L1: What is Pharmacology? Flashcards
(38 cards)
What is pharmacology?
The science of drugs, their mechanism of action, effects, discovery, design, development and actions on organisms.
Includes therapeutics, pharmacy, and toxicology.
Define therapeutics in pharmacology.
Medicinal use of drugs for disease.
What is the role of pharmacy in pharmacology?
Drug formulation and dispensing as medicine.
What does toxicology study?
The harmful effects of drugs.
What are the three names of therapeutic drugs?
- chemical name
- common name (e.g., ibuprofen),
- proprietary (trade) name (e.g., nurofen).
How are drugs grouped?
According to their therapeutic use and by mechanism of action.
Examples: analgesics, antibiotics, beta-blockers.
What are drugs defined as?
Defined chemicals (excluding nutrients and essential dietary ingredients) that produce a biological effect.
What is the difference between exogenous and endogenous molecules?
Exogenous molecules are drugs that mimic/block actions of endogenous molecules.
What do drugs have as molecular targets?
Receptors, enzymes, ion channels, and carrier/transport molecules.
What is a ligand?
Small molecules that bind to large target proteins.
What determines the drug fitting to the binding site?
The chemistry between the molecule and the binding site.
What types of bonding do most ligands use to bind to target proteins?
Hydrophobic, Van der Waals, Hydrogen bonding/forces.
What occurs once a protein-ligand complex is formed?
It alters the activity of the drug.
Define specificity in pharmacology.
When a molecule acts on a single target only.
Provide an example of specificity.
Insulin binding to the insulin receptor (IR).
Define selectivity in pharmacology.
When a molecule has a high preference for a target but can bind to multiple.
Provide an example of selectivity.
B2-agonist (salbutamol) prefers B2-adrenergic receptors but can bind to B1-adrenergic receptors.
How does high selectivity affect side effects?
It reduces side effects.
What is pharmacodynamics (PD)?
What the drug does to the body, including mechanism of action, side effects, and response.
What is pharmacokinetics (PK)?
What the body does to the drug, including ADME.
What does ADME stand for?
Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion.
What is absorption in pharmacokinetics?
How the drug enters the bloodstream.
What factors affect drug absorption?
Route, solubility, pH, and chemical properties of the drug.
How is the distribution of a drug determined?
By blood flow, tissue permeability, binding to albumin, and solubility.
