Intro to pharmacology Flashcards
Drug harms
anaphylactic reactions
side effects
terogenicity (he ability to cause defects in a developing fetus)
dependency
what does ADME stand for in pharmacokinetics
Absorption
distribution
metabolism
excretion
digoxin drug - what its used for etc.
slows conduction at cardiac AV node
used for arrhythmia management and heart failure
really excreted
risk of digoxin toxicity in chronic kidney disease (shows as broad complex bradycardia on an ECG)
what do beta2 adrenoreceptors do
causes bronchial smooth muscle relaxation
define pharmacology
the branch of medicine concerned with the uses, effects, and modes of action of drugs.
define therapeutic
the branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of disease and the action of remedial agents.
define drug selectivity
Selectivity refers to a drug’s ability to preferentially produce a particular effect and is related to the structural specificity of drug binding to receptors.
define drug specificity
will be used to describe the capacity of a drug to cause a particular action in a population.
define drug dose
dose refers to a specified amount of medication taken at one time.
define drug concentration
defined as the amount of drug in a given volume, such. as mg/L: 1-1.
drug affinity
the extent or fraction to which a drug binds to receptors at any given drug concentration or the firmness with which the drug binds to the receptor.
define agonism
A molecule that combines with a receptor on a cell to trigger physiological reaction. An example is an acetylcholine being the agonist that combines with the cholinergic receptor.
define partial agonist
partial agonists are drugs that bind to and activate a given receptor, but have only partial efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist.
Define potency
potency is a measure of drug activity expressed in terms of the amount required to produce an effect of given intensity. A highly potent drug evokes a given response at low concentrations, while a drug of lower potency evokes the same response only at higher concentrations.
define efficacy
is the capacity to produce an effect (eg, lower blood pressure).
What is the relationship between drug concentration and response?
Progressive increases in drug dose (which, for most drugs, is proportional to the plasma drug concentration) produce increasing response but only within a relatively narrow range of dose; further increases in dose beyond this range produce little extra effect.
define desensitisation in pharmacology
refers to the common situation where the biological response to a drug diminishes when it is given continuously or repeatedly.
define drug tolerance
Drug tolerance or drug insensitivity is a pharmacological concept describing subjects’ reduced reaction to a drug following its repeated use. Increasing its dosage may re-amplify the drug’s effects; however, this may accelerate tolerance, further reducing the drug’s effects.
examples of full agonistic drugs
opioids for pain
beta adrenoreceptors for asthma
two types of antagonists
competitive and non-competitive
what is a competitive antagonist
competitive antagonist binds to the same site as the agonist but does not activate it, thus blocks the agonist’s action.
what is a non-competitive antagonist
A non-competitive antagonist binds to an allosteric (non-agonist) site on the receptor to prevent activation of the receptor.
how is antagonism measured
The potency of an antagonist is usually defined by its half maximal inhibitory concentration (i.e., IC50 value). This can be calculated for a given antagonist by determining the concentration of antagonist needed to elicit half inhibition of the maximum biological response of an agonist.
examples of antagonism drugs
beta blockers and antipsychotic drugs
what is a drug
any synthetic or natural chemical substance that can alter biological function; may be used in treatment, prevention or diagnosis of disease
two ways a drug can produce an (adverse) side effect
1) target is too widespread -drug is selective for its target but the target is in part of the body where it can give side effects (e.g. aspirin therapeutically is an anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-platelet aggregation but in toxicity causes GI bleeding)
2) the drug hits other targets - drug is not selective and will bind and activate other targets (e.g. morphine therapeutically is an analgesic, but in toxicity can cause respiratory depression, is addictive, can cause vomiting and constipation)
if a drug is hydrophilic what is the best way to administer it?
through IV or orally
what are transdermal patches for
for drugs that are not water soluble
e.g. nicotine patches or HRT
6 molecular targets for drug action
receptors (transduce signal from drug)
enzymes (activate or switch off)
transporters (Carry molecules across membranes)
Ion channels (open or close)
nucleic acids (affect gene transcription)
miscellaneous (lipids, metal ions, etc.)
examples of drugs that inhibit enzymes
Cyclooxygenase inhibitors for pain relief (usually arthritis)
HMG - CoA Reductase inhibitors for hypercholesteraemia
(atorvastatin [Lipitor] ; pravastatin [pravachol])
Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for high blood pressure, heart failure and chronic renal insufficiency (capatopril [capoten] ramipril [altace])
what are Pro-drugs
given as a pharmacologically inactive compound that is then metabolised by the body to produce a pharmacologically active compound
( L-DOPA (pro-drug) to dopamine (drug) used to treat parkinsons)
How is drug affinity measured?
Affinity is inversely proportional to the potency of a drug 1 Kd , where Kd is the dissociation constant. The strength of the binding (interaction) of a ligand and its receptor can be described by affinity. The higher the Kd value, the weaker the binding and the lower the affinity.
what determines the position of the binding curve along the concentration axis? (drug affinity)
Determined by affinity, efficacy and receptor number
what is a receptor reserve
This refers to the condition in a tissue whereby the agonist needs to activate only a small fraction of the existing receptor population to produce the maximal system response.
partial agonism by definition
occupy ALL receptors to evoke their maximum response
partial agonists have NO spare receptors
example of partial agonist (think beta 2 adrenergic receptors)
salbutamol
4 types of antagonism
competitive
non-competitive
uncompetitive
physiological
competitive antagonism
binds at the agonist recognition site preventing access
non competitive antagonism
does not bind at the agonist site but inhibits agonist binding in other ways
uncompetitive antagonism
this is when binding occurs to an activated form of the receptor
physiological antagonism
when the effect of a neurotransmitter or hormone is countered by the action of another neurotransmitter or hormone
what equation describes competitive antagonism
Gaddum-Schild [D1]/[D1] = 1 + ([B]/Kb)
where d1/d1 = concentration ratio
[B] = antagonist
Kb = dissociation constant of antagonist
examples of competitive antagonists in the clinic
propanolol - beta adrenoreceptor - lowers HR
Haloperidol - dopamine receptor - antipsychotic
Atropine - muscarinic ACH receptor - dilation of pupils, decreases secretions
Ranitidine - histamine H2 receptor - decreases gastric acid secretion
D-tubocurarine - nicotinic Ach receptor - neuromuscular block
effect of a competitive antagonist on an agonist concentration - response curve
shifts the agonist dose response curve to the right with no change in the apparent maximum response obtained
What does ADME relate to
dose of drug administered and absorbed
drugs in tissue of distribution
drug in systemic circulation
drug metabolised or excreted
what does pharmacokinetics relate to
what the body does to the drug
what does pharmacodynamics relate to
what the drug does to the body
4 reasons why ADME is important
1) important to know if a drug is going to be absorbed if given by a particular route
2) important to estimate accurate plasma concentrations of drug as a function of time -plasma drug concentration is dynamic it changes with time
3) to know where the drug goes once inside the body- how it distributes
4) Drug metabolism - are the metabolites safe?
most common route of drug administration
oral
2 examples of drugs that are administered sublingually
GTN spray
ondansetron (for migraines)
why are drugs administered sublingually
rapid onset
only suitable for drugs that are lipid soluble so they can cross the membrane
why are drugs administered rectally
in order to be absorbed into general systemic system or localised
usually give diazepam rectally if patient is unconscious or seizing or for a small child whose veins might be too small