Pharmacology Flashcards

1
Q

what is a drug?

A

Any agent (chemical/natural product)
that has the ability to affect living
processes

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2
Q

what is pharmacology?

A

the study of drugs including;

origin & ingredients, actions and uses

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3
Q

what is a drug indication?

A

medical/clinical condition for which the drug is meant to be used.

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4
Q

what are drug actions/effects?

A

cellular changes that occur as a result of a drug. They are varied and may include;

  • depression
  • stimulation
  • depletion/ destruction
  • biosynthesis and replacing substances
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5
Q

what is contraindication?

A

condition for which a particular drug should never be administered.
e.g. Phenytoin in pregnancy as it is a teratogenic drug

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6
Q

what is an adverse drug reaction?

A

undesired, secondary effects of drugs.

e.g. insulin may cause hypersensitivity

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7
Q

drug- drug interactions

A

drugs co-administered with other drugs may alter the desired effects of a particular medication

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8
Q

drug- food interactions

A

food co-administered with drugs may alter the desired effects of a particular medication.

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9
Q

what is pharmacognosy?

A

isolation and characterisation of drugs from natural sources.
e.g. plants, animal tissues, microbes

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10
Q

what are the sources of commonly used drugs?

A
  1. natural, endogenous sources
  2. plant sources
  3. microbes
  4. inorganic/organic elements
  5. minerals
  6. animals
  7. marine life
  8. genetically engineered drugs
  9. gene therapy
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11
Q

advantage of plants (tannins) as prescribed drugs:

A
  • allows better control because it is free from contaminants, assures good quality and has standard packaging and formulations.
  • allows better dosing because we know the exact quantity to active ingredient delivered to patient.
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12
Q

disadvantages of natural therapies

A

regulation of dose
- majority of plants drugs need precise dosing.
Different batches will have different concentrations of the active ingredients by weight.

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13
Q

what is an example of a drug from a microbe source

A

penicillin

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14
Q

what is an example of a drug from inorganic/organic elements

A

Sulphonamide is an antibacterial product of dye in mice against Staphylococcal infections

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15
Q

what might gene therapy be useful for?

A
  1. single gene diseases: cystic fibrosis
  2. certain cancers
  3. viral infections
  4. neurodegenerative diseases
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16
Q

what does efficacy of a drug mean?

A

eliciting an expected response. No effect implies no justification of using an agent.

17
Q

what does specificity/ selectivity of a drug mean?

A

ideally, the ability to ONLY elicit pharmacological/ physiological responses for which it is administered. Drugs have specific targets for which they have a very high affinity because they do not know where to go in the body.

18
Q

how to minimise safety issues of drugs?

A
  1. by appropriate dosing- if the amount of drug and the route taken into the body is appropriate, should reduce any risks
  2. consider agents with minimal side effects- aspirin may cause gastric bleeding and ulcers.
19
Q

describe what happens to drugs once they enter the body

A
  1. drug is administered with appropriate dosage and route around body.
  2. ABSORPTION- rate which drug leaves administered site
  3. DISTRIBUTED- transport of drug in the body by bloodstream
  4. METABOLISM- biological transformation of a drug into an inactive metabolite
  5. EXCRETION- elimination of drugs from the body
20
Q

how is drug administration important?

A

it may determine the amount of drug reaching receptors and its efficacy. It is important to determine its toxicity and therapeutic outcome on the body.

21
Q

list some routes of administration into the body

A
  1. intrathecal 2. topical 3. oral 4. inhaled 5. parenteral (SC/IM/IV) 6. rectal
22
Q

list some routes of administration into the body

A
  1. intrathecal 2. topical 3. oral 4. inhaled 5. parenteral (SC/IM/IV) 6. rectal
23
Q

what is the definition of absorption

A

the rate at which a drug leaves its site of administration, and the extent to which absorption occurs (bioavailability and bioequivalent)

24
Q

outline the factor of route of administration on drug ABSORPTION

A

depending on the route of administration will affect ifs rate of administration. inhalation and topical would be slower than oral. And parenteral (SC/IM/IV) would be faster than oral.

25
Q

what is first pass effect

A

extensive metabolism of a drug prior to its passage from the liver into the systemic circulation (plasma).
1st pass effect is seen with orally administered drugs.

this affects the potency and efficacy of a particular drug

26
Q

what is the definition of DISTRIBUTION

A

the transport of a drug in the body by the bloodstream to its site of action.

drugs may distribute into the plasma, interstitial fluid or ICF.

27
Q

what are the factors that affect distribution

A
  • blood flow
  • dosage formulation
  • capillary permeability and blood- brain barrier
28
Q

where is slow distribution often seen?

A

in fat, skin and muscle

29
Q

where are rapid areas of distribution?

A

heart, liver, kidney, brain

30
Q

what is the blood- brain barrier?

A

when drugs administered to distribute to the brain, there are unique capillaries in the brain where the drug needs to pass through 2 or more membranes controlled by ion pumps.

31
Q

what is drug METABOLISM?

A

This is the biological transformation of a drug into an inactive metabolite, a more soluble compound, or a more potent metabolite.

32
Q

what are the two major phases of drug metabolism?

A

phase 1: conversion into lipophilic compounds

phase 2: conjugation reactions

33
Q

what factors will influence drug biotransformation?

A
  • drug- drug interactions
  • genetic variability (e.g. slow vs. fast acetylators)
  • disease status
  • age and gender
  • diet
34
Q

what is drug EXCRETION?

A

elimination of drugs from the body. the predominant route is renal (filtration, secretion and reabsorption) and liver, bowel, lungs and skin.

35
Q

what is drug clearance?

A

the volume of plasma from which the drug is completely removed per unit time. the amount eliminated is proportional to the concentration of the drug in the blood.

36
Q

what is Elimination Half-life?

A

the time it takes for half the amount of the drug to be eliminated from the body.