Favorite (or most interesting) drug?

[fluorometholone]

I have to do a final project for a class on a drug and the disease(s) it treats, or a disease and the drug(s) used to treat it. Any ideas for something cool or unusual that would keep a dozen last semester seniors moderately interested for ~12 minutes? I will say that I don't think I could talk about Viagra/Levitra/Cialis/Muse/Edex (etc.!) with a straight face for 12 minutes. I'll just be totally honest there. I thought about doing Suboxone, but then I thought one of my classmates might reveal that she/he takes it, and I want to graduate with a fairly good impression of these kids.

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[moose pharm]

ecstacy...it's a fascinating drug.

 

[Ackj]

I have to do a final project for a class on a drug and the disease(s) it treats, or a disease and the drug(s) used to treat it. Any ideas for something cool or unusual that would keep a dozen last semester seniors moderately interested for ~12 minutes? I will say that I don't think I could talk about Viagra/Levitra/Cialis/Muse/Edex (etc.!) with a straight face for 12 minutes. I'll just be totally honest there. I thought about doing Suboxone, but then I thought one of my classmates might reveal that she/he takes it, and I want to graduate with a fairly good impression of these kids.

High school or college seniors? I'm guessing high school since it's only 12 minutes. The fact that it's a lower level means you have less to talk about, since you really can't go into much depth on clinical trials, pc/pk/pd.

MRSA might be a good topic. People have a vague understanding of it, and there is a ton of info about it to research. Can talk about pathology, antibiotics, resistance, epidemiology.

 

[fluorometholone]

High school or college seniors? I'm guessing high school since it's only 12 minutes. The fact that it's a lower level means you have less to talk about, since you really can't go into much depth on clinical trials, pc/pk/pd.

MRSA might be a good topic. People have a vague understanding of it, and there is a ton of info about it to research. Can talk about pathology, antibiotics, resistance, epidemiology.

College, actually. We just don't have a lot of time at the end of the semester before we all bounce. But thanks for the advice!

 

[Its Z]

Multi-Stem

 

[Argentium]

Try one of the new targeted therapies w/ a radioactive delivery isotope payload. Or something like provenge

 

[297point1]

Orthostatic Hypotension.

You can talk about how fludrocortisone (essentially a DESI drug) is the standard of care for this condition despite virtually nil evidence to support its use, and how all of the drugs that have attempted to knock it off its throne (I'm looking at you, ProAmatine) have been spectacular failures.

Here's a link of interest: http://articles.philly.com/2011-09-25/business/30201008_1_applications-for-new-drugs-proamatine-fda

 

[crazybob]

cocaine as an anesthetic

 

[zelman]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC32305/

Honey?

 

[rph3664]

cocaine as an anesthetic

Or methamphetamine for ADHD, or morphine-induced lethargy in a terminal cancer patient.

 

[WISBadger]

Bupropion. Strange antidepressant, looks shocking similar to methamphetamine.

 

[Notecard]

Talk about stimulants if you want to keep them interested. I'm sure at least a few people in the class will already have experience with them.

 

[hsb1104]

Chemo drugs are interesting... to me anyway. ie - Taxotere. It's actually derived from the bark of a rare tree and it's an anti-mitotic drug... it interferes with mitosis thus interfering with the division of cancerous cells.... I don't know how in depth or what caliber of students you're talking to though.

 

[FBZ28]

How about how synthroid (levothyroxine) in an NS drip has as an off label use as an organ preservative. It allows the organs to be harvested long after the body has been declared "brain dead".

 

[rxlea]

LSD and how it was discovered. Bwahaha