Podcasts - Clinical Pharmacology
New ideas for preventing serious harm from alcohol
11:31, Fri 30 Sep 2011
29th Sep 2011: Professor Donald Singer interviewed by Seamus McKee on BBC Radio Ulster about research on alcohol from Australia led by Mark Hutchinson.
Professor Singer said "The international media have reported this as a major new treatment to protect from alcohol. How close is the research to human treatment? And is there a risk this could be a drug of abuse for people over-indulging in alcohol and hoping to avoid harmful effects? This was an experimental study looking at ways to prevent from sedation and loss of balance after a large dose of alcohol. The authors used genetic studies and an isomer of the drug naloxone to look for effects of alcohol on the immune system...
Inflammation and serious acute effects of alcohol. A new treatment target?
02:13, Fri 30 Sep 2011
12.17pm PDT: Interview with Professor Donald Singer on San Francisco KGO Newstalk Radio about research in Adelaide, Australia led by Mark Hutchinson.
Professor Singer said "These researchers have attracted international media interest with headlines heralding a new treatment to protect from alcohol. How close is the research to human treatment? And is there a risk this could be a drug of abuse for people over-indulging in alcohol and hoping to avoid harmful effects? This was an experimental study looking at ways to prevent some of the harmful effects of a single large dose of alcohol. The authors were following up research suggesting a link between alcohol and the immune system...
Pain-killers and risk of heart rhythm disorders
00:12, Wed 6 Jul 2011
5.7.11 Professor Donald Singer interviewed by Annie Othen on BBC radio Coventry and Warwickshire about a report in the British Medical Journal by Schmidt and colleagues from Denmark, North Carolina and Boston, USA on 'Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter ..." [http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d3450]. Professor Singer notes that 'this large study from Denmark concerns patients prescribed the powerful pain-killer and anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors. The authors suggest that in the first year on these medicines the serious heart rhythm disorders atrial fibrillation or flutter may occur in an additional 7 out of a thousand patients (10 per 1000 new episodes of atrial rhythm disorders in controls vs. 14-17 per 1000 patients on recent treatment with NSAIDs or COS-2 inhibitors). With longer term treatment the reported additional annual increase risk is smaller at up to 2-3 additional patients per 1000 treatment with NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors. In this case-control study, the authors aimed to control possible confounding reasons for increased risk from the pain-killers. However patients on the drugs were a third more likely to have had known previous heart disease (80%) than in the control population (59%). And no information was available on non-prescribed ‘over-the-counter’ use of drugs. NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors should be prescribed based on careful weighing up of their benefits and risks. Patients on these medicines who develop palpitations or other features of heart problems, including shortness of breath or ankle swelling, should consult their GP for advice.’
Medicines in older people
21:06, Fri 24 Jun 2011
24.6.11 Professor Donald Singer interviewed by Annie Othen on BBC radio Coventry and Warwickshire about today's report in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society that suggests increased risk of mortality and mental impairment in older people from some medicines used in combination. Professor Singer notes that the study relies on events and clinical practice from almost 20 years ago. Since then, there have been many changes in how and what drugs are used ...
Hangover 'cures'
10:31, Mon 24 Jan 2011
22nd Jan 2011: Professor Donald Singer interviewed by Malcolm Boyden on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Radio. From new USA experimental research on effects of caffeine and aspirin-like medicine on 'hangover', to old remedies [anyone for Pliny the Elder's fried canaries and raw owls eggs?].
Prof Singer discussed guidelines on sensible alcohol intake, including avoiding binge drinking within a [UK] weekly upper limit of 21 units, less e.g. for younger or elderly people, the lean, patients with a wide range of medical problems [e.g. high blood pressure, heart disease or liver disease] and people on medicines which interact with alcohol.
The evidence is that 'hangover cures' at best reduce symptoms but do not return performance to normal - and aspirin-like painkillers increase the risk of serious stomach ulcers and bleeds, more so when linked to high alcohol intake.
See http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/alcohol/ for website on alcohol for phone apps and helpful advice.
Antibiotic resistance
00:10, Wed 18 Aug 2010
17th August 2010: BBC 3 Counties Radio interview - Professor Donald Singer with Simon Lederman based on Lancet Infectious Diseases August 2010 article and feature by Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley, 12th August 2010.
Young researchers at WorldPharma 2010 in Copenhagen
23:26, Sun 25 Jul 2010
BPS Podcast by Professor Donald Singer with researchers at Copenhagen WorldPharma 2010: Ricardo Pardo, Barcelona on gender and MDMA (ecstacy); Dongying Zhang, Tokohu, Sendai on novel anti-tussive; Fatemeh Rezania, Teheran on lithium-cannabinoid interactions; Doreen Wittkopf, Leipzig on platelet P2Y2 ADP receptor modulation; David Thal, Michigan on novel GPCR kinase 2 modulators; Jenny Svard, Dublin on hepatic effects of anti-HIV retrovirals; Dragana Stankovic, Bosnia-Herzegovina on potassium channel openers.
NADPH oxidase as a therapeutic target
23:09, Sun 25 Jul 2010
BPS podcast by Professor Donald Singer with Professor Chris Sobey, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia at WorldPharma 2010 in Copenhagen on NADPH oxidase as a therapeutic target.
Poetry and Medicine
00:26, Mon 18 Jan 2010
Professor Donald Singer interviewed on Poetry and Medicine and the International Hippocrates Prize by Mark Powlett on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Radio - 14th January 2010.
Prize deadline 15th February 2010.
2010 Hippocrates Prize Awards will be announced at International Symposium on Poetry and Medicine at Warwick Arts Centre, Saturday 10th April, 2010
www.hippocrates-poetry.org
Clinical trials and rational prescribing
00:59, Thu 15 Jan 2009
Colin Baigent, Oxford, in conversation with Albert Ferro, King's College London, and Donald Singer, Warwick
Anabolic drugs and sport
00:29, Thu 15 Jan 2009
December 2008 - British Pharmacology Society Winter Conference: Dr Andrew Kicman on Anabolic Drugs and Sport
Community Pharmacy Cardiovascular Health Initiative
22:56, Thu 22 Mar 2007
Interview with Carl Rose, West Midlands Pharmacy Technical Manager, about the role of Community Pharmacists in a free week of cardiovascular health promotion through blood pressure measurement and healthy lifestyle advice, 26-31 Mar, 2007.
Perspectives on conventional and alternative therapies.
Thu 14 Jun 2007
As an entry for the Spring 2007 University of Warwick Podcast competition, 2nd year graduate medical students Anna Morris and Nkoyo Faal interviewed Miss Fiona Dean, a Consultant Ophthalmologist who also has a keen interest in Complementary Therapies. Given the recent debate on the funding for such therapies, they thought it might be valuable to obtain the perspective of a medical practitioner on this issue; in particular one who works in both conventional and alternative therapies.
Download Podcast: (MP3 format, 11:40, 11 MB)
Genetic testing and pharmacovigilance
13:15 Thu 04 Jan 2007
Margaret Thorogood, Professor of Epidemiology and Chris Bridle, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology at Warwick Medical School discuss the impact of pharmacogenetics on pharmacovigilance with Professor Ralph Edwards, WHO Monitoring Centre, Uppsala, Dr Duncan Hale, Pharmacogenetics Division, Pfizer, Dr Robin Ferner, Director of the West Midlands Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre, Birmingham and members of the audience. Topics discussed include:
- pressure from seriously ill patients to accept higher risk from drugs in the hope of treatment benefit
- need for very large population databases to capture rare events
- impact on reporting of genetic testing
- completeness of phenotypic information in databases
Length 16min 15sec
Duncan McHale & Kevin Cheeseman: Potential impact of pharmacogenetics on drug development and safety
13:15 Thu 04 Jan 2007
Dr Duncan McHale, Senior Director and Head of Molecular Profiling, Pharmacogenetics Division, Pfizer and Dr Kevin Cheeseman, Director of the Discovery Medicine and Epidemiology Section of AstraZeneca Research and Development discuss the potential impact of pharmacogenetics on drug development and safety. Topics discussed:
- current long lead time for drug development
- potential and limitations for pharmacogenetics to accelerate new drug development
- reducing risk of long QT syndrome
- improving medicine safety
- complexity in understanding drug adverse effects
- risks of liver toxicity
- TPMT and 6-mercaptopurine/azathioprine toxicity
Length 11mins 13secs
Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg: the right medicine and the right dose for all?
13:15 Thu 04 Jan 2007
Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg, Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, discusses pharmacogenetics of inter-individual and geographical variability in genes which regulate how drugs are activated or cleared by the body by the important cytochrome P450 (CYP) family of liver enzymes.
Topics discussed:
- variability between individuals in drug metabolism
- pharmacogenetics
- drug metabolising enzymes
- cytochrome P450 (CYP) family of liver enzymes
- geographical and ethnic variation in genes for drug handling
- examples of drugs for which pharmacogenetic testing before treatment is already clinically recommmended
Length - 7mins 56 secs
John Hearn: Stem Cell therapy - potential and risks
13:15 Thu 04 Jan 2007
John Hearn, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor of Physiology, University of Sydney describes AC21 and discusses the potential and risks of stem cell treatment. Topics include:
- what are stem cells?
- embryonic stem cells
- adult stem cells
- wound repair
- replacing damaged organs
- treating diabetes
- unregulated cell growth and cancer
Jan Dumanski: Gene dose, cancer, HIV and drug discovery
13:15 Thu 04 Jan 2007
Professor Jan Dumanski, molecular geneticist at the University of Birmingham, Alabama, USA and at the University of Uppsala, Sweden, discusses how gene copy number (CNV or copy number variability) can play a major role in diseases such as cancer and HIV, and in explaining drug responsiveness and adverse effect profiles. Topics discussed:
- chromosome 22
- contrast between SNPs and CNVs
- role of CNV in cancer
- importance of gene deletion and amplification in HIV
- practical implementation of CNV testing for improving human diagnostics and treatment
Length - 7mins 3secs
Clinical Pharmacology
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Interactive Quiz Page
Podcast Transcripts
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Professor Colin Baigent: Clinical trials and rational prescribing
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Professor Jan Dumanski : Gene dose, cancer, HIV & drug discovery
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Professor John Hearn: Stem cell therapy
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Cardiovascular Prevention: Carl Rose
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Genetic testing and pharmacovigilance
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Duncan McHale & Kevin Cheeseman: drug development and safety
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Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg: the right medicine and the right dose for all?
