PMC 537 EXAMINATION 3 2000

DATE: October 26th

FROM: Edward JN Ishac, Course Director

NOTE: This exam is scheduled to last for 2 HOURS. Apportion your time to approximate 1 minute per point value.

Please write the last 4 digits of your social security number on each page of the exam.

Also please answer the questions from each lecturer on separate pages from those of the others.

Finally, before answering the following questions, read and analyze them carefully to identify the information being requested. When you have done this, write your response, using the same organizational format as the question. Be sure to address each point raised in the question, but you are strongly discouraged from including extraneous information not asked for (even though you may be very eager to demonstrate your knowledge).

There are FIVE exams scheduled for this course. The questions will be as they were in the past, i.e., short answer and/or essay type. Each exam will be worth 100 points, so figure on an 8-10 point question that should take 8-10 minutes to answer per lecture hour. There is no cumulative final exam, so all exams are weighted evenly in the final grade.

GOOD LUCK

PHTX 537-Fall SemesterExamination 3

Sedatives/Alcohol/AnticonvulsantsDr. Aceto15 points total

You have a choice of three (3) questions, answer any two (2) questions. Each question is worth 7.5 points.

Question 1 (7.5 points).

List the voltage-gated and transmitter-gated channel mechanisms associated with antiepileptic drugs. For each listing indicate an example (drug) and the type of epilepsy for which the drug is effective.

Question 2 (7.5 points).

Alcohol is metabolized to acetaldehyde. Describe how this occurs and briefly list the proposed consequences of this metabolite.

Question 3 (7.5 points).

List the hypnotic drugs which were discussed and indicate the mechanism of action and adverse actions of each.

Methylxanthines/Central CA’s/AntianxietyDr. Balster30 points total

Question 1 (12 points).

In class and in the assigned reading by Steven Paul there was a discussion of drugs that can function as “inverse benzodiazepine agonists.” Name one of these. What is meant by this phrase? What does an inverse agonist do to GABA receptor function? Briefly describe their pharmacological effects.

Question 2 (10 points).

Why would the adenosine antagonist effects of caffeine result in increased intracellular levels of cAMP? Which adenosine receptor subtype(s) is(are) involved?

Question 3 (8 points).

What is the rationale for the use of amphetamine-like stimulants in Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children?

Food Intake & Eating DisordersDr. Borzelleca15 points total

Question 1 (5 points).

SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are used in the management of depression. One of the reported side effects is a change in eating. Please describe the nature of this change and present a pharmacological explanation.

Question 2 (10 points).

Antiobesity agents are often classified as anorexiants or appetite suppressants. Classically, this designation was reserved for agents that acted on the central nervous system. However, anorexiants may also refer to agents acting at other sites.

A.Briefly, identify one class of agents acting centrally (excluding SSRIs) and one acting at an other site and present probable pharmacological mechanisms of action. (5 Points)

B.The ideal antiobesity pill has not been discovered. What are some of the problems associated with the current pharmacological aids to weight control? (5 Points)

Neural regulation of GI functionDr. Patrick 8 points total

Question 1 (8 points).

For any five (5) of the types of drugs listed below, briefly describe (in a couple of sentences) a cellular and/or tissue site of action, the effect that the drug produces (relating to nausea and vomiting, gastric acid secretion, or GI motility), and a resultant clinical application. (For example: Drug type acts on the Nucleus/Cell in the Tissue/ organ where it mediates Effect; because of this, it can be used to treat Specific disorder).

a. motilin receptor agonist

b.dopamine-2 (D2) receptor antagonist

c.histamine-2 (H2) receptor antagonist

d.H+, K+-ATPase inhibitor

e.muscarinic (M3) receptor antagonist

f.prostaglandin E receptor agonist

g.serotonin-3 (5HT3) receptor antagonist

h.cannabinoid receptor agonist

NicotineDr. Damaj8 points total

  1. Nicotine is an :
    a. agonist at nicotinic and adrenergic receptors
    b. antagonist at muscarinic receptors
    c. agonist at nicotinic receptors
    d. antagonist at nicotinic receptors
    e. None of the above
  1. Cotinine, a major nicotine metabolite is important because it :
    a. is active as a drug
    b. provides a useful measure of smoking behavior
    c. is formed mainly in the lungs
    d. its effects are blocked by mecamylamine, a nicotinic antagonist
    e. None of the above

From the choices below, match the best answer to the following questions on nicotinic receptors.

a. 3 subunits
b. 7 subunits
c. muscle receptors
d. ganglionic receptors
e. 42 subunits

3.3H-nicotine binding sites____

  1. 125I--bungarotoxin binding sites in the brain____
  2. 2 subunits____
  1. Pleasure and other subjective effects are rapidly perceived after cigarette smoking because :
    a. Nicotine is mainly metabolized in the liver
    b. Nicotine reaches the brain within 5 to 10 seconds after cigarette smoking
    c. Cotinine, a major nicotine metabolite, is active
    d. none of the above
    e. all of the above

Are the following statements True (a) or False (b) :

  1. Antidepressants may be used to treat nicotine dependence ______
  2. At the cellular level, nicotine acts on presynaptic nicotinic receptors to release several neurotransmitters ______

NMDA, General and Local AnestheticsDr. Woodward 24 points total

Question 1 (5 points).

You have been asked to present a lecture to the MCV Mini-Med School on the topic of NMDA receptors and their role in neuronal signal transduction. Present in an outline form five (5) key points that you would present during your lecture that would provide a non-scientist with a working understanding of this receptor.

Question 2 (12 points)

Using a two-column table, briefly compare and contrast features of local and general anesthetics including information on sites and mechanisms of action, specific drug examples from each class, routes of administration, and examples of clinical uses. You should be able to use one or two words for each cell of your table.



Question 3 (7 points)

After looking at the figures and table below, explain what you think this data suggests about isoflurane's mechanism and site of action as a general anesthetic. The single letters refer to the amino acid expressed at position 270. S (serine), A (alanine), C (cysteine), E (glutamate), F (phenylalanine), G (glycine), H (histidine), I (isoleucine), R (arginine), T (threonine), W (tryptophan), Y (tyrosine).