The practical workshop (19-21 January 2019) involved 15 third year pharmacy students to experiment on the effect of chemotherapeutic treatment on levels of neurotransmitters in brain and whether it is the result of chemotherapy treatment or through the pathological injury via measuring levels of Serotonin in rats' brains by HPLC-UV and comparing results to control group. Serotonin is a hormone and neurotransmitter that sends messages between nerve cells in the brain cells, which makes it important to influence mental health and the brain for its role in regulating mood and feeling happy as it stays within the normal level, making the person quieter, more focused, and happier. A lower level of depression leads to depression and other mental health disorders such as anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobia and epilepsy. I have many other functions such as sleeping, appetite control, digestion, bone health.
The purpose of this workshop is to train students to deal with experimental animals and to treat biological samples, as well as to perform HPLC-UV measurements. The workshop was organized by Prof. Ola Heikal, Prof. Lobna Abdelaal, Assoc. Prof. Rasha Hanafi, Dr. Mervat Khariallah and the junior research assistant Mahmoud Mohammed Hamzawy, students in 4th year of Pharmacy.