by Justin
As I write this post I am sequestered in a dark sound booth. In the room outside there are 80+ people of all ages and they don't know I'm here. I'm wearing my full armor. I have my sword. I'm just waiting for the right time and then they're going to get a big surprise.

No...I haven't lost it entirely. A few months ago my pharmacology professor asked if I would help him make a point about antibiotics and how...never mind. That part is relatively unimportant. The summary of the event is that at a specific point in his lecture he wants me to bust through the door, charge the stage, attack a paper mache reindeer, graffiti the whiteboard and then run out. So that's what I'm going to do. Because I'm all about doing favors for people. Hopefully no one is too jumpy...and if so, hopefully campus safety isn't too nearby.

Update:
It went really well. Sadly the recording equipment usually in place to capture lectures was not functional so there will be no webcast of the event. Suffice to say it was memorable. So what does a knight have to do with antibiotics? I'm glad you asked! So penicillin is a good drug but it gets chewed up by bacterial enzymes called beta-lactamases. Let's represent the beta-lactamase with a paper mache reindeer. This is a problem with penicillins. Cephalosporins on the other hand come in four categories. 1st generation cephalosporins have limited resistance to the reindeer and do not penetrate well into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). 2nd generation cephalosporins do a bit better on both counts. 3rd generation cephalosporins like cefotaxime are highly resistant to the reindeer and can cross into the CSF with ease. So imagine cefotaxime as a knight that busts down the door of your classroom, runs onto the stage, throws your reindeer across the stage, busts through the imaginary CSF barrier on stage and writes "CEFOTAXIME WAS HERE" on the whiteboard before stabbing the deer and running out of the room. That's a reasonable demonstration of how a 3rd generation cephalosporin works. Sort of.

Posted on November 21, 2006 @ 8:26 AM | 8 comments

Comments:

I'd pay to see that.

By Blogger 007ben, at 9:09 AM, November 21, 2006  

Do you do Birthdays? ;o)

By Anonymous allie, at 10:45 AM, November 21, 2006  

No doubt one of the strangest favours ever.

By Blogger running42k, at 12:51 PM, November 21, 2006  

HOT.

By Blogger Kat, at 12:58 PM, November 21, 2006  

wow. relatively unimportant??? I want to know how a medieval knight relates to antibiotics??? Sounds like a good time, wish I could see it.

By

Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:52 PM, November 21, 2006  

WOW !! what a visual! much better than attempting to understand it from a scientific viewpoint. maybe drug companies should sell drugs on TV this way rather than advertising "side effects of bloody noses, congestion, heart attacks and death".... Really wish the AV was working to record it. would have been great to see! GREAT POST!!!

jeff

By

Anonymous jeff, at 6:10 PM, November 21, 2006  

very cool! hey i just read a "top 10" list about professions with the most salary growth / people-going-into-it growth. lots of IT, physicians assistant, and, voila, PHARMACY! why'd you decide to take the plunge? sounds kick-ass.
ps: you both going on the turkey trip or just kat? take sexy pix of kat's ring.

By

Anonymous rebecca, at 4:37 PM, November 23, 2006  

Well actually I'm not in pharmacology. I have taken pharmacology and I have had pharmacology professors, but I am not a pharmacology student. Actually I'm in school to be a Nurse Practitioner.

Perhaps I'll write a post about why in the coming weeks. So stay tuned. Long and short of it though...many benefits, relatively scarce drawbacks.

By Blogger Justin, at 8:05 AM, November 24, 2006  

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