introduction to pharmacology Flashcards
(25 cards)
what is the aim of drug therapy ?
efficacy without toxicity
what other factors are important in drug therapy ?
onset of action, duration of action, orally active, predictable behaviour between different patients and situations
what does onset of action mean ?
the time it takes for the drugs to work after administration
what does duration of action mean ?
how long the drugs effects last
what does orally active mean ?
absorption of drug may begin in mouth and stomach
what is pharmacodynamics ?
this is what the drug does to the body or, at a molecular level, how the drug interacts with its target
the target is normally a …
functional protein and the interactions will be electrostatic and hydrophobic
can pharmacodynamics be different for different patients ?
yes
why can pharmacodynamics be different for different people takaing the same drug ?
it depends on their genome
what is pharmacokinetics ?
this is the theory that the response will depend on the concentration of the drug at the site of action
on a graph, a short half-life will have a … slope
steep
in a graph, a long half-life will have a … slope
shallow
c max is usually referred to as
a peak concentration
c min is usually reffered to as …
trough concentration
what are the four stages of pharmacokinetics ?
adme:
absorption
distribution
metabolism
elimination
what is absorption ?
the drug entering systemic circulation
what is distribution ?
the drug finding its way throughout the body
what is metabolism ?
the drug being converted into other species by chemical processes
what is elimination ?
the removal of drug (unchanged or as metabolites) from the body
what are examples of recreational drug use ?
social drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, illegal drugs and the misuse of legal otc and prescription medicines
most substances involved in recreational drug use are well known and easy to detect by …
gc-ms
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
if poisoning is suspected but the toxin is unknown then …
a range of common poisons would be screened for
if the poison is known then …
the concentration will be measured as this will probably affect the treatment decisions
what are some examples of typical acute toxins ?
co, aspirin, paracetamol, methanol/ethylene glycol
