Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

An antihypertensive drug that works as a beta blocker. This drug also has a use in regulating heart rhythm. Trade name: Sectral.  

Antihypertensive drugs. Compounds that inhibit the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). This enzyme catalyzes the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. Angiotensin II stimulates water and sodium resorption and vasoconstriction. Through inhibition of this enzyme, both sodium and water are lost to a greater extent than without inhibition of the converting enzyme and blood pressure is…

A drug that inhibits a-glucosidase, an enzyme important to the digestion of starch. It can serve as an adjunct to metformin or insulin in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Acarbose is a medication employed in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. It exerts its effects on enzymes within the intestines, effectively hindering…

A rare blood condition characterized by deformed red blood cells having irregular cell surfaces and pseudopod-like projections. These cells are very fragile. Presence of acanthocytes in the blood, as in abetalipoproteinemia.  

Although single amino acids are liberated in the intestinal contents, there is insufficient power in the digestive enzymes to render all of the amino acids singly for absorption. Thus, the brush border of the absorptive cell absorbs not only the single amino acids but also di- and tripeptides. In the process of absorbing the peptides,…

Habitual consumption of items of no nutritional value. In some cases, the item in question will have a deleterious effect on the person’s health. The habit is called pica, after the Latin word for magpie. Many different items are consumed; however, the most common are clay (geophagia), laundry starch (amylophagia), and ice (pagophagia). Pregnant women…

One of the lipoprotein disorders. The characteristic lack of apoB lipoprotein is due to a mutation in the gene for a microsomal triglyceride transfer protein that is essential for apoB lipoprotein translocation to the surface of the enterocyte and subsequent synthesis of the intestinal chylomicrons. This is a rare disorder inherited as an autosomal recessive…

A circumscribed collection of pus.