Nuala Helsby | |
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Awards | Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Liverpool |
Thesis | |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Auckland |
Nuala Ann Helsby FBPhS is a New Zealand academic,and is a full professor of molecular medicine and pathology at the University of Auckland,specialising in transport of anticancer pharmaceuticals and drug treatments for autoimmune conditions.
Helsby completed a PhD titled Inter-individual Variation in the Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics of the Antimalarial Biguanides at the University of Liverpool. [1] [2] Helsby carried out postdoctoral research at Liverpool and the University of Birmingham,before joining the faculty of the University of Auckland. She initially worked in the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre,before taking up a position in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology. She was appointed full professor in 2024. [3] [4] [5]
Helsby was an executive editor of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology for seven years. [2] Helsby is Vice-chair of the Drug Metabolism and Transporter Section of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology,and is the New Zealand representative on the board of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists. [2]
Helsby's research focuses on transport of anti-cancer drugs and treatments for autoimmune conditions,and genetic variations in drug metabolism. [3] [2] She is part of a team,led by Rhys Ponton,investigating the link between fast metabolism of codeine and propensity for addiction. [6] She has also written about the importance of assessing drug metabolism individually rather than relying on ethnic background as a predictor. [7]
Fluvoxamine, sold under the brand name Luvox among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is primarily used to treat major depressive disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), but is also used to treat anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Pharmacogenomics, often abbreviated "PGx," is the study of the role of the genome in drug response. Its name reflects its combining of pharmacology and genomics. Pharmacogenomics analyzes how the genetic makeup of a patient affects their response to drugs. It deals with the influence of acquired and inherited genetic variation on drug response, by correlating DNA mutations with pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and/or immunogenic endpoints.
Cytochrome P450 3A4 is an important enzyme in the body, mainly found in the liver and in the intestine, which in humans is encoded by CYP3A4 gene. It oxidizes small foreign organic molecules (xenobiotics), such as toxins or drugs, so that they can be removed from the body. It is highly homologous to CYP3A5, another important CYP3A enzyme.
Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CYP2D6 gene. CYP2D6 is primarily expressed in the liver. It is also highly expressed in areas of the central nervous system, including the substantia nigra.
In pharmaceutical sciences, drug interactions occur when a drug's mechanism of action is affected by the concomitant administration of substances such as foods, beverages, or other drugs. A popular example of drug-food interaction is the effect of grapefruit in the metabolism of drugs.
Ethylmorphine is an opioid analgesic and antitussive.
Proguanil, also known as chlorguanide and chloroguanide, is a medication used to treat and prevent malaria. It is often used together with chloroquine or atovaquone. When used with chloroquine the combination will treat mild chloroquine resistant malaria. It is taken by mouth.
Biguanide is the organic compound with the formula HN(C(NH)NH2)2. It is a colorless solid that dissolves in water to give highly basic solution. These solutions slowly hydrolyse to ammonia and urea.
Brotizolam is a sedative-hypnotic thienotriazolodiazepine drug which is a benzodiazepine analog. It possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, hypnotic, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties, and is considered to be similar in effect to other short-acting hypnotic benzodiazepines such as triazolam or midazolam. It is used in the short-term treatment of severe insomnia. Brotizolam is a highly potent and short-acting hypnotic, with a typical dose ranging from 0.125 to 0.25 milligrams, which is rapidly eliminated with an average half-life of 4.4 hours.
Some fruit juices and fruits can interact with numerous drugs, in many cases causing adverse effects. The effect is most studied with grapefruit and grapefruit juice, but similar effects have been observed with certain other citrus fruits.
Cytochrome P450 2C19 is an enzyme protein. It is a member of the CYP2C subfamily of the cytochrome P450 mixed-function oxidase system. This subfamily includes enzymes that catalyze metabolism of xenobiotics, including some proton pump inhibitors and antiepileptic drugs. In humans, it is the CYP2C19 gene that encodes the CYP2C19 protein. CYP2C19 is a liver enzyme that acts on at least 10% of drugs in current clinical use, most notably the antiplatelet treatment clopidogrel (Plavix), drugs that treat pain associated with ulcers, such as omeprazole, antiseizure drugs such as mephenytoin, the antimalarial proguanil, and the anxiolytic diazepam.
Gliclazide, sold under the brand name Diamicron among others, is a sulfonylurea type of anti-diabetic medication, used to treat type 2 diabetes. It is used when dietary changes, exercise, and weight loss are not enough. It is taken by mouth.
Zomepirac is an orally effective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that has antipyretic actions. It was developed by McNeil Pharmaceutical, approved by the FDA in 1980, and sold as the sodium salt zomepirac sodium, under the brand name Zomax. Due to its clinical effectiveness, it was preferred by doctors in many situations and obtained a large share of the analgesics market; however, it was subsequently withdrawn in March 1983 due to its tendency to cause serious anaphylaxis in a small, but unpredictable, subset of the patient population.
UGT2B7 (UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase-2B7) is a phase II metabolism isoenzyme found to be active in the liver, kidneys, epithelial cells of the lower gastrointestinal tract and also has been reported in the brain. In humans, UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase-2B7 is encoded by the UGT2B7 gene.
An active metabolite, or pharmacologically active metabolite is a biologically active metabolite of a xenobiotic substance, such as a drug or environmental chemical. Active metabolites may produce therapeutic effects, as well as harmful effects.
Medifoxamine, previously sold under the brand names Clédial and Gerdaxyl, is an atypical antidepressant with additional anxiolytic properties acting via dopaminergic and serotonergic mechanisms which was formerly marketed in France and Spain, as well as Morocco. The drug was first introduced in France sometime around 1990. It was withdrawn from the market in 1999 (Morocco) and 2000 (France) following incidences of hepatotoxicity.
Premazepam is a Pyrrolodiazepine class of drug. It is a partial agonist of benzodiazepine receptors and was shown in 1984 to possess both anxiolytic and sedative properties in humans but was never marketed.
An opiate is an alkaloid substance derived from opium. It differs from the similar term opioid in that the latter is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain. Opiates are alkaloid compounds naturally found in the opium poppy plant Papaver somniferum. The psychoactive compounds found in the opium plant include morphine, codeine, and thebaine. Opiates have long been used for a variety of medical conditions, with evidence of opiate trade and use for pain relief as early as the eighth century AD. Most opiates are considered drugs with moderate to high abuse potential and are listed on various "Substance-Control Schedules" under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act of the United States of America.
Emma Harriet Baker is a British professor of clinical pharmacology and consultant physician in internal medicine at St George's Hospital, London. She has a specialist interest in people who have multiple medical conditions at the same time and take several medications, with a particular focus on lung disease. She is director of the UK's first BSc in clinical pharmacology, clinical vice president of the British Pharmacological Society and training programme director at Health Education England.
Cannabigerovarin (CBGV), the propyl homolog of cannabigerol (CBG), is a cannabinoid present in Cannabis. There is no observation related to the psychoactive or psychotropic effects of CBGV when consumed or inhaled. The possible benefits of cannabigerovarin in human bodies are painkilling and anti-inflammatory properties to treat conditions like fibromyalgia and arthritis, the treatment and improvement of the dry-skin syndrome, cancer treatment by reducing the growth of cancer cells in patients who have leukemia. According to the pain-relieving effects of this natural cannabinoid, it can be helpful to treat patients who were undergoing drug exposure like chemotherapy or radiation therapy. In addition, cannabigerol metabolism increases and has a better absorption from the body when paired with cannabigerovarin.