Blog session 9

The worst experience in my faculty

Today I'll talk about the worst experience in my faculty. This happen when I took my pharmacology's final exam. That day the final exam is 8 thirty and I be late (twenty minutes). When go in classroom, the teacher laughs and question me, what you need? I answered that I going to take the final exam. Teacher I say that NO, because a partner finished the exam and get out of the classroom and all my colleagues were there here. In this moment I want to death, because I going to reprove the subject. she expelled me from the classroom. In this moment only get out and I known what do? Finally, I stay outside of the classroom looking at the teacher in case she changed their minds. Finished final exam time, all my colleagues get out of the classroom and only the teacher stay here. When get out, She saids: you know that you saddens me waiting outside of the classroom? I was constantly humiliated by the teacher, because she is Undergraduate Director (directora de pregrado) and she is a strictly person. Until, she saids me "Thursday oral final exam in my office at 11 AM" finally. This day I took the oral exam, and finally I pass the subject. The sensation was horrible, but all finished fine.

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Heart Failure

Today I will talk about at heart failure, its pathophysiology and some drugs used to treat it.

The reason I tell you about this disease is because the main cause of death in Chile are heart disease (heart failure mainly) inclusive more than cancer (first cause of death in developed country). Cancer is the second cause of death in Chile. Women are less prone to these diseases only until menopause, because the progesterone hormone that protects your cardiovascular system (protective function for the pregnancy). However it is only until menopause, after this incident, the chances are equal both men and women.

The human heart is located within the thoracic cage in the middle of the lungs, shifted to the left. The heart is composed of many specialized tissues such as nerve tissue, whose failure also produces arrhythmias or muscle tissue, which results in heart failure.





The heart consists of four chambers, two upper called atria (right and left) and two lower chambers called ventricles (right and left). The atria and ventricles are separated by a septum, therefore there is no contact between the left and right blood from the heart. The atria and ventricles are separated by atrioventricular valves that open when the pressures are equalized between the chambers. The heart is the main organ of the cardiovascular system, where two types of circulation, pulmonary circulation where oxygen-poor blood from the heart is oxygenated, and systemic circulation which carries oxygenated blood to all tissues through the arteries. But there is a third circulation, the coronary circulation. Coronary circulation is responsible for oxygenating the tissues that form the heart. There is a right coronary artery and a left which bifurcates into two arteries, the circumflex artery and left descending coronary artery. When there is a demand on cardiac either for sport or any thrombus in blood vessels, normal heart becomes enlarged, what is known as cardiac hypertrophy. But there are two types, the physiological and pathological. Physiological hypertrophy is common in high-performance athletes and is completely reversible, the hypertrophic heart returns to a normal heart. Pathological hypertrophy is irreversible and is caused by a remodeling of the muscular wall of the left ventricle which mainly is what makes all pressure to the systemic circulation. After this remodeled heart if the demand continues to increase, the muscular walls are changed by fibrinogen, tissue is cardiac impulse insulation and is also very rigid, resulting in heart failure. Can also result in cardiac hypertrophy due to cardiac ischemia. Ischemia is a lack of oxygen in the cells which results in cell death. Cardiac ischemia is caused by the accumulation of cholesterol plaques in blood vessels called atheroma plaques. These plaques cause atherosclerosis. In the heart, at the bifurcation of the left coronary artery, high blood turbulence occurs which leads to increased accumulation of atheroma plaques, leading to ischemia in the left ventricle. Because of this ischemia, cell death occurs, which generates a hypertrophied heart which eventually will be heart failure. The most important risk factors of this disease are: salt, since it produces hypertension, a diet high in fat and cholesterol, due to the formation of atheroma plaques, a sedentary lifestyle, due to the accumulation of fat, stress, and that produces a constant pressure rise, family heritage, since this disease easily in a few generations . Pharmacological treatment for a person with heart failure is chronic use of antiplatelet drugs to prevent thrombus formation (aspirin), cholesterol lowering by hypocholesterolemic drugs (statins), antihypertensive drugs use to reduce peripheral vascular resistance to the blood pressure (nifedipine) and coronary vasodilators drugs in preventing cardiac ischemia (nitrates and nitrites).

Blog session 7

A career-related website

The website that I'm going to comment is very important for health's professionals because here I find out information related with health problems on the country. 
The website is <http://www.ispch.cl/> and this page is the free access, have update information and is manager by Public Health Institute that belong to the Ministry of Public Health on Chile.
I discovered this website for obligation because I review must constantly for to be informed. The teacher of my Faculty Higher Studies we present the website and explain about this. This I use for know all drugs-related, for example, the drug withdrawal (active pharmaceutical ingredient) of the trade because the production laboratory failed to comply with the minimum requirements for the make this drug. Also in this page you find a list with the sanitary investigations, health scares, theft of the pharmaceutical products, information of the Pharmacovigilance, health studies and enrollment pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.
I recommend you this website for find out all health-related update information. Something very important for check I would be the health scares and new adverse drug reaction, thus if exist a serious adverse drug reaction, for example, rise the pressure or more serious (neurological problems) until to death, the Ministry study it and decide that do (pharmacovigilance committee). Also I find out a list of the pharmaceutical and cosmetic products enrollment and therefore if exist counterfeit products or no-enrollment products (that is illegal on Chile) that are to buy, you can report in this page and it perform a sanitary investigation for to resolve the problem and take legal actions. If you have had problems with a drug, for example, carton damage or blisters empty, you can report too in this page.

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The journey of the drug

When the drug is removed of the blister it begins a long journey to be completely degraded. The drug is swallowed together with water and this serves to disperse the granules compressed and solubilize them. Depending on the size of the granules is the rate at which it dissolves. Finally when is completely dissolved start a process very important and meaningful named absorption. If the entire drug was solubilized and absorbed we obtain a 100% of the drug in plasma but if it dissolved or absorbed least will exist fewer drug available in plasma.

Now we find with second process known as distribution. This process consists on how the blood drug is distributed to the tissues to produce the pharmacologic effect. Each drug has different properties that depend of her molecular structure, for examples some drugs are soluble in water known as hydrophilic drugs and also exists drugs are soluble in oil known as lipophilic drugs. For that pharmacological effect occurs the drug need interact with the cell receptor that is compatible. Therefore if we have an obese person and consume a lipophilic drug, this drug will be distributed in the fat (adipose tissue) and will be not distributed in the receptors tissues of the drug. Thus for those obese people should be increasing the dose of the drug, for increase the absorption and thus to increase percentage of drug distributed to the tissues for to produce pharmacological effect.

Parallel to this process occurs two more. Since the drug is distributed to the receptors tissues also is distributed to the liver in which is metabolized process term metabolization, however also is distributed to the kidneys in there occurs the last process denominated elimination. The metabolization consists in how the enzymes through of chemical reactions turn to the drugs in hydrophilic drugs for easy excretion through the urine. Here comes the concept of half-life, characteristic for each drug. The half-life is the time in which half of the drug in the blood is degraded. Therefore drug with less half-life should disappear en least time or vice versa. For example exists drugs that have a half-life of 6 hours. The blood drug is degraded a 99% when has passed 5 to 7 half-life, therefore if consume the previous drug (6 half-life) in 30 to 42 hour there will be not blood drug.

Thus the last process consist in the filtration the blood in which several substances are extracted, drugs including, producing the urine. In this way the journey of the drug terminates. All these processes are studied in detail by health professionals (ADME), process known as pharmacokinetics that is defined as what the body does to the drug.

Blog session 5

A photograph

I like so much the pictures that find to the LSD stamp. These have a lot of designs and colors that depend on the person who created. Seen in this photograph several LSD stamp with various designs, we can see Daffy Duck stamps, Felix the Cat, bicycles (most popular), flowers, peace sign, the rolling stones, etc. Actually there is no limit to the design, since what matters in this case is not the design but the amount of drug that it presents.

Truth I don't know who took the picture, but must have been taken by any person that producing it. Also I don't know when it was taken and I will never know because of that the LSD is a drug that is prohibited in this country and then the person that took the picture it will never you identity remains undisclosed. I suggest that the person is the other country and upload the picture for show the different LSD stamp that exists.

But, what is LSD?

The LSD or lysergide is a psychoactive drug that produces in human visual hallucinations and feelings of euphoria. Why is administrated in stamp form? Because this drug it absorbed immediately and if this to reach stomach is decay. Therefore, it administrated sublingually and thus avoid on damage.

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Cure of the diabetes exists?

Considering that we are the country with the most prevalent diabetic population in South America, this illness is more common with the passage of time and it wait that in 25 years the figures are doubled. Therefore, the emergence of this question now is very important because if the people ill become increased would be essential to obtain a cure. However for to find the cure I will need understand the illness, his pathophysiology and target sites.

It was discovered that when the digested food by stomach passes through the gut, it releases a hormone that produces safety, however also it is responsible of the insulin secretion and this regulates the plasma glucose levels. Diabetics suffer a decrease insulin secretion or null (depending on the type of diabetes) that produces rise in the plasma glucose levels that lead you to death or to produce toxic effects on your body slowly. Diabetic type I are those that his pancreas doesn’t insulin produce and type II the decreased insulin production gradually depending on the type of food that the person eat, because the fatty and sugar food produces a overuse to pancreas affecting to the insulin-forming cells (pancreatic β cells). In a study by surgeons in morbidly obese type II diabetics it was discovered that when its patients were undergoing bariatric surgery his insulin levels returned to normal and also produces the pancreatic β cells that carry no apoptosis (cell death). Therefore our first cure for diabetes would be bariatric surgery. But, why not performed all diabetic? The answer is simple, because an operation involves high risk of death (especially people with cardiovascular problems) and also that this operation is very invasive. For this reason it is practiced very little and is not considered as an alternative treatment for the disease.

However, there is another cure, which is rather extreme but effective and is related with the hormones of hunger and satiety. When we are teenagers our levels of the hunger hormone (ghrelin) and satiety hormone (leptin) are regulated for lifelong, i.e., if a person is obese during his youth, this person have high probability of always be obese. Therefore, if a person stops eating for 30 days approx. the entire system of both the hormones is reset and it produces a completely change drastic in the alimentation of the person. So if a diabetic person does this, that it should be done under medical observation, change your way of eating and cure of diabetes. This is not recommended.

The only way to avoid this illness is a good alimentation and to resort not to extremes that are always harmful.

Blog session 3

Technological objects

Personally I think that the technology is part of the human because of it is the in charge of create it and produce it. However the misuse of this affects both humans and mainly the environment. Thus for use the technological objects we must know it very well which will cause to our environment.

All days I use technological objects, although I have my favourites. My favourite technologic object is a Nintendo 3DS which belongs to the company of Nintendo® and is well known by teenagers who play since childhood games of this company. I have the Nintendo 3DS since 1 year ago and a few months. I bought this with money that I earned working in the family's minimarket on Calama's City. To use it you must open and turn on and then the game (which is a small cassette) you will insert in a given space behind the console and you can enjoy it. The Nintendo 3DS I use almost every days, in my free time. Also I share it with my friends and some of them also have, and we can play on-line. I use the Nintendo 3DS only for enjoying and I distract problems of everyday life. In my childhood I played so much all the games and have always liked, why I use it. The truth is that my life will not change much but I have my Nintendo 3DS, other things distract me. Although I find some kind of game for fun me because I like so much technological games.