Optimization of Zebrafish Larvae 6-OHDA Exposure for Neurotoxin Induced Dopaminergic Marker Reduction.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is clinically assessed by motor symptoms associated with the loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons affecting the quality of life for over 8.5 million people worldwide. The neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) has been used to chemically induce a PD-like state in zebrafish larvae by several laboratories; however, highly variable concentration, methodology, and reagents have resulted in conflicting results suggesting a need to investigate these issues of reproducibility. We propose a protocol that addresses the differences in methodology and induces changes in 6 days postfertilization (dpf) larvae utilizing a 24-h exposure at 3 dpf with 30 µM 6-OHDA. Despite ∼50% lethality, no morphological or development differences in surviving fish are observed. Definition of our model is defined by downregulation of the expression of th1 by reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, a marker for dopaminergic neurons and a reduction in movement. Additionally, we observed a downregulation of pink1 and an upregulation of sod1 and sod2, indicators of mitochondrial dysfunction and response to reactive oxygen species, respectively.

Evaluation of pharmacy students' clinical interventions on a general medicine practice experience.

UNLABELLED: As colleges of pharmacy prepare a new generation of practitioners, it is important that during practice experiences students learn the impact of clinical interventions. For over ten years, pharmacy students have been a vital part of the multidisciplinary team at the military treatment facility. The overall impact of the student interventions on patient care has not been evaluated. To evaluate the impact, the students began documenting their clinical interventions in Medkeeper RxInterventions™, an online database. The program is used to document faculty and fourth year pharmacy students' pharmaceutical interventions. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyze the interventions completed by fourth year pharmacy students during a general medicine advanced pharmacy practice experience at a military treatment facility. METHODS: The students completing their general medicine advanced pharmacy practice experience at the military treatment facility are responsible for self reporting all interventions made during clinical rounds into the Medkeeper RxIntervention™ database. The researchers retrospectively collected and analyzed interventions made from June 2008 to June 2009. RESULTS: The total number of interventions recorded by 8 fourth year pharmacy students was 114. Students averaged a number of 14.3 interventions during an eight week practice experience. Students spent an average of 5 minutes per intervention. Ninety- five percent of the interventions were accepted. CONCLUSION: Fourth year pharmacy students' recommendations were accepted at a high rate by resident physicians. The high acceptance rate may have the ability to positively impact patient care.