Vogt's triad in tuberous sclerosis mnemonic

Vogt's triad in tuberous sclerosis mnemonic:
EpiLoiAs
Epi- Epilepsy
Loi- Low IQ
As- Adenoma sebacum

- Jaskunwar Singh

Vogt's triad in congestive glaucoma mnemonic

Vogt's triad in acute congestive glaucoma:
GAP
G - Glaucomflecken
A - Atrophy of iris stroma
P - Pupil dilatation

Also, check out the Vogt's triad in tuberous sclerosis mnemonic here

- Jaskunwar Singh

Virchow's Triad Mnemonic (NEW)

Hey, guys Jay here!

Virchow triad is about the 3 reasons for Deep Venous Thrombosis.

So I remember it as,

HE'S Virchow.

H - Hypercoaguability
E - Endothelial damage
S - Stasis

Many people may have many mnemonics. But this is mine. Hope you find it helpful. :)

Jay :)

Complicated vs. Non complicated appendicitis

• Complicated appendicitis has a perforated or gangrenous appendix.
• Non complicated appendicitis has a non-perforated appendix.

The treatment plans are different too!

• Non complicated appendicitis needs an immediate appendectomy
• Complicated appendicitis need to go through an antibiotic course before going to an appendectomy.

Reference : Schwartz Principles of Surgery 10E

Jay :)

Oxidase vs. Oxygenase

Another confusing yet very simple thing

• Oxidase does oxidation in Redox reactions.
• Oxygenase adds an Oxygen to the substrate

It's not that hard to remember right?

Jay :)

Neurotransmitters associated with sleep mnemonic

Neurotransmitters associated with sleep mnemonic
SAND

S- Serotonin: helps initiate sleep cycle and promotes wakefulness.
A- Acetylcholine: levels are higher during REM sleep.
N- Norepinephrine: levels are lower during REM sleep.
D- Dopamine: high levels responsible for arousal and wakefulness.

Note:
- The regulation of levels of Acetylcholine and Norepinephrine is an important biochemical trigger for REM sleep. Higher levels of Ach and lower levels of NE means there is increase in the time period of Rapid eye movement phase of sleep cycle.

- Serotoninergic neurons are present in Distal Raphe nuclei which enhances wakefulness. Thats why the 5-HT activity decreases during NREM sleep and becomes silent during REM phase.

- Dopamine agonists, such as  bromocriptine, pramipexole and others are used to treat parkinson's disease which work by acting on dopamine receptors and compensate for the lack of dopamine which the brain cells no longer produce. They are used together with levodopa. By increasing dopamine levels they restore the balance of Acetylcholine and dopamine thus increasing wakefulness.

- Antipsychotic drugs are dopamine antagonists. So they decrease wakefulness and increase sleep time of a person.

- Higher levels of Ach during REM sleep is associated with erections in men.


Thats all
- Jaskunwar Singh

Dehydrogenase vs. Dehydratase

Another simple thing that we often get confused with in Biochemistry!

• Dehydrogenase removes Hydrogen
• Dehydratase remove H2O

Simple right?

Jay 

Synthase vs. Synthetase

This is very simple guys! Synthases don't use ATP to make the new bond between substrates while synthetases need an ATP.

ok fine! How to remember it?

Think of the additional T that comes in syntheTase is from ATP! ;)

Got a way to memorize it?

Jay :)

Enzymes and the Type of Reactions they Catalyze ( Part 6 : LIGASES)

Hello guys, we come to an end of this 6 part enzyme series and also this is the 500th Medicowesome post for 2016! Woohoo! :D

Ok, back to our business! Ligases, what to they do? Obvio, they LIGATE! Or simply connect! But connect what?

Think of these guys as a Plumber who connects those pipes! ;)

Major subclasses

• Synthetase - Formation of new bond between substrates using the energy from an ATP
• Synthase - Link two molecules without using the energy from ATP (Confusing with Synthetase? They use ATP. Check here for a memory aid.)
• Carboxylase - Formation of a new bond between a substrate and a CO2 using the energy from an ATP

Are we ok guys?

Jay  :) 

Enzymes and the Type of Reactions they Catalyze ( Part 5 : ISOMERASES)

Ok what are isomers? Same molecular Formula, different structure! That is an Isomer! And presumably isomerases play with these isomers. But how?

• Racemase - Conversion of D isomer to L isomer or vice versa(Read about them here more in IkaN's article)
• Mutase - Conversion of one constitutional isomer into another. They shift one functional group from one place to another place within the same molecule.

Are we clear on this? 

Jay :)

Enzymes and the Type of Reactions they Catalyze ( Part 4 : LYASES)

With part 4 we come to a little confusing group of Enzymes guys! LYASES! They are called Lyases, of course because they do Lyse! :P

ok the major subclasses?

• Dehydratase - Removal of H2O from a substrate (Confusing with Dehydrogenase?Read Part1)
• Decarboxylase - Removal of CO2 from a substrate
• Deaminase - Removal of NH3 from a substrate
• HYDRATASE - ADDING of H2O to a substrate
• Aldolase - Produces Aldehydes via elimination reactions

Any questions guys? :)

Jay

Enzymes and the Type of Reactions they Catalyze ( Part 3 : HYDROLASES)

Back with Part 3 guys! It's Jay with Hydrolases! :P

There are 5 major classes of Hydrolases. They always Hydrolyse means breaking it down with the help of H2O.

• Lipase - Hydrolysis of ESTER linkages of lipids
• Protease - Hydrolysis of AMIDE linkages of proteins
• Nuclease - Hydrolysis of SUGAR PHOSPHATE ESTER linkages of Nucleic Acids. Phosphodiesterases also do the same
• Carbohydrase - Hydrolysis of GLYCOSIDIC bonds of Carbohydrates
• Phosphatase - Hydrolysis of PHOSPHATE ESTER bonds.

Also please note, that the types of bonds in CAPITAL ITALICIZED letters are the major types of bonds in those biomolecules as well as the bonds that break due to these enzymes.

Jay :)

Enzymes and the Type of Reactions they Catalyze ( Part 2 : TRANSFERASES)

Hey guys, Jay here once again with Part 2. Here we will talk about Transferases!

Transferases, do Transfer! But transfer what? There are two major types of Transferases!

• Transaminase --> Transfer of an Amino group between substrates
• Kinases --> Transfer of a Phosphate group between substrates often from ATP
• Methyltranferase --> Tranfers single-carbon units between substrates
• Phosphorylase -->Transfers inorganic phosphate to a substrate

Trivia!

What does Kinase even mean? It comes from the greek work Kinein means "To move". It originally had nothing to do with Phosphates. But now we almost exclusively use this for Phosphate transfers. :)

Jay :)