Pharmocology

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Drug

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A drug is defined as any chemical that can affect living processes.

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Pharmacology

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Pharmacology can be defined as the study of drugs and their interactions with living systems.

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Clinical Pharmacology

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Clinical pharmacology is defined as the study of drugs in humans.

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Therapeutics

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Therapeutics, also known as pharmacotherapeutics, is defined as the use of drugs to diagnose, prevent, or treat disease or to prevent pregnancy.

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Ideal Drug

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Ideal Drugs is a drug characterized as having effectiveness, safety and selectivity.

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Effectiveness

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An effective drug is one that elicits the responses for which it is given. Effectiveness is the most important property a drug can have. Current U.S. law requires it.

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Safety

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A safe drug is defined as one that cannot produce harmful effects- even if administered in very high doses and for a very long time. There is no such thing as a safe drug.

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Selectiveness

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A selective drug is defined as one that elicits only the response for which it is given. A selective drug would not produce side effects. There is no such thing as a selective drug: All medications produce side effects.

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Therapeutic Objective

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The objective of drug therapy is to provide maximum benefit with minimum harm.

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Pharmacokinetics

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Pharmacokinetic processes determine how much of an administered dose gets to its sites of action. There are four major pharmacokinetic processes: (1) drug absorption, (2) drug distribution, (3) drug metabolism, and (4) drug excretion

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Pharmacodynamics

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Pharmacodynamic processes determine the nature and intensity of the response once the drug has reached its sites of action. Thought of as the impact of drugs on the body.

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Protein Binding

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Drugs that can form reversible bonds with various proteins in the body. Plasma albumin is the most important and abundant protein. Due to large particles protein binding drugs have restricted distribution.

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Maximal Efficacy

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The largest effect that a drug can produce. Each drug has its own maximal efficacy.

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Agonist

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Drugs that mimic the body's own regulatory molecules. Are molecules that activate receptors. It is a drug that has both affinity and high intrinsic activity. (To bind and activate) ex: insulin, oral contraceptives

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Antagonist

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Drugs that block the actions of endogenous regulators. Produce their effects by preventing receptor activation by endogenous regulatory molecules and drugs. (Lacks intrinsic activity - ability to activate) ex: antihistamines. Two categories - competitive (bind reversibly to receptors and cause surmountable inhibition in receptors) and non-competitive (bind irreversibly to receptors and reduce the maximal response)

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Partial Agonist

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Mimic the actions of endogenous molecules, but produce responses of intermediate intensity. Produces a lower maximal effect. Can act as antagonist and agonist.

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Therapeutic Index

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A measure of a drug's safety. The ratio of the drugs average lethal dose to its average effective dose. Higher index = safer drug; lower index = relatively unsafe.

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Effective dose

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the dose that is required to produce a defined therapeutic response in 50% of the population

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Drug-Drug Interaction

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When two drugs interact, can be intended and desired or unintended and undesired. 3 possible outcomes - 1. one drug may intensify the effects of the other, 2. one drug may reduce the effects of the other, or 3. the combination may produce a new response not seen with either drug alone.

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Drug-Food Interaction

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Interactions between drug and food, which can cause decreased absorption, increased absorption, and increase drug toxicity.

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Grapefruit Effect

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Can inhibit the metabolism of certain drugs, raising their blood levels. Helps to inhibit metabolism of drug, leading to more intense peak effects.

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Pharmacodynamic Tolerance

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The familiar type of tolerance associated with long-term administration of drugs such as morphine and heroin. The minimum effect concentration (MEC) of a drug is abnormally high.

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Metabolic Tolerance

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Tolerance resulting from accelerated drug metabolism. Does not effect the minimum effect concentration (MEC).

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Placebo Effect

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The component of a drug response that is caused by psychological factors and not by the biochemical or physiologic properties of the drug.

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Bioavailability

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The ability of a drug to reach the systemic circulation from its site of administration. Differences in this occur primarily with oral drugs due to factors such as tablet disintegration time, enteric coatings, and sustained-release formulations. Is of greatest concern with drugs that have a narrow therapeutic range.

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Side Effect

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A nearly unavailable secondary drug effect produced at therapeutic doses. These are generally predictable and their intensity is dose dependent. May occur almost instantly or delayed. Ex: drowsiness caused by antihistamines, gastric irritation caused by aspirin.

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Allergic Reaction

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An immune response. The immune system must have prior sensitization to a drug. The re-exposure causes this. Intensity can range from mild itching to severe rash or anaphylaxis. The intensity is largely independent of dosage.

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Idiosyncratic Effect

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An uncommon drug response resulting from a generic predisposition.

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Iatrogenic Disease

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A disease produced by a physician - a disease produced by drugs. Ex: a patient taking anti-psychotic drugs develops a syndrome whose symptoms closely resemble Parkinson's disease.

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Physical Dependence

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A state in which the body has adapted to drug exposure in such a way that an abstinence syndrome will result if drug use is discontinued. Develops during long-term use of certain drugs such as opioids, alcohol, barbiturates and amphetamines.

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Carcinogenic Effect

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The ability of certain medications and environmental chemicals to cause cancer.

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Teratogenic Effect

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A drug induce birth defect.

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Hepatotoxic Drugs

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Drugs that cause acute liver failure and may have the ability to cause severe liver damage. As these drugs are converted in the liver the are converted to toxic products that damage liver cells.