Pleiotropy (drugs) Pleiotropy (drugs) In pharmacology, pleiotropy includes all of a drug's actions other than those for which the agent was specifically developed. It may include adverse effects which are detrimental ones, but is often used to denote additional beneficial effects. For example, statins are HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors that primarily act by decreasing cholesterol synthesis, but which are believed to have other beneficial effects, including acting as antioxidants and stabilizing atherosclerotic plaques. Steroid drugs, such as prednisone and prednisolone, have pleiotropic effects, including systemic ones, for the same reason that endogenous steroid hormones do too: cells throughout the body have receptors that
Blood bike by the national charity Blood Bikes with other emergency vehicles"". In 2016 there were more than thirty local groups operating in the UK and Ireland. These include: Blood bike A blood bike is a motorcycle used to courier urgent and emergency medical items including blood, X-rays, samples, drugs, and documentation between hospitals and other healthcare facilities. In the United Kingdom and Ireland a network of largely independent registered charities, whose members are all unpaid volunteers, provide blood bike courier services in collaboration with their local healthcare authorities. Many are represented through the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB). Commercial blood