Basic Pharmacology

Question 1

what is pharmacology

Answer 1

the study of medicines and drugs, including their action, use and effects on living systems

Question 2

pharmacodynamics

Answer 2

the action of drugs on the physiology or pathology of the body (what the drugs do to us)

Question 3

pharmacokinetics

Answer 3

the movement of drugs within the body (what we do to the drugs)

Question 4

therapy

Answer 4

may or may not resolve the underlying condition

only attempts to remediate it

Question 5

cure

Answer 5

does remove the underlying cause of a condition

Question 6

are anticancer drugs therapies or cures

Answer 6

mainly therapy - doesn’t affect the genome, only aims to destroy tumour cells
however, some can cure depending on the stage and type of cancer

Question 7

agonist

Answer 7

binds to and activates receptors to elicit a response

has affinity and efficacy

Question 8

antagonist

Answer 8

binds to a receptor but does not activate it
has affinity but no efficacy
acts as an inhibitor but doesn’t actually prevent a response - only reduces it

Question 9

affinity

Answer 9

attraction, likely to bind

Question 10

efficacy

Answer 10

the ability to produce a desired response

Question 11

blockers

Answer 11

obstruct ion channels to actually prevent a response

Question 12

modulators

Answer 12

bind to the ion protein on a site separate to the receptor to increase or decrease channel opening

Question 13

G alpha s protein coupled receptors

Answer 13

stimulates adenylyl cyclase, increasing cAMP formation from ATP, activates PKA to phosphorylate other pathways

Question 14

G alpha i protein coupled receptors

Answer 14

inhibits adenylyl cyclase, decreasing cAMP formation

Question 15

G alpha i/o protein coupled receptors

Answer 15

closes calcium ion channels and opens potassium ion channels, making threshold potential more difficult to achieve, reducing contraction
inhibits adenylate cyclase

Question 16

G alpha q protein coupled receptors

Answer 16

activates phospholipase C, increasing IP3 and DAG from PIP2, increases calcium ion release from stores and activating PKC, muscle contraction

Question 17

G alpha 12/13 protein coupled receptors

Answer 17

activates rho and hence rho kinase

Question 18

G beta gamma protein coupled receptors

Answer 18

activate potassium ion channels
inhibit voltage gated calcium ion channels
activate GPCR and MAP kinases

Question 19

Emax

Answer 19

maximal response a drug can produce

Question 20

EC50

Answer 20

concentration of a drug required to produce 50% of Emax

Question 21

ED50

Answer 21

dose of a drug required to produce 50% of Emax

Question 22

Kd

Answer 22

concentration of ligand at 50% receptor occupancy

Question 23

types of antagonists

Answer 23

competitive, non-competitive, reversible

Question 24

partial agonists

Answer 24

bind to and activate a given receptor but only have partial efficacy

Question 25

inverse agonists

Answer 25

binds to the same receptor as an agonist but induces the opposite response

Question 26

neutral antagonist

Answer 26

no activity in the absence of an agonist or inverse agonist but can block the activity of either