Medicine and Pharmacology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Medicine and Pharmacology - Essay Example Mefloquine HCl is available as 250-mg tablets (equivalent to 228.0 mg of the free base). The presence of food significantly enhances the rate and extent of absorption. About 98% of the drug binds to protein. Mefloquine is excreted mainly in the bile and feces; therefore, no dose adjustment is needed in persons with renal insufficiency. The drug and its main metabolite are not appreciably removed by hemodialysis. No special chemoprophylactic dosage adjustments are indicated for dialysis patients to achieve plasma concentrations similar to those in healthy persons. Pharmacokinetic differences have been detected between various ethnic populations. In practice, however, these are of minor importance compared with host immune status and parasite sensitivity. In patients with impaired liver function, the elimination of mefloquine may be prolonged, leading to higher plasma levels (U.S.A Food and Drug Administration Guide for Larium 2003). Mefloquine should be used with caution in individuals participating in activities requiring alertness and fine-motor coordination e.g., driving, piloting aircraft, operating machinery, and deep-sea diving. If the drug is to be administered for a prolonged period, periodic evaluations are recommended, including liver function tests and ophthalmic examinations. Sleep abnormalities such as insomnia, abnormal dreams have occasionally been reported. Psychosis and seizures occur rarely; mefloquine should not be prescribed to patients with neuropsychiatric conditions, including depression, generalized anxiety disorder, psychosis, schizophrenia, and seizure disorder. If acute anxiety, depression, restlessness, or confusion develops during prophylaxis, these psychiatric symptoms may be considered prodromal to a more serious event, and the drug should be discontinued (Weinke et al., 1991) Importance of the drug and relevance to the topic Mefloquine given 250 mg of salt weekly in an adult dose has been the antimalarial prophylactic agent of choice for much of the tropics because it is usually effective against multidrug-resistant falciparum malaria and is reasonably well tolerated. Mild nausea, dizziness, fuzzy thinking, disturbed sleep patterns, vivid dreams, and malaise are relatively common. Although rare, due to its potential increased use, the occurrences of neuropsychiatric side effects have come into attention. Approximately 1 in every 10,000 recipients develops an acute reversible neuropsychiatric reaction manifested by confusion, psychosis, convulsions, or encephalopathy. Therefore questions arise whether this should be used. This is a debatable issue, and it would be worthwhile to find out research evidence on this topic (Steffen et al., 1993). Review of Literature Mefloquine is the most effective medicine in the prophylaxis and treatment of malaria. However, neuropsychiatric side-effects can more often be seen with the use of mefloquine compared to other anti-malaria drugs. Murai et al. (2005) studied the neuropsychiatric symptoms caused by mefloquine on report from several cases. After analysis of the data the authors assume, that besides the

Analyze two short stories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analyze two short stories - Essay Example Connie is a fifteen years old girl, a typical adolescent, lover of music, theater and boys. Like all teenagers she is in revolt with the existing norms and is in search of independence. The fact that she is unaware of is that, independence brings with it maturity and responsibility and her tender body and mind are not yet prepared for both. While Arnold Friend on the other hand stands for harsh and brutal realities of the world. He is rough and tough. Might is right for him. He personifies lust in its purest form. Connie is impressed by his modern looks and shinning car, forgetting that all that glitters is not always gold. When dragged forcefully into the bitter realities of life by Friend she loses self-control and confidence. Structure of the story The theme is well developed into a unified story. The scene of the story is set in 1960, the period when women have begun their struggle for independence. The concept of modern woman is not yet very common. The naive fifteen years old C onnie sees the whole world from her own point of view. For the rebellions adolescent the life inside the house is very boring. Her mother is always scolding her and comparing her to her elder sister who â€Å"was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time by her mother and her mother’s sisters.†(Oates 23) Fully aware of her seductive powers Connie is determined to conquer the outside world with her beauty and charm but she is unaware of the forces that are beyond her control. . Exalted in her new discovered power to attract others, specially the high school boys, she finds it easy to control the whole world and lead a life according to her own wishes. She is a perfect epitome of fantasy with her rosy ideas of romance. Appearance is reality for her and everything that exists is real and lovable she â€Å"sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed with the warmth about her as if this were the kind of love, the caresses o f love.†(Oates 33) The conflict comes in the form of Friend who is powerful, dominating, vicious and ruthless. Connie resists with all her might but she is forcefully dragged into the bitter realities of the mature world. So the whole story becomes tragic. The end is vague like the real life itself in which so many things are unexplainable and hard to understand just as we are told that she sees â€Å"so much land that Connie had never seen before and did not recognized except to know that she was going to it†(Oates 50) Symbolism in the story Symbolism also plays important part in the development of the main theme. The whole story is the symbol of human life; we start our life in such an enthusiastic manner like Connie and want to conquer the whole world. We are euphoric about our energies and power. Then suddenly the bitterness of the hard realities of life shakes us, shattering our belief and faith on ourselves. We are crushed by the burden of life which is often gove rned by the evil forces. Life itself is as vague as the ending of the story. It can be interpreted in so many ways but none of the interpretation bears a happy ending. Music is also used as a symbol in order to develop the theme of the story. It is always there in the fore front or in the back ground leaving its effect on all that is going on. Connie loves music and it is present in her head all the time turning her surrounding into an imaginary world where everything is beautiful and