Drug Action Flashcards
(144 cards)
What is the difference between agonists and antagonists?
Agonist- Possess affinity and efficacy
Bind to a receptor and produce a response
Antagonist- possess affinity but not efficacy
Binds to a receptor but does not produce a response
Atropine blocks acetylcholine but not histamine
Mepyramine blocks histamine but not acetylcholine
List some drugs that work by their physiochemical properties
Antacids- NaHCO3- basic Bulk laxatives- methylcellulose- large and indigestible Osmotic laxatives- magnesium sulphate Osmotic diuretics- mannitol General anaesthetics- halothane Alcohol
What is the Emax and EC50?
Emax is the saturation dose
EC50 is halfway to Emax- 50% response
What is the response equation?
P=bound receptors/total receptors= [drug]/(Kd+[drug]
Name some potential drug receptors
Enzymes- COX- aspirin
Ion channels- Ca channels blocked by nifedipine
Transporters- noradrenaline transporters blocked by cocaine
(Not meant to be bound to- no real agonists or antagonists)
Physiological receptors
Name the receptor superfamilies
Integral ion channels- ligand gated Nicotinic or glycine receptors Integral tyrosine kinases- enzymes Insulin receptors Steroid receptors- inside the cell Oestrogen receptor G protein coupled receptors- has no direct action- actives a G protein Muscarinic or adrenoreceptors Cytokines receptors- enzyme free in the cytosol Prolactin and growth hormone receptor
What is the difference between the concept of spare receptors and partial agonists?
Spare receptors- highly efficacious agonists can produce a max response without binding to all the receptors
Partial agonists- low efficacy agonists cannot produce the max response even when bound to all the available receptors
Give an example for the allosteric effects on receptors
The GABA-A receptor a ligand gated Cl channel
Benzodiazepines increases the affinity for GABA on the channel
Antagonist- flumazenil- no effect
Inverse agonists- betacarbolines- less likely
Give some examples of competitive antagonists
Atropine at muscarinic receptors
Propranolol at beta-adrenoreceptors
Nalixone used in opiate overdose
Give some examples of irreversible antagonists
Phenoxybenzamine at alpha-adrenoreceptors and decreases max response
Give examples of allosteric antagonists
Gallamine at the muscarinic receptor
Betacarbolines at the GABA-A receptor
Bind reversibly and decrease agonist affinity
Name a channel blocker
Phencyclidine at the NMDA receptor
Binds inside the channel to block ions
What is an example of a ‘physiological antagonist’?
Acetylcholine and adrenaline
Both agonists at their own receptors but produce opposite effects
Describe the phenomenon of desensitisation
Prolonged and repeated exposure to an agonist reduces the response to that drug
Eg tolerance to heroin- ⬆️adenyl cyclase activity in the brain in response to the decrease cAMP
Inactivation of nicotinic receptors
What is the importance of ion trapping in drug delivery?
For weak acids and bases the degree of dissociation depends on the pH
Only the unionised form is sufficiently lipid soluble to diffuse through cell membranes
Drugs will tend to accumulate in area where ionisation is favoured
Name the advantages and disadvantages of drug administration routes
Oral- common, easy but strong acids and bases (>10 and <3 pKa)
Rectal- useful if patient is vomiting and cannot swallow but absorption is unreliable
Injections- fastest and most reliable, rate of absorption depends on the site of injection and local blood flow
Inhalation- high absorption SA that raises the chances of attentive side effects
Sublingual- absorbed directly into circulation also useful if the drug is too unstable to get to the intestine, helpful if the drug tastes nice
Topical/transdermal- local effects but most drugs are poorly absorbed through unbroken skin
What are the factors that influence absorption?
Route of administration
Blood flow
Drug conc.
Drug solubility in lipids and aqueous body fluids
How do you calculate apparent volume of distribution?
Dose/plasma conc.
What is the basic structure of a local anaesthetic?
Benzene ring- linkage (amide or ester)-amine
List some examples of local anaesthetics, their linkage and duration
Procaine/cocaine-ester-short
Lidocaine-amide-medium
Prilocaine-amide-medium
Bupivacaine-amide-long
Describe the equilibrium of a local anaesthetic in solution
What does use dependent block mean in the context of local anaesthetics?
LA only block open voltage gated Na channels
⬆️nociceptors activity ⬆️block
How does inflammation effect local anaesthetic?
Low pH ⬇️ the neutral form of the drug leading to poor anaesthesia
What are the different methods of administering local anaesthetic?
1 topically 2 infiltration (surrounding the wound) 3 nerve block 4 epidural 5 spinal