Course: The Science of Medicines

Watch Kirstie discuss the side effects of morphine and patient’s development of tolerance. Kirstie also explains how Ari can better manage his pain relieving medications taking these factors into account.

Morphine itself is a very useful medicine and we can compare morphine to its close cousin, codeine which is used in a number of over-the-counter medicines for pain. To begin …

Watch David discuss the chemical structure of morphine and the interactions it makes with the opioid receptor.

Watch David discuss the chemical structure of morphine highlighting some of the key functional groups that make interactions with the opiate receptor. As you make your way through the course, …

Watch Kirstie introduces Ari, a gentleman with chronic back pain on multiple medications, including morphine tablets. Ari is seeing a variety of health practitioners.

Watch Kirstie explain the potential side effects of gliclazide usage, particularly the most concerning side effect of low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) in the body. Living with type 2 diabetes …

You may like to test your vocabulary and understanding of terms used in this week of the course by completing the crossword. Go to Downloads to download the Diabetes crossword …

Watch Ian explain the pharmacokinetics of gliclazide and its elimination half-life, and how these influence how often Shirley needs to take her tablets.

Watch David explain how a drug side effect led to the discovery of the anti-diabetic sulfonylureas. As you make your way through the course, you may like to return to …

Among the radical changes made to the sulfonyl urea drugs was the addition of large groups on the left hand side of the benzene ring. In this example, glibenclamide, we …

Watch David explain the process of optimising the chemical structures of the anti-diabetic sulfonylureas for safety and efficacy.

Watch Dan explain the main functions of insulin and how insulin is normally released from the pancreas.

Watch Kirstie introduce Shirley Park, a mildly overweight patient with Type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately for Shirley, diet and exercise have not helped her lose weight or control her diabetes. She …

You may like to test your vocabulary and understanding of terms used in this week of the course by completing the crossword. Go to Downloads to download the Heart disease …

Watch Ian explain how inactive ingredients, called excipients, are used to give a tablet the physical properties it needs.