A Systematic Review of Assessment Tools Measuring Interprofessional Education Outcomes Relevant to Pharmacy Education.

To identify and describe the available quantitative tools that assess interprofessional education (IPE) relevant to pharmacy education. A systematic approach was used to identify quantitative IPE assessment tools relevant to pharmacy education. The search strategy included the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education Resource Exchange (Nexus) website, a systematic search of the literature, and a manual search of journals deemed likely to include relevant tools.

A randomized placebo-controlled pilot study of the efficacy and safety of D-cycloserine in people with chronic back pain.

Background: Few effective pharmacological treatment options exist for chronic back pain, the leading cause of disability in the US, and all are associated with significant adverse effects.

Objective: To determine the efficacy and safety of D-cycloserine, a partial agonist to the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, in the treatment of chronic low back pain.

Methods: A total of 41 participants with chronic back pain who met all inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized pilot trial of D-cycloserine.

Protein phosphatase 5 mediates corticosteroid insensitivity in airway smooth muscle in patients with severe asthma.

Background: The mechanisms driving glucocorticoid (GC) insensitivity in patients with severe asthma are still unknown. Recent evidence suggests the existence of GC-insensitive pathways in airway smooth muscle (ASM) caused by a defect in GC receptor (GRα) function. We examined whether other mechanisms could potentially explain the reduced sensitivity of ASM cells to GC in severe asthmatics.

Modulation of Calcium Entry by the Endo-lysosomal System.

Endo-lysosomes are acidic organelles that besides the role in macromolecules degradation, act as intracellular Ca(2+) stores. Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP), the most potent Ca(2+)-mobilizing second messenger, produced in response to agonist stimulation, activates Ca(2+)-releasing channels on endo-lysosomes and modulates a variety of cellular functions. NAADP-evoked signals are amplified by Ca(2+) release from endoplasmic reticulum, via the recruitment of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and/or ryanodine receptors through a Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+)- release (CICR) mechanism.

Geriatric assessment in daily oncology practice for nurses and allied health care professionals: Opinion paper of the Nursing and Allied Health Interest Group of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG).

The management of older persons with cancer has become a major public health concern in developed countries because of the aging of the population and the steady increase in cancer incidence with advancing age. Nurses and allied health care professionals are challenged to address the needs of this growing population. The International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) Nursing and Allied Health (NAH) Interest Group described key issues that nurses and allied health care professionals face when caring for older persons with cancer.

Fusion of lysosomes with secretory organelles leads to uncontrolled exocytosis in the lysosomal storage disease mucolipidosis type IV.

Mutations in TRPML1 cause the lysosomal storage disease mucolipidosis type IV (MLIV). The role of TRPML1 in cell function and how the mutations cause the disease are not well understood. Most studies focus on the role of TRPML1 in constitutive membrane trafficking to and from the lysosomes.

The smallest available estradiol transdermal patch: a new treatment option for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Minivelle(®) (Noven Therapeutics, LLC, FL, USA) is an estradiol transdermal delivery system that has recently been approved in the USA for prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The decline in estrogen during menopause leads to bone resorption, increasing the risk of fractures. Transdermal estradiol has been shown to increase bone mineral density.

Clinical Pearls in Using Antiarrhythmic Drugs in the Outpatient Setting.

A role for oral antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) remains in clinical practice for patients with atrial and ventricular arrhythmias in spite of advances in nonpharmacologic therapy. Pharmacists play a vital role in the appropriate use of AAD dosing, administration, adverse effects, interactions, and monitoring. Pharmacists who are involved in providing care to patients with cardiac arrhythmias must remain updated regarding the efficacy and safety of the most commonly used AADs.

An Interprofessional Education Panel on Development, Implementation, and Assessment Strategies.

This report provides a primer for implementing interprofessional education (IPE) within pharmacy and health sciences curricula. In 2013, a panel of administrators and faculty members, whose institutions offered IPE, funded by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, shared best collaborative practice models at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Annual Meeting.

Dabigatran-Associated Intracranial Hemorrhage: Literature Review and Institutional Experience.

Dabigatran etexilate is an oral direct thrombin inhibitor approved for prevention of stroke and systemic embolization in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and for the treatment of venous thromboembolism. Although dabigatran has a favorable safety profile, predictable pharmacokinetics, fewer drug interactions than warfarin, and does not require monitoring, clinical data regarding dabigatran reversal are limited. In addition, currently available laboratory assays allow measurement of the presence, but not extent, of dabigatran-associated anticoagulation.

Use of C1 Inhibitor for Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitor-Induced Angioedema Decreases Mechanical Ventilation Time.

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor-induced angioedema is a rare, albeit serious emergency that can result in airway compromise and potentially death if not treated promptly. Currently, there are no agents approved by the Food and Drug Administration to target ACE inhibitor angioedema and to prevent intubation. C1 inhibitors are approved for hereditary angioedema but may show promise in alleviating inflammation associated with ACE inhibitor angioedema.

Odanacatib: an emerging novel treatment alternative for postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Odanacatib represents a novel treatment option in the approach of postmenopausal women. Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis experience a disturbance in bone remodeling wherein bone resorption exceeds bone formation. Cathepsin K is a lysosomal cysteine protease found primarily in osteoclasts that plays a major role in the breakdown of bone via its collagenase properties.

Cobicistat: Review of a Pharmacokinetic Enhancer for HIV Infection.

Purpose: This article reviews the clinical pharmacology, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic (PK) properties, clinical efficacy and tolerability, drug interactions, and dosing and administration of cobicistat.

Methods: Searches of MEDLINE and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts from 1964 to February 2015 were conducted using the search terms cobicistat and GS-9350. Relevant information was extracted from the identified clinical trials and review articles.

IMPACT OF PHYSICIAN COMMUNICATION ON DIABETIC EYE EXAMINATION ADHERENCE: Results From a Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of written communication between an ophthalmologist and a primary care physician (PCP) on patient adherence to diabetic eye examination recommendations.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study of a multiethnic population at an urban ophthalmology center, records of all patients with diabetes and clinic visits between 2007 and 2010 were reviewed. Data collected included patient demographics, insurance status, hemoglobin A1C, severity of diabetic retinopathy, follow-up examinations, and written communication between a patient's ophthalmologist and PCP.

IFN-γ-induced JAK/STAT, but not NF-κB, signaling pathway is insensitive to glucocorticoid in airway epithelial cells.

Although the majority of patients with asthma are well controlled by inhaled glucocorticoids (GCs), patients with severe asthma are poorly responsive to GCs. This latter group is responsible for a disproportionate share of health care costs associated with asthma. Recent studies in immune cells have incriminated interferon-γ (IFN-γ) as a possible trigger of GC insensitivity in severe asthma; however, little is known about the role of IFN-γ in modulating GC effects in other clinically relevant nonimmune cells, such as airway epithelial cells.

Mechanisms of activation of nucleus accumbens neurons by cocaine via sigma-1 receptor-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-transient receptor potential canonical channel pathways.

Cocaine promotes addictive behavior primarily by blocking the dopamine transporter, thus increasing dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens (nAcc); however, additional mechanisms are continually emerging. Sigma-1 receptors (σ1Rs) are known targets for cocaine, yet the mechanisms underlying σ1R-mediated effects of cocaine are incompletely understood. The present study examined direct effects of cocaine on dissociated nAcc neurons expressing phosphatidylinositol-linked D1 receptors.

Irisin evokes bradycardia by activating cardiac-projecting neurons of nucleus ambiguus.

Irisin is a newly identified hormone induced in muscle and adipose tissues by physical activity. This protein and its encoding gene have been identified in the brain; in addition, the precursor for irisin, FNDC5, can cross the blood-brain barrier. The fact that irisin is secreted during exercise together with the lower resting heart rate in athletes prompted us to investigate the effect of irisin on cardiac-projecting vagal neurons of nucleus ambiguus, a key regulatory site of heart rate.

Abnormal corticosteroid signalling in airway smooth muscle: mechanisms and perspectives for the treatment of severe asthma.

Growing in vivo evidence supports the concept that airway smooth muscle produces various immunomodulatory factors that could contribute to asthma pathogenesis via the regulation of airway inflammation, airway narrowing and remodelling. Targeting ASM using bronchial thermoplasty has provided undeniable clinical benefits for patients with uncontrolled severe asthma who are refractory to glucocorticoid therapy. The present review will explain why the failure of glucocorticoids to adequately manage patients with severe asthma could derive from their inability to affect the immunomodulatory potential of ASM.

Quercetin regulates β-catenin signaling and reduces the migration of triple negative breast cancer.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by a lack in estrogen, progesterone, and epidermal growth factor 2 receptors. TNBC exhibits most of the characteristics of basal-like and claudin-low breast cancer subtypes. The main contributor in the mortality of TNBC is due to the higher invasive and migratory ability of these tumor cells.

Effect of the plant derivative Compound A on the production of corticosteroid-resistant chemokines in airway smooth muscle cells.

Preclinical models of human conditions including asthma showed the therapeutic potential of Compound A (CpdA), a dissociated glucocorticoid (GC) receptor (GRα) ligand. Whether CpdA inhibits GC resistance, a central feature of severe asthma, has not been addressed. We investigated whether CpdA modulates cytokine-induced GC resistance in human airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells.

Evaluation of a pharmacist-led medication assessment used to identify prevalence of and associations with polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medication use among ambulatory senior adults with cancer.

Purpose: The use of multiple and/or inappropriate medications in seniors is a significant public health problem, and cancer treatment escalates its prevalence and complexity. Existing studies are limited by patient self-report and medical record extraction compared with a pharmacist-led comprehensive medication assessment.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively examined medication use in ambulatory senior adults with cancer to determine the prevalence of polypharmacy (PP) and potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use and associated factors.