A 16-year-old boy is brought to the urgent care clinic after suffering an episode of lip smacking followed by stiffness and convulsions. His mother explains that this is the third such attack in the past 2 years and that each attack has lasted about a minute. The pediatrician prescribes carbamazepine to control his seizures. What is the mechanism of action of this agent?

A 16-year-old boy is brought to the urgent care clinic after suffering an episode of lip smacking followed by stiffness and convulsions. His mother explains that this is the third such attack in the past 2 years and that each attack has lasted about a minute. The pediatrician prescribes carbamazepine to control his seizures. What is the mechanism of action of this agent?

A 29-year-old man with spinal cord injury and with chronic gastric immotility syndrome has failed therapy with numerous cholinoimimetic agents. He has begun on therapy with physostigmine. Unfortunately, a supratherapeutic dose is administered to the patient. Which of the following effects must the treating physician be aware of?

A 68-year-old man with a 6-month history of progressive pill-rolling tremors of the hands, urinary incontinence, and cogwheel rigidity presents to his primary care physician for evaluation. Physical examination confirms the earlier findings. Which of the following is a therapeutic goal for this condition?

A 60-year-old man presents to his primary care physician for a new patient appointment. He is taking several drugs for his medical conditions. One of his medical conditions is hypertension, for which he takes a drug that acts on \(\alpha_2\)-receptors to lower blood pressure. Which of the following drugs is this?

A 28-year-old woman secretary complains of fatigue that increases throughout the day. At the end of her workday, she says her eyes feel “heavy” and “droopy,” although she does not feel particularly tired. Pyridostigmine is prescribed to treat her myasthenia gravis. How does pyridostigmine work?