Benzodiazepines mechanism of action
Benzodiazepines and GABA receptors: an animation on their mechanism of action Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) is an inhibiting neurotransmitter that is present on human brains. As shown in the animation, gamma amino butyric acid promotes opening of a postsynaptic receptor, the GABA-A receptor. This opening leads to a increased conductance to cloride ions, which […]
The coagulation cascade
Coagulation cascade: several resources (videos, animations and tutorials) depicting coagulation factors and pathways.
Animation showing the Jak-Stat signalling pathway mechanism
The Jak-Stat pathway has recently attracted researchers’ attention. This has been motivated by the fact that this pathway is a potential target of future agents for the treatment of myeloproliferative disorders such as: polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and myeloid metaplasia with myelofibrosis. The animation below depicts the Jak-Stat signalling pathway mechanism: As mentioned above, there […]
Animation: NRTIs mechanism of action
Nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are nucleoside analogues that act as competitive inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. As shown in the animation, these drugs compete with nucleoside triphosphates for access to reverse transcriptase. All NRTIs lack a 3-hydroxyl group; thus, their incorporation into a growing DNA chain results in its termination. They require intracytoplasmic […]
An excellent animation on the mechanisms of drug addiction
The Genetic Science Learning Center at University of Utah developed an excellent animation depicting the mechanisms of addiction of most drugs of abuse. They use a cartoon-like approach to show biochemical changes in mouse brains.
Vancomycin mechanism of action: an animation
Vancomycin is a tricyclic glycopeptide that has gained clinical importance thanks to its effectiveness against organisms such as MRSA and enterococci. It has activity against Gram-positive rods and cocci, Gram-negative rods are resistant to its bactericidal action. Some clinical uses of IV vancomycin include treatment of infective endocarditis and sepsis caused by MRSA. Since vancomycin […]
Video: molecular mechanisms of nicotine addiction
This video explains the pathophysiologic changes behind nicotine addiction, it identifies nicotinic acetylcholine receptor as a key protein for the development of dependence.
Digoxin Mechanism of Action: Animated Tutorial
Mechanism of action of digoxin (Lanoxin) reviewed: animation and excerpts of a pharmacology textbook on the pharmacological effects of this cardiac glycoside for heart failure.
Pharmacokinetics video and PowerPoint: volume of distribution and factors that affect it
Video showing determinants of drug distribution: protein binding, molecular weight, lipid solubility. PowerPoint slideshow analizing the meaning of volume of distribution.
USMLE-like questions on antihypertensives
These questions from the UMKC School of Medicine have a different degree of difficulty, but are useful to review pharmacology of hypertension. Antihypertensives Item Number: 11201 correct answer: 4 category: Antihypertensives 1. Gynecomastia, hyperkalemia, and menstrual abnormalities are potential adverse effects associated with: A. amiloride B. captopril C. triamterene D. spironolactone 1. A,B,C 2. A,C […]
Barbiturates review: a video lecture
Video lecture. Great study aid to review barbiturates for your pharmacology test. Thiopental, Phenobarbital, Methohexital and Pentobarbital.
Animation on the mechanism of action of GnRH agonists and antagonists in the treatment of prostate cancer
The video animations below depict the mechanism of action of GnRH agonists and antagonists in the treatment of prostate cancer. The three movies will start playing at the same time, you can right-click on each of them and deselect “play” in case you want to stop any of them. This excerpt from the Wikipedia article […]
Animation on histamine release and antihistamines mechanism of action
In this 3-D animation, oriented to the general public, we can see the process of histamine release by mast cell starting from the exposure to the allergen: This image shows the same process: H1 blockers are a class of widely prescribed drugs, here an excerpt of its pharmacodynamics (Source: Katzung’s Basic and Clinical Pharmacology) A. […]
P-glycoprotein: animation showing its role in chemotherapy resistance
Some introductory information about MDR1, the protein that mediates resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, from Wikipedia: P-glycoprotein (plasma gycoprotein, abbreviated as P-gp or Pgp) is a well-characterized ABC-transporter of the MDR/TAP subfamily. P-gp is also called ABCB1, ATP-binding cassette sub-family B member 1, MDR1, and PGY1. P-glycoprotein has also recently been designated CD243 (cluster of differentiation 243). […]