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Objectives.To determine what influenced pharmacy students to pursue a career in pharmacy and how those influences varied among different racial groups. Methods. A 30-question survey instrument was developed and administered to doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students at the University of Georgia and Florida A&M University. Data were analyzed to identify differences between students at different institutions and of different racial groups. Results. Most students were encouraged by someone to pursue pharmacy. Students cited encouragement by family members, pharmacists, and students as important influences. Work and volunteer experiences were also important influences. Few students were influenced by ''career day'' events. Conclusions. Influences for pursuing a degree in pharmacy were remarkably similar across student groups. Public awareness campaigns that emphasize the benefits of the profession and programs that are designed to bring students into contact with the profession may be effective recruiting methods/ strategies.

BackgroundThere is a need to investigate biomarkers that are indicative of the progression of dementia in ethnic patient populations. The disparity of information in these populations has been the focus of many clinical and academic centers, including ours, to contribute to a higher success rate in clinical trials. In this study, we have investigated plasma biomarkers in amnestic mild cognitively impaired (aMCI) female patient cohorts in the context of ethnicity and cognitive status.MethodA panel of 12 biomarkers involved in the progression of brain pathology, inflammation, and cardiovascular disorders were investigated in female cohorts of African American, Hispanic, and White aMCI patients. Both biochemical and algorithmic analyses were applied to correlate biomarker levels measured during the early stages of the disease for each ethnicity.ResultsWe report elevated plasma Aβ40, Aβ42, YKL-40, and cystatin C levels in the Hispanic cohort at early aMCI status. In addition, elevated plasma Aβ40 levels were associated with the aMCI status in both White and African American patient cohorts by the decision tree algorithm. Eotaxin-1 levels, as determined by the decision tree algorithm and biochemically measured total tau levels, were associated with the aMCI status in the African American cohort.ConclusionsOverall, our data displayed novel differences in the plasma biomarkers of the aMCI female cohorts where the plasma levels of several biomarkers distinguished between each ethnicity at an early aMCI stage. Identification of these plasma biomarkers encourages new areas of investigation among aMCI ethnic populations, including larger patient cohorts and longitudinal study designs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13195-016-0211-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction . Although not definite, studies are finding Alzheimer's disease may be related to loss of cholinergic innervation. In order to impact this loss of function, therapeutic agents have been developed to reduce the breakdown of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter vital in cognitive processes. Donepezil has been used in Alzheimer's disease for improving cognition. Although the package insert suggests nighttime administration to reduce the instance of daytime side effects, some patients report sleep disturbances. Methods . Patient charts at the Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Neuroscience Center (TMH-NSC) were reviewed. Charts of those patients who met the inclusion criteria were used to determine the correlation between night time administration of donepezil and sleep disturbances. Results . A total of 186 patient charts were analyzed. Of those 186, 103 of the patients were taking donepezil as directed in the package labeling, at night time. Nearly half (47.6%) of the patients taking donepezil at night reported night time disturbances (NTD) and only 21 of the 83 patients taking donepezil in the morning reported NTD. Conclusion . This retrospective study showed that taking donepezil at night may be associated with sleep disturbances. Although labeling suggests administration in the evening, should NTDs occur, changing the medication administration to the morning should be explored before switching therapeutic agents.