Dr. Donyai’s expert comments are in the news!

A study published this month in the BMJ reports an association between the use of certain anticholinergic drugs and the risk of dementia in the future. Dr Parastou Donyai, Associate Professor of Social and Cognitive Pharmacy, provided her expert comment on this study to the Science Media Centre and said,

“This paper ties in well with current advice for doctors to be careful when using drugs with anticholinergic effects in older people, those who are frail and others with numerous health conditions. The warning to not use anticholinergic drugs in Parkinson’s disease is also important. But the headline claim that some drugs, especially antidepressants, can cause dementia up to 20 years later should be looked at closely. This type of study imagines that patients actually take their drugs as they were prescribed for them. But we know from other research that people with long-term health conditions really only take their medication as prescribed around half of the time – the other half, people either take more or less of their medication or not at all. This issue of ‘non-adherence’ is common in people with heart conditions, stomach problems and mental health illnesses including depression and we want to be careful not to add to the problem. So my first comment is to remember that the paper really looked at the ‘prescribing’ of drugs rather than the ‘taking’ of these medications. This brings me to my second comment which is that anyone worried about taking their antidepressant as a result of this paper should speak to their doctor or pharmacist first and not suddenly stop their medication.”

Results from the study along with Dr. Parastou’s comments have also been reported in the BBC and The Guardian.

BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43881209

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/apr/25/some-antidepressants-linked-to-dementia-risk

Link to study: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k1315

Hamza Alhamad’s oral presentation at HSRPP 2018

Hamza presenting his work

Dr. Hamza recently completed his doctoral work investigating public attitudes towards the reuse of medication returned to community pharmacies. In his presentation at the HSRPP Conference held at the University of Newcastle this month, he reported the results of his cross-sectional study about the UK public’s intentions to reuse medications if this became a legislative possibility in the future. The conference abstract was published in the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice.

Alhamad H, Patel N, and Donyai P. Beliefs and intentions towards reusing medicines in the future: a large- scale, cross-sectional study of patients in the UK. Health Services Research and Pharmacy Practice Conference April 2018, University of Newcastle, UK. Int J Pharm Prac Vol 26 Issue S1.

https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpp.12440

Oral presentations at the Pharmacy PhD Conference 2018

George’s presentation on pharmacist’s input into general practice

Our Pharmacy PhD conference showcases the research conducted by PhD students at the Reading School of Pharmacy and was held at the Henley Business School earlier this month. We had six oral presentations from pharmacy practice students:

  • Patient Adherence to Oral Anticancer Medications in Breast Cancer by Othman Alomeir
  • A systematic review of non-antibiotic measures for the prevention of urinary tract infections in pregnancy by Flavia Ghouri
  • Multiple medicines co-administration in intensive care units by Sophie Oduyale
  • Exploration of prescribing patterns of benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine (Z-drugs) medications to manage insomnia in Saudi Arabia by Ali Dobia
  • Understanding safety differently: an exploration of the use of IV insulin infusions by Mais Iflaifel
  • Capturing pharmacists’ input into general practice: a programme of developmental work by Georgios Karampataki

Many congratulations to George who was also awarded a prize for the best second year oral presentation.

Othman’s presentation on adherence to medication in breast cancer

Sophie’s presentation on medicine co-adminstration in intensive care units

Ali’s presentation on prescribing patterns of benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine medicines to manage insomnia

Mais’s presentation on understanding safety in the use of IV insulin infusions

Flavia’a presentation on non-antibiotic measures to prevent UTIs in pregnancy

Lloyds Pharmacy Public Health Campaign Win!

Second year pharmacy student, Omer Ali.

We proudly congratulate Omer on winning the Lloyds Pharmacy Public Health Campaign competition. Omer is in second year and has been proactive in learning about mental health and finding ways he can get involved in increasing awareness and reducing the stigma asscoiated with mental health conditions. He is a Dementia Friends Champion and has supported the training of his colleagues and staff during Enhancement Week as well as helping to raise awareness as Mental Health Time to Change Champion in Feburary. Well done Omer and we wish you all the best for future endeavours!