Pre-Pharmacy Society umdprepharm@gmail studentorg.umd/ prepharm

1. Pre-Pharmacy Societyumdprepharm@gmail.comstudentorg.umd.edu/prepharm Get on the ListServ...Join Our Facebook Group…Visit Our Website…CMNS Updates 5th GENERAL BODY MEETING! November 19th, 2012

2. Agenda • Welcome! Don’t forget to sign-in • Active Membership Requirements • E-board Elections • Community Service Opportunities • Drug of the Week: Aspartame • Pharmaceutical Issue: Drug Expiration Dates • Panel of pharmacists from Johns Hopkins: Dr. Crow, Dr. Lindsley, Dr. Person, and Dr. Tal Placido

3. Active Membership Requirements • 3 General Body Meetings (GBM’s) per semester • 1 on-campus community service event • 1 off-campus community service event • Active participation in group discussions

4. Active Membership • Don’t wait until the end of the semester for extra opportunities! • Commitment • Questions?? Contact Community Service Co- Chairs: • On- Campus Events: • Sophia Wang – sophzwang@gmail.com • Off Campus Events: • Janet Akinduro- kemi_akins1@yahoo.com

5. E-board Elections • Elections will be happening next semester, but start thinking about it now • Would you make a good E-board member? • Active member • Willing to put in time and effort • Can work well with others • Contribute good ideas to make our society even better • A leadership position looks great on resumes • Open spot for secretary next semester- e-mail application • Interviews: December 3rd and 4th4:00-5:00 pm

6. Upcoming Community Service Events

7. WHEN: December 4th • TIME: 5-8pm • DEPARTURE: 3:45pm from Capital One ATM in front of Stamp • VOLUNTEERS:3 spots open • TASK: Help clean and make holiday decorations • Volunteers must wear appropriate attire (Long pants, closed toe shoes etc.) • Volunteers must arrive on time for departure • Volunteers must give a 24hour cancellation notice!!! • Sign up sheet is available at the end of the meeting

8. UMB Mentor/Mentee Program • Matches should be made, and your mentor should have made contact with you by now. If you have not heard from your mentor yet, come talk to me at the end • Any interesting correspondences? Helpful?

9. Drug of the Week Aspartame By: Amanda Hom

10. What is aspartame? Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used in many foods and beverages. It is sold alone under the brand names NutraSweet, AminoSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. Products that contain aspartame include: Diet Coke Coca-cola Zero Pepsi Max Sprite Zero Dr. Pepper Zero Wrigley’s chewing gum Trident chewing gum Orbit chewing gum Many other sugar-free products

11. Chemistry of Aspartame Combined structures of L-phenylalanine and L-aspartic acid. IUPAC name: L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester Hydrolyzed in the body to three chemicals, aspartic acid (40%), phenylalanine (50%) and methanol (10%). All three of these derivatives have dangerous side effects!

12. Phenylalanine • Amino acid that is produced in the brain naturally • Acts as a neurotransmitter • If ingested, can be harmful to individuals with phenylketoneuria • Inability to digest phenylalanine • can cause brain damage, seizures and other problems. • Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain can cause the levels of serotonin in the brain to decrease, leading to emotional disorders such as depression. • It was shown in human testing that phenylalanine levels of the blood were increased significantly in human subjects who chronically used aspartame.

13. Aspartic Acid • Aspartic acid is an amino acid. • Taken in its free form (unbound to proteins) it significantly raises the blood plasma level of aspartate and glutamate. • Excess aspartate and glutamate in the blood plasma shortly after ingesting aspartame or products with free glutamic acid (glutamate precursor) leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of the brain.

14. Methanol • Converted in the body to formaldehyde and diketopiperazine • Both formaldehyde and diketopiperazine have carcinogenic and neurotoxicity effects • Some may recall formaldehyde as being listed in the ingredients of nail polish and industrial cleaners.

15. Some examples of reported side effects • Tinnitus • Severe depression (most common complaint received by FDA) • Severe itching without a rash • Slurring of speech • Increased brain tumors in laboratory mice • Headaches • Confusion • Memory loss • eye pain • Severe drowsiness • Link to Alzheimer’s

16. FDA Approval of Aspartame • Aspartame was denied by the FDA eight times before it got approved • G.D. Searle, founder of aspartame, has been accused of “knowingly misrepresenting findings and concealing material facts and making false statements in aspartame safety tests.” • Aspartame was approved because Searle’s lawyer left the case to work for Searle’s firm. • The statute of limitations on the case ran out, and case against Searle was dropped by default.

17. Pharmaceutical Issue Drug Expiration Dates

18. Patient Concerns Can they take a medication if it has reached the drug expiration date? Are there certain drugs that should never be used past their expiration date? Are there recommendations about the best way to store medications?

19. What Do Expiration Dates Mean? The final day that the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of a medication. The expiration date of a drug is estimated using stability testing under good manufacturing practices as determined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Drug products marketed in the US typically have an expiration that extends from 12 to 60 months from the time of manufacturer.

20. Do Expired Medications Lose Effectiveness? • American Medical Association (AMA) concluded in 2001 that the actual shelf life of some products is longer than the labeled expiration date. • Shelf Life Extension Program (SLEP): To determine the actual shelf life of stockpiled military medications for future use, and to save government dollars. • Based on stability data, expiration dates on 88% of the lots were extended beyond their original expiration date for an average of 66 months. • Amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, and morphine sulfate injections.

21. Are Expired Medications Safe? • Solid dosage forms, such as tablets and capsules, appear to be most stable past their expiration date. • Proper storage of medications may help to extend their potency. • Some medications should not be kept past the expiration date: • Vaccines • Insulin • EpiPens • Eye Drops • IV

22. Discussion • Should patients use expired medications or not? • Pros? • Cons? • Should drug expiration dates be extended to better reflect the durability of their active ingredients? • Who is responsible for determining the expiration dates? Pharmacists or the FDA?

23. Sources http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expiration+date http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update1103a.shtml http://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/Some-Medications-Last-Long-Past-Expiration-Date http://www.drugs.com/article/drug-expiration-dates.html

24. Next time… • Final GBM of the fall semester…Pizza and Games!!