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Biomedical subjects

R Vojtko

Publications and source records attributed to R Vojtko.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Experience with problem oriented teaching in pharmacology.

Pharmacology is one of the core subjects for further graduation in both preclinical and clinical area. Medical education is being performed either in the "classical" way (lecture based learning--LBL) or in a more advanced form, such as problem based learning (PBL). According to the Medline database, the interest in PBL is still increasing. At our department, the PBL has been introduced using the knowledge obtained at the the Mac Master University and University of Groningen. PBL in pharmacology requires well-qualified staff with clinical experience. A common character of PBL is the use of selected clinical cases as models and starting points to study certain topics with a student centred approach. In an interview we made on a sample of 88 students of our medical faculty in the last study year, 65.5% of them found the amount of information concerning pharmacotherapy not sufficient for their future clinical practice and 83.3% did not feel able to use the knowledge obtained. More than 90% of students did not see enough opportunities for pharmacotherapy training during clinical subject courses. These results are in support of our orientation of teaching towards the PBL. This type of teaching forces students to be active, trains their skills in communication and selection of knowledge, which is believed to enhance the long-term knowledge retention. By using the hybrid PBL-LBL model at our department we respect the principal proposal of medical education and attempt to improve skills in decision making in training of future medical doctors. (Tab. 3, Fig. 2, Ref. 13.)

Education, Medical↗
PubMed2005

The Slovak Drug Information (Druginfo) Centre during the period 1997-2004.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the presented study was to evaluate the profile of users, the number and character of questions which were received during the period May 1997-December 2004. BACKGROUND: The drug information centre (Druginfo) has been established in Slovak Republic at the Department of Pharmacology in May 1997. Since 2002 Druginfo is a member of International Register of Drug Information Services of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia. Druginfo provides voluntarily free of charge drug information for healthcare professionals. METHOD: Druginfo receives questions addressed via phone, fax and e-mail. The questions were replied by consulting pharmacologists on duty. The data for this study were obtained from records which include list the received questions and the basic information about the questioners. RESULTS: The Druginfo received 495 questions during the period May 1997-December 2004. Questions were mostly from hospital physicians, followed by outpatient physicians and employees of the Faculty of Medicine. The most frequent specializations of the asking physicians were internal medicine, gynaecology-obstetrics, clinical pharmacology and general medicine. The most common topic was basic information about drugs, followed by questions concerning the use of drugs in pregnancy and lactation. According to the ATC classification the questions were most often related to antiinfective drugs, cardiovascular drugs and psychiatric drugs. CONCLUSION: The existence of Druginfo in Slovak Republic represents a possibility of an open access to independent drug information. (Fig. 3, Ref. 11.)

Drug Information Services↗
PubMed2004

The effect of meloxicam and deendothelisation on vascular responses in the rabbit renal and ear arteries.

BACKGROUND: The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is frequently limited by adverse effects resulting from the disruption of homeostatic functions of prostaglandins. OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed at the evaluation of the effect of selective COX-2 inhibitor meloxicam on vasoconstrictor responses to noradrenaline (NA) in rabbit renal artery chosen as a model vessel and in rabbit ear artery as a peripheral artery under in vitro conditions. METHODS: Rabbit renal and ear arteries were perfused at constant flow. Vascular responses to NA before and after meloxicam administration and after deendothelisation by air bubbles were measured and registered as changes in perfusion pressure. RESULTS: It was found out that vasoconstrictor responses to noradrenaline when exposed to meloxicam were not enhanced significantly in both arterial preparations. Deendothelisation itself did not increase responses affected by meloxicam in the renal and ear arteries but in comparison with control groups the responses were significantly augmented, especially in the ear artery. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in this study demonstrate that meloxicam had not affected adversely the vasoconstrictor activity in different types of vessels without selectivity on vascular beds. Endothelial removal potentiated vasoconstrictor responses in arteries pre-treated by meloxicam when compared with intact vessels. (Tab. 2, Fig. 4, Ref. 19.)

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effect of indomethacin and deendothelisation on vascular responses in the renal artery.

Vasodilator prostaglandins (PGE2, PGI2) play an important role in the regulation of renal blood flow. Hence, inhibition of their production with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increases renal vascular resistance and exerts adverse renal effects. It has been reported that besides endothelium-derived prostaglandin products, nitric oxide (NO) may be mainly involved in regulation of renal functions. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of cyclooxygenase inhibition with indomethacin and endothelium removal on vascular responses of the renal artery as a model vessel. Isolated segments of rabbit renal arteries were perfused at constant flow. Indomethacin administration (10(-5) mol x l(-1)) significantly increased the responses to single doses (0.1, 1, 10 microg) of noradrenaline (NA) as compared with the controls. In indomethacin-pretreated vessels, subsequent deendothelisation by air bubbles enhanced the constrictor responses to NA. In reversed order, when deendothelisation was followed by indomethacin administration, the responses to NA were similar in character. A comparison of renal artery responses to NA in both experimental situations did not reveal any significant differences. It can be supposed that endothelial and non-endothelial factors may be involved in local regulation of renal vascular tone.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Computer-based methods for measurement, recording and modeling vessel responses in vitro: a pilot study with noradrenaline.

This paper reports the first results of an ongoing methodological pilot study aimed at designing techniques for the automatic measurement and digital recording of vessel responses to biologically active substances under in vitro conditions and for the mathematical modeling of the underlying processes. The techniques presented in this pilot study allowed us to determine model-based estimates of the parameters characterizing vasoconstrictor responses, i.e., the vessel sensitivity parameter, the mean time of vasoconstrictor response and the rate constant of vessel relaxation. The given parameters are not dependent on doses of biologically active substances, provided that the underlying processes satisfy the principle of superposition. Use of these techniques is shown in the classic study of vasoconstrictor responses to noradrenaline in the rat renal artery.

Animals↗