Biography
Sinan Cavun, after graduating from the Uludag University, Faculty of Medicine in 1993, completed his Doctoral Education in 1999. He has been working in the field of Pharmacology for a total of 17 years. He worked for eight years in Hospital Medicine Management as a Team Leader. He has focused on neuropharmacology, particularly on depression and neuroendocrine regulation. As a result of his work, he has a European patent in this regard (use of Gly-Gln in the treatment of depression).
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Depression is the 4th leading cause of disability and death all around the world and it is expected to be be the 2nd cause after 2020. Globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression. The high rate of patients who still have not responded to depression treatment makes it necessary to perform preclinical research. The current medications used in depression treatment are also very troublesome drugs in respect of the adverse effects they cause. The risks and adverse effects of antidepressants currently used for depression treatment spread in a large range from sexual problems to death. In the current brain microdialysis studies from our laboratory, it is shown that glycyl-glutamine (Gly-Gln) augments serotonin release in the brain. It is well known that serotonin is a hormone that makes people feel happy, energetic and lively. In this study, we aim to investigate antidepressant effects of Gly-Gln dipeptide because of its enhancing effects on serotonin levels. Methodology: These studies have been performed by the "forced swimming test" method which is the most applied animal model used in antidepressant treatment surveys. Using the swimming test, the dose response study, comparison with Gly-Gln cleavage products and fluoxetine, as well as locomotor activity test was performed. Findings: In this sense, animal studies performed with “glycyl-glutamine†showed that it is tremendously effective against depression. Conclusion: The most important feature of Gly-Gln is being a molecule, which can be synthesized in our body endogenously, and it is comes off while β-endorphin is being burned in the body. Therefore, Gly-Gln is extremely safe with its adverse effects. There isn’t any adverse effect observed during the toxicological studies. This result is important for considering Gly-Gln as a potential antidepressant.
Biography
Richard L Summers, MD, FACEP is Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Mississippi Medical Center Billy S Guyton Distinguished Professor and Chair Emeritus Department of Emergency Medicine Previous Lead Scientist for NASA Digital Astronaut Project. Richard L Summers, MD, FACEP is a native of Gulfport Mississippi and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi magna cum laude in mathematics in 1977. He received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1981 after which he entered their residency program in internal medicine. Summers then began graduate studies and completed a research fellowship under Dr. Arthur C Guyton and Dr. Thomas G Coleman in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. Since 1988 he has been a faculty member at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in various roles including Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine. He currently serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and holds joint appointments in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Clinical studies that examine the outcomes of different treatments have guided the development of standards of care for the practice of medicine. While the evidences of these clinical trials has led to an improved practice of medicine, they focus on the outcome likelihoods for the population of patients as a whole and therefore treatment guidelines have evolved into a one-size-fits-all methodology. Recently, the modern methods of precision/personalized medicine have emerged as the course of medical practice for the future. The discovery of biomarker targets for the pharmacologic strategies of precision medicine will be critical to the development of this practice. Methodology: Developing precision/personalized medicine systems will require an improved capacity to link biologic biomarkers with basic clinical, demographic and socioeconomic phenotypes. Such biomarkers can then be used as targets for patient-specific pharmacologic treatment strategies. A process that back tracks clinical treatment outcomes or adverse events to biologic materials banked in a prospectively instituted biorepository system can be used in the discovery of these potential biomarker targets. Results: A software interface was used to link information from the electronic health record (Epic) and other salient data contained within the enterprise data warehouse with samples in the biobank at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Researchers analyzing the epidemiologic characteristics of the data warehouse can identify cohorts of patients with specific responses to prescribed pharmacologic treatments. The biobanked biologic specimens that are associated with the individuals in these cohorts can then be recovered for an analysis of their pharmacogenetics and other omics as potential biomarker targets. Conclusion: The new precision medicine approach to clinical practice represents a shift in the philosophy of treatment schemes that will require a greater focus on the translation of basic biomedical research to practical patient applications. Linking biobanked specimens to observed outcomes in clinical cohorts will be critical to the discovery of biomarker targets that facilitate decisions regarding precision pharmacologic strategies.