior and brain damage was also present.
Subject(s)
Anticonvulsants/pharmacology , Brain/pathology , Carbamazepine/analogs & derivatives , Epilepsy/drug therapy , Epilepsy/pathology , Animals , Behavior, Animal/drug effects , Carbamazepine/pharmacology , Disease Models, Animal , Epilepsy/chemically induced , Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists/toxicity , Kainic Acid/toxicity , Male , Oxcarbazepine , Rats , Rats, WistarABSTRACT
The aim of the present investigation was determine whether a standardized Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces aqueous extract has an effect on body weight in an obese animal model induced by the administration of monosodium glutamate. Hibiscus sabdariffa aqueous extract, containing 33.64 mg of total anthocyanins per each 120 mg of extract, was orally administered (120 mg/kg/day) for 60 days to healthy and obese mice, and body weight gain, food and liquid intake, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), cholesterol, and triglycerides levels were measured. Hibiscus sabdariffa administration significantly reduced body weight gain in obese mice and increased liquid intake in healthy and obese mice. ALT levels were significantly increased on the 15th and 45th days in obese mice, but AST levels did not show significant changes. Mortality was not observed in the Hibiscus sabdariffa treated groups. Triglycerides and cholesterol levels showed non-significant reductions in animals treated with Hibiscus sabdariffa. Our data confirm the anti-obesity effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa reported by the Mexican population.
Subject(s)
Hibiscus/chemistry , Obesity/drug therapy , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Alanine Transaminase/blood , Alanine Transaminase/drug effects , Animals , Anthocyanins/pharmacology , Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood , Aspartate Aminotransferases/drug effects , Body Weight/drug effects , Cholesterol/blood , Disease Models, Animal , Drinking/drug effects , Eating/drug effects , Female , Flowers , Mice , Sodium Glutamate , Triglycerides/bloodABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To explore the degree of retention of pharmacologic knowledge of third-year medical students taught in a new pharmacology teaching program. METHOD: In 1997, the authors administered a retention test consisting of 100 multiple-choice questions, each with only one correct answer, to 457 third-year medical students at the National University of Mexico. Students were not told in advance about this diagnostic evaluation, which was given eight months after they completed the second-year pharmacology course. As a comparison, the authors also analyzed the results obtained by the same students in the three partial examinations taken during the second-year pharmacology course. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov procedure and Wilcoxon and chi-square tests were used to analyze data. RESULTS: The distribution of scores obtained in the partial exams well approximated a symmetrical bell-shaped curve, and the mean score was 59.9%. In contrast, in the retention test the distribution was negatively skewed, the mean score (69.8%) was significantly higher (p <.001), and the curve was clearly displaced to the right of that corresponding to the partial exams. The percentage of students obtaining at least a passing score (60%) was considerably higher for the retention test (82.5 versus 51.9). CONCLUSION: These findings, indicating that medical students taught in a new pharmacology program developed adequate basic pharmacologic knowledge, should encourage other medical schools to formally evaluate their teaching programs and continue efforts to improve pharmacologic education of medical students.
Subject(s)
Education, Medical, Undergraduate/methods , Educational Measurement/methods , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Pharmacology/education , Students, Medical/psychology , Curriculum , Humans , Mexico , Teaching/methodsABSTRACT
La nalbufina es un analgésico narcótico sintético tipo agonista-antagonista de la serie del fenantreno. Químicamente relacionada con la naloxona y la oximorfina. La nalbufina deprime la respiración tanto como las dosis equianalgésicas de morfina; sin embargo, la nalbufina tiene un efecto "TOPE", de tal forma que los aumentos en la dosis por arriba de los 30 mg. no producen un grado mayor de depresión respiratoria. Se estudiaron los efectos de la nalbufina en dosis única de 3 mg/kg por vía I.V., como analgésico de base en 30 pacientes; la mitad de ellos bajo anestesia con enflurano y los otros 15 recibieron anestesia con halotano. Se determinaron los cambios en los siguientes parámetros: frecuencia respiratoria, presión arterial y frecuencia cardiaca durante los periodos de preinducción, postinducción, trasanestésico y postoperatorio (tres horas). Se observó estabilidad cardiovascular en ambos grupos, sin embargo, hubo diferencia estadísticamente significativa (P < 0.05) a favor del grupo que recibió enflurano. En este estudio se demuestra el efecto analgésico prolongado de la nalbufina cuando se emplean dosis elevadas y el hecho de que no modifica "per se" el efecto de los anestésicos empleados. Los efectos colaterales fueron menores que los reportados para otros analgésicos narcóticos
