Dithranol is a potent agent in treating psoriasis but its adverse effects on intact skin have limited its usage. There are many proposed mediators for its adverse effects including prostaglandins, histamine, platelet activating factor and free radicals. In this study we examined the effect of different agents (diazepam, terfenadine, indomethacin and garlic extract) on dithranol-induced skin dam...

IN ADDITION TO ITS PARAMOUNT ROLE in the regulation of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis, the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is also involved in renal development (1, 17). In adulthood, renal perfusion pressure, sodium chloride concentration at the site of the macula densa, and -adrenergic receptor stimulation control release of renin. The mechanisms involved in prenatal renin synthesis and sec...

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly used in veterinary medicine for managing acute and chronic pain and inflammation. Although they are used extensively in reptiles and amphibians, there are very few pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic studies of the use of these drugs in these species in the literature. This master class will review these drugs and their methods of action, and lo...

Prostaglandins are lipid autacoids derived from arachidonic acid. They both sustain homeostatic functions and mediate pathogenic mechanisms, including the inflammatory response. They are generated from arachidonate by the action of cyclooxygenase isoenzymes, and their biosynthesis is blocked by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, including those selective for inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2. De...

Prostaglandin E(1) lowers the threshold of human skin to histamine-evoked itching. Though histamine and other mediators may produce itching by a direct action, itching in inflamed skin can also be explained by a pharmacological synergism in which low concentrations of prostaglandins, which do not themselves cause itching, potentiate itching due to histamine and possibly other agents. Alteration...