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Case Study 1
- Course
- BIOL 121 (BIOL121)
- Institution
- Harrisburg Area Community College
Case Study 1.
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Dr. Feelgood was working in the hospital one night when two college studentsbrought their friend, Brittany, to receive medical care. The friends told the medical staff
that Brittany was at a party the night before and the next day they couldn’t wake her up,
they also noted that she was acting differently than usual.
During the examination, the friends also admitted that the patient had taken a
drug most commonly known as Ecstasy at the party the night before. Ecstasy’s real
name is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine but it also goes by MDMA, Adam,
Essence, and much more. Dr. Feelgood ordered blood tests to be run on the patient to
see what was going on inside Brittany’s body that might be causing these signs and
symptoms.
While the blood samples were being analyzed in the lab Dr. Feelgood did some
research on Ecstasy to get a better idea of the matter at hand. During her research she
found that Ecstasy is produced in a lab, not by plants, therefore making it classified as a
synthetic drug. The drug can come in slight variations depending on the lab it is
produced in; however all versions of ecstasy are both stimulants and psychedelics
created by changing the structure of methamphetamine molecules.
The effects of the drug are increased sense of energy, distorted cognitive and
physical sensation, and memory impairment. The drug is considered a neurotoxin due
to the way it affects the use of serotonin by the neurons. Ecstasy inhibits transporter
proteins which are proteins that aid in molecules passing through the cell membrane
(also known as the phospholipid bilayer) that typically remove neurotransmitters, such
as serotonin from the synaptic cleft. It also uses those transporter proteins to enter the
neurons causing the serotonin to build up inside the neuron and then release into the
synaptic cleft. Therefore there becomes an overabundance of serotonin to be
processed.
This can be very dangerous and sometimes lead to death. In a study that gave
some monkeys salt water and some Ecstasy, the monkeys who were given Ecstasy had
a drastically decreased number of serotonin in their neocortex. Even 7 years after being
given ecstasy the serotonin levels were nowhere near close to as high as those
monkeys given the saline.
Brittany’s vitals and blood analysis came back with some variables being out of
what is considered normal range. Brittany’s body temperature was 100.2 degrees
fahrenheit which is considered high, her Sodium level as 115 which is considered low,
her potassium level was 2.9 which is considered low, and her Chloride level was 88
which is considered low.
Dr. Feelgood asked Brittnay’s friends if Brittany had been drinking at the party the
night before. Her friends stated she had not had a lot of alcohol but that they did notice
she was drinking a lot of water to which they assumed was to attempt to prevent a
hangover since Brittany said she had a lot of studying to do the next day.
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