Alcohol Influence on the Brain - Case Study Example

1 ALCOHOL STUDY CASE: Write a summary of how the brain develops a need for alcohol stimulation and how craving is developed when alcohol is withdrawn. Answer: The explanation of dependence of alcoholics’ brain on alcohol lies in neuronal communication mechanism. The communication between two nerve cells is through electric signals inside the cells and chemical signals or neurotransmitters between the cells. The gap between two nerve cells, termed as synapse is traversed by small molecules known as neurotransmitters (NT) released by the signal emitting neuron and received by the receptors on the signal receiving neuron. This is followed by a series of events which are the results of the nature of specific NT (i.e. inhibitory or excitatory) and determine the specific behavior of the receptor. In absence of alcohol, a balance is maintained between the excitatory and inhibitory impulses. But under the influence of alcohol, inhibitory effect of NT GABA (gamma- aminobutyric acid) is enhanced, resulting in suppresing neuronal activity of receptor cell. However with repeated exposure to alcohol, a tolerance is developed, GABA receptors become less responsive to GABA and higher alcohol concentrations are required to achieve the same level of suppression. Upon withdrawl of alcohol, GABA receptors still remain less responsive and hence resulting in an imbalance in favor of excitatory NT. The situation is further aggravated by the fact that alcohol also induces the activity of excitatory NT glutamate, the receptors for which remain elevated even after withdrawl of alcohol. Both these effects have the cumulative effect of hyperexcitability, which leads to craving for alcohol and withdrawl symptoms. 2 GATORADE STUDY CASE Prepare for class by: Listing the type of testing you would want to see done on two new products before you would use them: Product Testing Example: New Tire Road handling, maximum speed, what happens if it punctures. New Cereal called "Bagel-Bits"  animal, especially primate testing, thorough study of biochemical physiological, hormonal and other metabolic effects on humans. New Drug that Prevents Hair from Turning Gray Effect on Skin, carcinogenic or mutagenic effects, test for effect on rate of hair fall, hair strength. Lethality levels. Reffering to the issue of trying the new formulation on Florida’s athletes, write a short paragraph from the point of view of one of : Team physician, varsity coach or freshman Coach as to what to do now with the new beverage. Excercise: i. Prepare for class by: Report the specific data that was used by FDA to ban cyclamates. Source Data  FAO nutrition meetings, report series No. 48A. WHO/FOOD ADD/70.39  Bladder tumours were reported in 8 of 80 rats that were administered 2600mg/kg body weight/day of a mixture of sodium cyclamate and sodium saccharine (10:1) for upto 105 days. None of the controls showed any symptoms of carcinoma. Choose the position of either FDA, or Stokely. As FDA, write a paragraph justifying the banning of cyclamates even though the risk of cancer in humans is extremely low. As Stokely, write reasons for keeping cyclamates in Gatorade®. Include what to do if cyclamates are banned from Gatorade® by the FDA. Position Of FDA: Cyclamate has been known to be metabolised in rats and humans to cyclohexamine, which is a probable carcinogen, and an experimental teratogen. The laxative effect of cyclamate is already known, and added to it the fact that its exact metabolic path inside the cell is not yet completely known. Keeping this background of doubts and speculations of its toxicity, and in light of new research adding bladder tumour formation as a probable consequence of cyclamate intake, even at very high doses; cyclamate cannot be considered safe till further research. 3 NATRUSWEET STUDY CASE: What should the consumer know before using nutrasweet? Answer: The consumer must know: Nutrasweet is a brand name for Aspartame. The acceptable daily intake of aspartame for humans has been set to 40mg/kg body weight per day by an international commitee of experts. The metabolic products of Aspartame are methanol, aspartic acid and phenylalanine, neither of which remains in the system for long or reaches concentrations which may cause any adverse effect. However for concentrations much higher than ADI, FDA gives a list of side effects. A number of aspartame allergies have also been reported, the most common of which are: headaches and migraines, dizziness, menstrual disorders, nausea, infertility, weight gain, anxiety attacks etc. 4 SILLICONE STUDY CASE Give a brief summary of reliable evidence dealing with physical response of body to silicone fluid. Answer: One of the most common response of body to silicone injections is granulomatous inflammatory complications, the chief cause of which is rise in non professional use of low grade silicone. A research report by Rapport, Vinnik and Zarem (1996) reveals granuloma formation is due to a natural host response against foreign particles too big to be engulfed by the macrophages. Granuloma formation is preceeded by trauma and infection. Other effects are pneumonitis and disfigurement of nodules. There has been evidence of cellular and humoral immune response to sillicone in vivo, but there is no evidence of autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases are diseases of connective tissue i.e mucous, fat, cartilage bone etc. The diseases are lupus, sceroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome etc. A study by Hennekens et al (1996), including 400,000 women and spanning 10yr period showed that women with breast implants were 1.24 times more susceptible to autoimmune diseases than women without one. However, the study had its own limitations and cannot be considered conclusive. 5 NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY AND COMMUNITY What are the necessay components of a small nuclear device? Answer: Stober and Hoffman (2001) 6 CISPLATIN: THE INVENTION OF ANTICANCER DRUG: How can the cost of drugs most reasonably be established or regulated? The cost of patent drug is dependent on the following factors: Cost of research in the development of drug Time duration for research Raw Materials’ cost Effectiveness and need There is not much scope of regulation of prices of a new patent drug, except for a close watch on the above factors’ manipulations, to ensure that the prices are not excessive compared to input. It is also to be kept in mind that the R & D of new drugs is funded usually by pharmaceutical companies, which would not do so unless there is a margin for profit, since the risks of such research are high. It takes a lot of time, during which many factors come into play, viz. inflation, severity of the target disease, its eradication etc. Hence whatever little scope of regulation, it lies for the pharmaceutical industry and R & D nexus. The two things that must be kept in mind for regulation of drug prices are: (a) The quality of research for drug development must not be compromised in the process. (b) The drug should be affordable for common citizen. 7 REFRIGERANTS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY Try to see yourself as a scientist in 1980 and plan a study to identify if the proposals of Rowland and Molina were correct. Answer: Using research tehniques available in 1980’s an experimental set up to study the proposals of Rowland and Molina would require two phase experimentation: Phase I: Study of kinetics of following reactions: CCl2F2 CClF2 + Cl UV light Read More