BIOCHEMISTRY TERM PAPER GUIDELINES

You will choose an enzyme that is not covered in our lecture material (stay away from any enzymes used in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, TCA, ETC, and fermentation). You will want to find an enzyme that already has a published crystal structure available (there are, quite literally, thousands to choose from). Check due dates on the syllabus. First come, first serve, so let me know when you find one you want to study (via email)! You may need to use interlibrary loan to get certain articles, which take about 48-72 h to come through. If you need help with getting an interlibrary loan, let me know. • The paper will be 5-8 pages, 1.5 spaced, 1-inch margins, with 12-point font in either Calibri, Bodoni, Gaudy Old Style, or Times New Roman. Note: If you have 4.5 pages, that is not 5 pages. If you can’t get to 5 pages, you didn’t do enough research on your enzyme. You will be using at least 12 references. Use the following resources to find your references: 

§ NCBI and PDB websites 

§ SciFinder and Google Scholar 

§ Online journals (this is not considered an electronic resource) 

 § ExPASy/Uniprot website 

§ Books, hard copy journals, reviews, etc… from the library 

§ Other resources may be used if they come from a .edu or .gov website 

• You will have a separate references page that follows the ACS style guide (found in the library). This is not part of your page count. 

• Appendix A will include your primary protein sequence. This is not included in your page count and is located after your references page. 

• Appendix B will be the first page of each of your references. These are also not included in your page count. 

• All tables, graphs, and images should be included within the body of the text, should have captions, and should be appropriately sized. If you need help with the text wrapping feature in Word, please see me. If it is really oversized I will shrink it to an appropriate size and consider your page count from there. What’s “appropriate”? You’ll be looking at a lot of articles for this paper, and should be getting a feel for it by reading those, but you are welcome to come ask me if you need a second opinion. 

 • You should include as much of the below information as possible. If some information isn’t known, you need to address that in your paper. It’s possible some of the information will be available by only mixing and matching organisms. That’s fine, as long as you mention this in your paper. I highly recommend breaking your paper up into sections with the following subtitles: an introduction, purification information, structural information, enzymatic information, metabolic information, and a conclusion. If you want to include other information, you can add extra sections if necessary (or add to those below if appropriate). The sections should include: 

o Introduction: Why do we care about this enzyme? What’s the history of the enzyme? It is part of a bigger class of enzymes? This section should be a general introduction.

 o Purification information: What tissue/organism is commonly used to study and purify the enzyme? How is the enzyme purified? 

o Enzymatic information: How is enzyme activity measured? What are the Vmax and Km for the enzyme? Are there any inhibitors known? Is this enzyme a drug target? For what disease? What is the mechanism for the enzyme? 

o Structural information: What is the X-ray structure, the molecular mass, primary sequence, and active site structure? What is the quaternary structure? Where is it found? What is the primary sequence (attach in appendix A). 

 o Metabolic information: What is the big picture for this enzyme (is it part of a pathway)? Is the enzyme regulated? o Conclusion: Revisit your introduction here and summarize the paper. 

 • You will need to be analyzing the papers you read, not simply restating the data you find in them. You may find conflicting information for certain areas, so present those that are most recent and that have the best research to back them up

Side effects of cannabis

 

The use of cannabis has substantially reduced the use of conventional pain medications, chiefly opioids.

Cannabis may improve the efficacy of other pain medicines as well.

It prevents the cancer cells growth and enhances the action of chemotherapy

Studies have shown that cannabis can make the daily functioning and quality of life better, particularly for those with chronic pain. 

Medical cannabis is well tolerated and has few adverse effects.

Medical Cannabis and its Therapeutic Effects

 

ü  Cannabis is an effective intervention for chronic pain in adults. ü  Its active ingredients are ·         delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ·         cannabidiol (CBD)   ü  A huge number of evidence demonstrate the efficacy of cannabis’ use.   ü  Cannabis reliefs pain via its antihyperalgesic and antinociceptive effects.     ü  A growing body of clinical research have shown a clinically noteworthy lessening in pain with the use of cannabis.   ü  It has been useful in cancer-related pain, fibromyalgia, migraines, and other pain conditions. From 1975 to December 2023, there have been plenty of researches demonstrating that cannabis can help patients get relief from their pain.

Alleviation of chronic pain is by far the most prevalent reason provided by patients for using cannabis for medical purposes.

Why Cannabinoids Instead of Opioids?

A recent review published by the Pain and Therapy journal found cannabinoids to be a likely favourable adjunctive or replacement for opioids for diverse forms of acute and chronic pain. According to it, cannabinoids have yielded positive results in various trials over opioids, particularly for neuropathic pain. It has been demonstrated to alleviate chronic pain in the elderly population and to result in the discontinuation of opioids medications. The review also found cannabinoids have a lower side-effect profile than opioids and may be used in tandem with opioids to produce more powerful analgesia.

A survey by researchers from the United States reported that patients found cannabis use to be a helpful adjunct and alternative to opioids in managing their chronic pain. They also claimed to get the extra benefit of enhancing their ability to work and quality of life.

The Tilray Observational Study from Canada gives an individual-level insight on cannabinoids substitution for opioids and other prescribed medicines, along with the resulting improvement in quality of life over a 6-month period. According to this study, the use of cannabis for chronic pain can result in a reduction in opioid use and its subsequent harmful effects. This has the potential to improve patient quality of life and general public health.

Cannabis consists of various biologically active molecules that can influence pain physiology. Comprehensive reviews of the literature support the potential safety and pain-relieving efficacy of cannabinoids for chronic pain. The beneficial effects appear to peak after three months of frequent cannabis use. Another study has claimed to decrease the illicit use of opioids for chronic pain as well as fentanyl exposure rates.

Microdosing CBD is a method of consuming very small doses of cannabidiol on a daily basis. In a randomised control trial, a significant decline in pain intensity was observed with a dose of 0.5mg to 1mg of cannabis in 27 patients with chronic neuropathic pain. The trial concluded that people can benefit from cannabis-based treatments for their chronic pain. A retrospective evaluation found a low dose of cannaboids helpful in reducing chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder-related insomnia, self-harm and nightmares in inmates with serious mental illness. It can be useful in reducing emotional exhaustion, anxiety, and burnout.

For a new cannabis user, microdosing can be an excellent starting point. The goal of microdosing marijuana is to achieve the desired impact throughout the day with a few repeated doses instead of one huge dose.

Microdosing of marijuana can be carried out via various forms like tinctures, gummies, pastilles, etc.

Pain Treatment with Analgesics

 A huge number of diverse pain killers or analgesics are available that can help alleviate pain in different ways. They can be used with other types of analgesics to reduce pain.

Nonopioid Analgesic Agents

·         Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

·         Acetaminophen (paracetamol)

·         Antiepileptic medications

·         Antidepressant medications

·         Local anesthetics (lidocain)

Opioid Agents

·         Morphine

·         Hydrocodone

·         Oxycodone

Codeine

Combination Analgesics

·         Paracetamol and codeine

·         Paracetamol and tramadol

·         Paracetamol and dihydrocodeine

Topical painkillers in the form of

·         Creams --  ibuprofen, diclofenac, capsaicin cream, etc

·         Sprays

·         Gels

·         Patches

An Interventional Pain Treatment

·         Spinal Cord Stimulators

·         Acupuncture

·         Steroid Injections

·         Disc Procedures

·         Manipulation

·         Trigger Point Injections

·         Massage

·         Intrathecal Pump Therapy

·         Radio Frequency Ablation

·         Mobilisation

·         Nerve Blocks 

Many people who are suffering with persistent pain may get benefit from Cannabis containing medicines.

Managing Acute and Chronic Pain

 

To anyone living in unrelenting pain: it is possible to overcome chronic pain.

1 In 5 People Suffer From Pain Globally

Pain destroys the soul. No one should endure the unbearable pain.

What is Pain?

Pain is a multifaceted unpleasant bodily sensation that involves both a physiological and psychological reaction to a noxious stimulus.
It can be a localized or generalized.
It will feel like an ache, sting, burn, prick, or tingle.

Acute Pain

It has a sudden onset, a definite cause and short duration.

Chronic Pain

It is a pain that lasts or reappears for longer than 3 months duration. Chronic pain includes

·         Nociceptive pain (skin, joints, muscle, bones ligaments)

·         Neuropathic (nerves)

·         Nociplastic pain

·         Mixed pain

·         Inflammatory pain

Nociceptive Pain—Pain caused by the activation of nociceptors as a result of actual or potential injury to non-neural tissue.

Neuropathic Pain—Pain induced by a disease or lesion of the somatosensory nervous system.

Nociplastic Pain—Pain caused by changed nociception in the absence of any clear evidence of tissue damage or disease of the somatosensory system.

Pain can affect the emotional, social and physical aspect of life.Millions of people either are dependent on or abused prescription medicines, mainly opioids.