Intro & Autonomic pharmacology Flashcards
What are pharmacodynamics?
What the drug does to the body.
What are Pharmacokinetics?
They determine what the body does to the drug, absorption, metabolism, distribution, excretion.
What is enterohepatic recirculation?
Drug is released into the gastrointestinal tract in the bile and a proportion of it may then be reabsorbed from the GIT.
Describe First order kinetics
The rate of drug elimination changes and is proportional to the drug concentration.
What is Zero order Kinetics?
The rate at which drug concentration changes is constant and independent of drug concentration. The rate of elimination is fixed. (bad)
Describe ion trapping
Most drugs are weak acids or bases. Non ionised drug moves across cell membranes more readily. the local pH environment may lead to an ion trapping effect. Degree of ionisation depends on the ppH and pKa of the drug.
What is the First pass effect?
Generally refers to removal of a percentage of the drug as it passes through the liver via the portal circulation - before it reaches the systemic circulation.
What Is Bioavailability?
Defines the extent to which an administered dose of a drug enters the systemic circulation intact. Referred to as F.
Describe plasma protein binding.
Certain drugs bind highly to plasma proteins. Binding is reversible. Bound dug does not move across membranes. Bound drug acts as a reservoir. Albumin is the main plasma protein that drugs bind to. Binding in excess of 80% is considered high. Bound Drug tends to stay centrally and bound drug cannot be filtered by the kidney but carrier mediated transport is not affected. Hypoalbuminaemia may increase free drug. Uraemia may increase free drug.
What is the Volume of Distribution?
The amount of tissue to which the drug distributes is directly related to the plasma drug concentration. It is calculated Vd = Dose/ Co. Co is the peak plasma drug concentration after equilibrium is achieved and before elimination has begun.
Name the Phase I and phase II reactions.
Phase I- hydrolysis, reduction, oxidation. (make a drug more reactive.)
Phase II - Acetylation, glucuronidation, conjugation to AAs e. cysteine, glycine. (adds a side chain to make more easily excreted)
Describe Enzyme inducers & give an example
Enhance their own metabolism and that of other drugs by inducig hepatic microsomal enzymes. Eg diazepam, phenylbutazone
Describe Enzyme inhibitors and give an example
Reduce their own rate of metabolism and that of some other drugs by inhibiting Hepatic microsomal enzymes (mixed function oxidases). e.g Cimetidine, chloramphenicol.
Describe Species differences in Phase II reactions
Cats are deficient in glucuronyl transferase - they have a limited ability to perform glucuronidation.
Dogs have a limited capacity to perform acetylation.
What is Clearance?
Defined as the volume of blood cleared of the drug by all elimination processes per unit time and is measured in ml/min. It will encompass biotransformation as well as elimination processes.
What is Steady State?
Where the levels of drug remain stable or consistent from dose to dose. 95% SS is achieved after 5 half lives. 99% is achieved after 7 half lives.
Describe Pharmacodynamics
Drug action - describes the interaction of the drug with its receptor. Drug effect - the subsequent chain of events caused by the drug receptor interaction.
What is an Agonist?
An agonist is a drug that binds to a physiological receptor and mimics the effect of the endogenous ligand. Full agonists can achieve maximal response even if not all the receptors are occupied. partial agonists are incapable of achieving maximal response even if all the receptors are occupied.
What is Affinity?
The tendency of the ligand to bind to the receptor
What is Efficacy?
A term used to describe how good the drug is at eliciting a particular response e.g partial agonists have less efficacy than full agonists.
Describe Potency
It is a relative term. Often used to compare two drugs and compares the concentration required to elicit the same response.
What are Antagonists
They can have affinity but have no intrinsic activity. They may be competitive (reversible) OR non competitive (the antagonism cannot be overcome by increasing amount of agonist).
What is Selectivity
Often drugs produce more than one effect. Selectivity defines the capacity to preferentially produce one particular effect.
What is specificity?
An absolute term - ultimate selectivity. A drug with specificity tends to only act on one particular receptor type.
What is the therapeutic index?
The ratio of the dose giving an undesired effect over the dose required to give the desired effect.
Describe Receptor Desensitisation
When a receptor is exposed to a ligand the response may reach a peak and then despite the continued presence of the ligand begin to fall off. There is rapid recovery once the ligand is removed. The receptor number remains the same.
Describe receptor down-regulation
Slower in onset and recovery than desensitisation. The receptors become internalised and degraded within the cell. Tyrosine kinase receptors are prone to this.
Describe the Neurotransmitters of the SNS
Acetylcholine - preganglionic neurotransmitter.
Noradrenaline - postganglionic neurotransmitter
Adrenal medulla chromaffin cells release adrenaline
What are the functions of the SNS?
Mydriasis, positive chronotropic effect, positive inotropic effect, vasoconstriction or dilation depending on receptors, increased dromotropic effect, bronchodilation, decreased gastric motility, increased sphincter tone, glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis.
Describe Noradrenaline
Synthesised in the nerve terminal from tyrosine, it is stored in vesicles until an action potential induces the release. It undergoes reuptake and enzymatic degradation and has an effect on alpha and B adrenoceptors.
Describe Alpha 1 adrenoceptors
They are widely distributed throughout the body. They couple mainly to Gq. The second messenger system usually involves the activation of phospholipase C leading to the formation of IP3 and diacylglycerol. IP3 induces the release of intracellular calcium from the SR and DAG activates protein kinase C.
Describe Alpha 2 adrenoceptors.
Couple to Gi and Go. They inhibit adenylyl cyclase and thus decrease cAMP. They also inhibit voltage gated calcium channels and activate Ca2+ dependent K channels.
Describe B1 Adrenoceptors
Couple mainly to Gs. Stimulation of adenylyl cyclase which increases cAMP and this in turn increases protein kinase A. Found mainly in the heart. Activation leads to increased force of contraction, conduction and increased rate of impulse formation.
Describe B2 Adrenoceptors
Mediate activity through Gs and Gi. They can stimulate or inhibit cAMP production. The main effects are vascular smooth muscle relaxation, bronchodilation and stabilisation of respiratory mast cells.