Diatery Drugs - Helpful information for Pharmacology PDF

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Drugs for treating diabetes: ● Prandial glucose regulators: Oral treatment, generally should be taken three daily with meals and works by stimulating the Beta cells in the pancreas to produce more insulin. In this case the patient has a high blood glucose concentration. That implies that the patient must have a case of insulin resistance, glucose insensitivity on the islet cells and or inactive beta cells in the pancreas, particularly when potassium channels have difficulty depolarising. This drug helps to depolarise the potassium channels of beta cells so that the calcium ion channel can open and signal insulin to be excreted out of the cell. The potassium channel will open once the drug has been broken down which prevents the release of insulin from the cell. The drug will result in massive insulin excretion so that muscle and fat cells in the body will let glucose in. This will help with any type of diabetes. Prandial glucose regulators have a halflife of 60 minutes, which means that they act faster, break down faster and are excreted faster. They should be taken with meals for the drug to be effective safely due to their short half lifes. The drug’s action is glucose dependent, which means that the risk of hypoglycemia is minimized. Since the drug works based on glucose concentration in the bloodstream, the chances of weight gain will be minimized as well. This drug may have side effects such as: an upset stomach, skin rashes and nausea. Some examples include: Repaglinide and Nateglinide ● Alpha -glucosidase inhibitor: Glyset or Miglitol is an oral medication used to control blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetes. It belongs to a class of drugs called alpha-glucosidase inhibitors. This drug acts by inhibiting the Alpha- glucosidase enzymes that break down bigger, more complex carbohydrates into monomers. In the duodenum of the small intestine, Alpha glucosidase enzymes break down polysaccharides into monosaccharides so that they could enter the bloodstream. This is made possible by glyset’s shape. On the screen, you would be able to see glyset’s chemical structure compared to the one of glucose. Both chemicals look very much alike, but with some key differences that determine their function. Alpha glucosidase inhibitors competitively inhibit the glucosidase enzymes, leaving the polysaccharides to break down slower without enzymatic help. This will result in a slower absorption of glucose into the bloodstream and therefore a lower blood- glucose level. The patient will have less appetite and will feel more satiated, having taken the drug after a meal due to delayed digestion. This process will prevent any weight gain which is ideal for the patient. The reason why this drug was chosen was because it lowers the concentration of glucose in the patient’s bloodstream. Glucose absorption needs to be limited due to a case of diabetes which was made clear by the patient’s blood glucose levels. A lower concentration of glucose in the bloodstream would improve insulin resistance and would improve his health. That would be the outcome. The drug has mild side effects… and they are: diarrhoea, flatulence and stomach upsets.

Drugs for Obesity: ●

Orlistat - To deal with obesity, it is most advisable to apply a change in diet, physical activity and lifestyle. It is important that the lifestyle choices are prioritized over pharmacological treatment. But since the patient has a BMI above 30 kilograms per meter squared, he should be advised to take anti obesity drugs. Orlistat is an oral pancreatic lipase inhibitor, which means that it binds itself to pancreatic lipase enzymes and inhibits their function of breaking down larger lipids into fatty acids in the gut. Lipids will not digest, therefore cannot enter the bloodstream and will have to be excreted. This will result in the reduction of fatty acids absorption and digestion, thus fatty acids will not change and will not be used as storage or energy. This drug should be taken with continuous exercise and dietary restrictions in order to maximise weight loss. The drug is expected to lower fat absorption which will lower calorie intake. This will help the patient with his weight as it will reduce it. Since the patient has a BMI of 34 kilograms per meter squared, he is considered to have class 1 obesity, therefore he will need appropriate treatment. The most common side effects of this drug are: Abdominal pain, diarrhoea, anxiety and gastrointestinal disorders.

We can see that the subject, Tom, has a test for HDL cholesterol which shows 0.87 mmol/l which is lower than the desired levels of 1.6 mmol/l or above. In order for men to be at risk for low HDL, the levels have to be less than 1.0 mmol/l. Unfortunately, Tom falls under that category. Since HDL helps remove LDL and cholesterol from the body, especially the arteries in this case, low levels of HDL can mean that there will be higher cholesterol and LDL in the arteries. This can cause plaques in the arteries which is categorized as atherosclerosis. Hypertension is also a condition to be seen with low HDL levels and high LDL levels. Hypertension starts the process of inflammation that can result in the formation of plaques. Plaques then build up over time Diabetes - promotes inflammation and aids in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Damages arterial walls....