SA Pharmaceutical Journal - Volume 82, Issue 1, January 2015

It's always wonderful to start a new working year with something exciting, and this year we have something brilliant! I'm seriously excited about the Red Brick Library! Yes, the SAPJ has been available electronically on the website www.sapj.co.za for some years now. BUT ... to make it truly portable we really need a tablet app. And now we have it!

We grow up in a society where we expect to be protected, live in civilised communities and to receive certain services from the State - after all, that is what we pay taxes for, isn't it? Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and is set in the wider context of social history. It made sense to have rules that everybody would abide by as that created order out of a previously chaotic situation.

The PSSA is proud to announce that the South African Pharmaceutical Journal and South African Pharmacist's Assistant have been included in Medpharm's Red Brick Library (RBL). Medpharm's latest innovation offers a tablet platform to bring our journals to PSSA members.

Noticeboard

The mission of YPG is to promote the goals of PSSA by encouraging the young members of the Society to participate in PSSA projects and activities. In so doing, YPG aims to develop individuals who can act as agents of positive change at local, national and international levels, both in the profession and in society.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), sometimes also abbreviated as GERD, is a disorder that occurs frequently in the general population, in which GORD has a broad range of symptoms and differing degrees of symptom severity. It can result in tremendous costs to both the patient and the healthcare system. In addition, it severely impacts on the patient's quality of life. This review examines the causes of GORD, its symptoms, risk factors and treatment.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a medical term that describes the inability to achieve and/or maintain an erect penis adequate for sexual function. This condition is one of the most common sexual problems for men and increases with age, but it's not a natural part of ageing. Approximately one half of men aged 40 years and older have erection problems. Most men have difficulty achieving an erection from time to time, and such occurrences are considered normal. However, ED may be a regular and more severe problem in some men. It can cause low self-esteem, performance anxiety, depression and stress, and may also affect the quality of a marriage or intimate relationships. Lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, participating in more exercise, stopping smoking and minimising the risk of heart disease, may help to improve the condition. The introduction of the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors has revolutionised the treatment of ED. Surgery may be considered when these inhibitors and other approaches fail or are contraindicated.

Nonbullous impetigo and bullous impetigo, caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes, can be successfully treated with topical antibiotics. Retapamulin is a semi-synthetic pleuromutilin antibiotic with bacteriostatic properties against S. aureus and S. pyogenes. It prevents bacterial protein synthesis in multiple ways, and therefore reduces the risk of resistance developing. A twice-daily application of retapamulin for five days is effective in treating primary impetigo and secondarily infected traumatic lesions and dermatoses in patients older than nine months of age. The benefits of topical treatment include low systemic absorption, with less side-effects and a lower risk of resistance when compared to oral therapy. Serious adverse events have not been reported with the use of retapamulin. The most commonly reported adverse event has been local skin irritation. If lesions do not improve after 3-4 days of treatment with retapamulin, patients should consult their doctor to further investigate and eliminate the possibility of infection with non-susceptible strains.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) pose a significant burden to the healthcare system annually. A positive impact on, and a reduction, in the mortality rate can be achieved through an understanding of the most common microorganisms that cause these two closely-associated conditions, identifying the associated risk factors and co-morbidities, and making a timely diagnosis. With the correct understanding of these conditions, proper preventative strategies can be implemented and treatment provided according to the severity of the specific condition in question. Better outcomes for infected individuals are likely to result from newer strategies involving novel antibiotics, as well as new approaches to the use of older antibiotics for different purposes. This article provides a general overview of the nature and management of HAP and VAP.

Pharmacists are responsible for the management of medicines to ensure the availability of medicines at an affordable price, while maintaining the quality of the medicines throughout the supply chain. It is the responsibility of the hospital pharmacist to oversee the complete medicine distribution cycle, starting from the prescription according to the diagnosis, choice of medicine, dispensing, preparation and administration of the medicines. Therefore, the pharmacist can fulfil an essential role in ensuring medicine safety within a hospital facility.

Animals remain an important source of drugs in the search for new medicinal compounds. Drugs from animal sources include insulin, pituitary hormones, vitamins, and antibiotics and biological agents, such as vaccines and immune serums. Insulin, discovered by Frederick Banting, was one of the earliest drugs to derive from animals. Today, a new drug called exenatide from the Gila monster's spit keeps glucose blood levels steady, as well as ensuring weight loss in many patients. Many drugs, adjuvants and cosmetic substances derive from domestic animals, as well as wild ones. Premarin and gelatine, obtained from horses, are vital to our being. Hyaluronic acid, originally found in rooster combs, is a popular skin care ingredient, as well as a medicinal agent for osteoarthritis and eye surgeries. The venom and toxin from animals, like snakes, spiders, scorpions and insects, is extremely potent because it interacts with specific macromolecular targets in the body. Thus, it has been used as the lead compound in the development of novel drugs, such as natural adhesives used in surgeries, and to help to treat strokes, digestive disorders and gastric reflux disease. It may also be useful in treating and preventing cardiovascular disease. Cytarabine, obtained from the Caribbean sponge, is used in the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia. Many new antibiotics are being developed from alligators and frogs which spend their lives in places that are teeming with infectious microbes.

During a dissection practical in the Anatomy Department of the University of Pretoria, students found an unknown tablet in the rectum of a male cadaver. The deceased was approximately 68 years of age and the cause of death was not known. However, it was noted that the deceased had an enlarged heart with ventricular hypertrophy.

The title of this article was borrowed from a report by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), namely: "Now or Never: Shaping pharmacy for the future". At the beginning of 2015, it's appropriate for community pharmacists in South Africa, bearing in mind the opportunities and challenges currently facing community pharmacy, to take steps to shaping their future.

I conducted this small project, as my intern project, while I was an intern in 2013 at George Hospital in the Western Cape. The project consisted of two parts:

• developing and presenting PowerPoint presentations on basic pharmacology for nursing students
• developing and implementing Medication Information Cards (MI Cards) on the hospital wards.

The project demonstrated the positive role of the pharmacist, as part of a multi-disciplinary team, in a hospital environment in improving medication education and use.

Whilst we find ourselves in 2015's infancy stages, some of us still suffer the consequences of throwing caution to the wind during the festive season, after having sampled a never-ending supply of hearty meals, rich desserts and lots of ice-cold beverages to fight against dehydration during the scorching days..

The 35^th conference of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences was held on 12 to 14 September 2014 at the Summerstrand Hotel in Port Elizabeth. The conference was hosted by the Department of Pharmacy at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and the theme for this year's conference was "Integrating Research, Education and Practice" and a carefully compiled programme emphasized the need for Academia to increase efforts to integrate our practice as well as collaborate more closely with other sectors in order to achieve favourable educational outcomes for our profession. The theme was also very relevant in light of the fact the all the institutions offering pharmacy qualifications are in the process of rolling out a new BPharm curriculum that has more emphasis on the integration of student learning.

The NMMU Alumni Awards recognise alumni who have gone the distance and beyond in their various fields, to the benefit of society at local, provincial, national and international level.

Letters to the Editor