NEET MDS Lessons
Pharmacology
Structure of the CNS
The CNS is a highly complex tissue that controls all of the body activities and serves as a processing center that links the body to the outside world.
It is an assembly of interrelated “parts”and “systems”that regulate their own and each other’s activity.
1-Brain
2-Spinal cord
The brain is formed of 3 main parts:
I. The forebrain
• cerebrum
• thalamus
• hypothalamus
II. The midbrain
III. The hindbrain
• cerebellum
• pons
• medulla oblongata
Different Parts of the Different Parts of the CNS & their functions CNS & their functions
The cerebrum(cerebral hemispheres):
It constitutes the largest division of the brain.
The outer layer of the cerebrum is known as the “cerebral cortex”.
The cerebral cortex is divided into different functional areas:
1.Motorareas(voluntary movements)
2.Sensoryareas(sensation)
3.Associationareas(higher mental activities as consciousness, memory, and behavior).
Deep in the cerebral hemispheres are located the “basal ganglia” which include the “corpus striatum”& “substantianigra”.
The basal gangliaplay an important role in the control of “motor”activities
The thalamus:
It functions as a sensory integrating center for well-being and malaise.
It receives the sensory impulses from all parts of the body and relays them to specific areas of the cerebral cortex.
The hypothalamus:
It serves as a control center for the entire autonomic nervous system.
It regulates blood pressure, body temperature, water balance, metabolism, and secretions of the anterior pituitary gland.
The mid-brain:
It serves as a “bridge”area which connects the cerebrum to the cerebellum and pons.
It is concerned with “motor coordination”.
The cerebellum:
It plays an important role in maintaining the appropriate bodyposture& equilibrium.
The pons:
It bridges the cerebellum to the medulla oblongata.
The “locus ceruleus”is one of the important areas of the pons.
The medulla oblongata:
It serves as an organ of conduction for the passage of impulses between the brain and spinal cord.
It contains important centers:
• cardioinhibitory
• vasomotor
• respiratory
• vomiting(chemoreceptor trigger zone, CTZ).
The spinal cord:
It is a cylindrical mass of nerve cells that extends from the end of the medulla oblongata to the lower lumbar vertebrae.
Impulses flow from and to the brain through descending and ascending tracts of the spinal cord.
Neuron Basic Structure (How brain cells communicate)
• Synapse:A junction between the terminal button of an axon and the membrane of another neuron
• Terminal button(orbouton):The bud at the end of a branch of an axon; forms synapses with another neuron; sends information to that neuron.
• Neurotransmitter:A chemical that is released by a terminal button; has an excitatory or inhibitory effect on another neuron.
Different types of Synapses
1-Axo-denrdritic
2-Axo-axonal
3-Axo-somatic
Chemical transmission in the CNS
The CNS controls the main functions of the body through the action endogenous chemical substances known as “neurotransmitters”.
These neurotransmitters are stored in and secreted by neurons to “transmit”information to the postsynaptic sites producing either excitatoryor inhibitory responses.
Most centrally acting drugs exert their actions at the synaptic junctions by either affecting neurotransmitter synthesis, release, uptake, or by exerting direct agonistor antagonistaction on postsynaptic sites.
TCI -Target Controlled Infusion
TCI is an infusion system which allows the anaesthetist to select the target blood concentration required for a particular effect and then to control depth of anaesthesia by adjusting the requested target concentration
Mechanism
Instead of setting ml/h or a dose rate (mg/kg/h), the pump can be programmed to target a required blood concentration.
• Effect site concentration targeting is now included for certain pharmacokinetic models.
• The pump will automatically calculate how much is needed as induction and maintenance to maintain that concentration.
Gastric acid neutralizers (antacids)
Antacids act primarily in the stomach and are used to prevent and treat peptic ulcer. They are also used in the treatment of Reflux esophagitis and Gastritis.
Mechanism of action:
Antacids are alkaline substances (weak bases) that neutralize gastric acid (hydrochloric acid) they react with hydrochloric acid in the stomach to produce neutral or less acidic or poorly absorbed products and raise the pH of stomach secretion.
Antacids are divided into systemic and non-systemic.
• Systemic antacids (e.g. sodium bicarbonate) are highly absorbed into systemic circulation and enter body fluids. Therefore, they may alter acid–base balance. They can be used in the treatment of metabolic acidosis.
Non-systemic: they do not alter acid–base balance significantly, because they are not well-absorbed into the systemic circulation. They are used as gastric antacids; and include:
• Magnesium compounds such as magnesium hydroxide and magnesium sulphate MgS2O3. They have relatively high neutralizing capacity, rapid onset of action, however, they may cause diarrhoea and hypermagnesemia.
• Aluminium compounds such as aluminium hydroxide. Generally, these have low neutralizing capacity, slow onset of action but long duration of action. They may cause constipation.
• Calcium compounds such as. These are highly effective and have a rapid onset of action but may cause hypersecretion of acid (acid - rebound) and milk-alkali syndrome (hence rarely used in peptic ulcer disease).
Therefore, the most commonly used antacids are mixtures of aluminium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide .
Class III Potassium Channel Blockers
Prolong effective refractory period by prolonging Action Potential
Treatment: ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation, conversion of atrial fibrillation or flutter to sinus rhythm, maintenance of sinus rhythm
– Amiodarone (Cordarone) – maintenance of sinus rhythm
– Bretylium (Bretylol)
– Ibutilide (Corvert)
– Dofetilide (Tykosyn)
– Sotalol (Betapace)
Amiodarone
- Has characteristics of sodium channel blockers, beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers
- Has vasodilating effects and decreases systemic vascular resistance
- Prolongs conduction in all cardiac tissue
- Decreases heart rate
- Decreases contractility of the left ventricles
Class III - Adverse Effects
- GI- Nausea vomiting and GI distress
- CNS- Weakness and dizziness
- CV-Hypotension, CHF, and arrhythmias are common.
- Amiodarone associated with potentially fatal Hepatic toxicity, ocular abnormalities and serious cardiac arrhythmias.
Drug – Drug Interactions
These drugs can cause serious toxic effects if combined with digoxin or quinidine.
PHARMACOLOGY OF VASOCONSTRICTORS
All local anesthetics currently used in dentistry today produce some degree of vasodilatation. This
characteristic results in the increased vascularity of the injected site and results in a shorter duration of local
anesthetic action due enhanced uptake of the local anesthetic into the bloodstream.
- Using a “chemical tourniquet” to prolong the effect of local anesthetics
- The vasoconstrictive action of epinephrine reduces uptake of local anesthetic resulting in a significant increase in the duration of local anesthetic action.
- the addition of vasoconstrictors in local anesthetic solutions will:
1. Prolong the effect of the local anesthetic
2. Increase the depth of anesthesia
3. Reduces the plasma concentration of the local anesthetic
4. Reduces the incidence of systemic toxicity
5. Reduces bleeding at surgical site
Local anesthetics containing epinephrine produce:
1. Localized
VASOCONSTRICTION MEDIATED BY ALPHA RECEPTOR ACTIVATION
i. Hemostasis at surgical site
ii. Ischemia of localized tissue
2. Systemic
HEART
i. Increased heart rate (β1)
ii. Increased force and rate of contraction (β 1)
iii. Increased cardiac output
iv. Increases oxygen demand
v. Dilation of coronary arteries
vi. Decreases threshold for arrhythmias
LUNGS
i. Bronchodilation (β2 )
SKELETAL MUSCLE
i. Predominately vasodilation (fight or flight response) (β 2 )
CNS
i. Minimal direct effect due to difficulty in crossing the blood-brain barrier. Most effects on the CNS are manifestations of the vasoconstrictor on other organs such as the heart.
Concentrations of vasoconstrictors
1. Epinephrine The most commonly used epinephrine dilution in dentistry today is 1:100000. However it appears that a 1:200000 concentration is comparable in effect to the 1:100000 concentration.
2. Levonordefrin Levonordefrin is a synthetic compound very similar in structure to epinephrine. It is the only alternate choice of vasoconstrictor to epinephrine. It is prepared as a 1:20000 (0.05mg/ml)(50 mcg/ml) concentration with 2 % mepivacaine.
Cardiovascular considerations
The plasma concentration of epinephrine in a patient at rest is 39 pg/ml.1 The injection of 1 cartridge of lidocaine 1:100000 epinephrine intraorally results in a doubling of the plasma concentration of epinephrine.
The administration of 15 mcg of epinephrine increased heart rate an average of 25 beats/min with some individuals experiencing an increase of 70 beats/min.
Clinical considerations
It is well documented that reduced amounts of epinephrine should be administered to patients with:
HEART DISEASE (ANGINA HISTORYOF MI)
POORLY CONTROLLED HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
It is generally accepted that the dose of epinephrine should be limited to 0.04 mg (40 mcg) for patients that have these medical diagnoses
Sympathomimetics
Beta-Adrenergic Agonists
Beta1-adrenergic agonists (dopamine, dobutamine, prenalterol, xamoterol) have been used to treat acute and chronic heart failure, but have limited usefulness in chronic CHF because of their arrhythmogenic effects, short duration of action, the development of tolerance, and necessity of parenteral administration
Dopamine (i.v.) is used in acute heart failure (cardiogenic shock) to increase blood pressure and increase cardiac output
- It has a short half-life (1 min)
- At high doses dopamine has potent peripheral vasoconstrictor effects (alpha-receptor stimulation), in addition to its inotropic effects
- Low dose dopamine has a renal artery dilating effect and may improve sodium and water excretion in patients refractory to loop diuretics
- When systolic pressure is greater than 90 mm Hg, nitroprusside can be added to reduce ventricular filling pressure and reduce afterload
- i.v. furosemide should also be administered to reduce edema
Levodopa and ibopamine, analogs of dopamine that can be administered orally, have been shown to improve symptoms in some patients, but can exhibit arrhythmogenic side-effects and tachyphylaxis
Dobutamine is a somewhat selective beta1-adrenergic agonist that lacks vasoconstrictor activity and causes minimal changes in heart rate
- It is frequently added to nitroprusside when blood pressure is adequate to increase cardiac output
- It is administered as an i.v. infusion to treat acute severe heart failure
- It has a short half-life (2.4 min) and is only used on a short-term basis, although long-term beneficial effects on cardiac function have been noted
- After 72 hours of therapy, tolerance can develop to dobutamine necessitating switch to other inotropic support (e.g. milrinone)
- Dobutamine can enhance AV conduction and worsen atrial tachycardia
Prenalterol and xamoterol are partial beta1-adrenergic agonists that may simultaneously stimulate beta1-receptors and block the receptors from stimulation by endogenous catecholamines, thereby protecting against beta1-receptor down-regulation