Introduction to Pharmacology

Question 1

Drug is..

Answer 1

any article intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease.

Question 2

What is the drug substance?

Answer 2

Active pharmaceutical ingredient.

Question 3

Pharmacology is…

Answer 3

the study of drugs

Question 4

Characterisation of drugs:

Answer 4

• structure, targets, mechanism of action, handling by the body, desirable and undesirable effects of drug.

Question 5

Why is it important to understand pharmacology? (3)

Answer 5

• patient safety
• scientific methodology and monitoring of drug responses.
• maximisation of efficacy and minimisation of therapeutic failure.

Question 6

Artemisinin

Function and derived from..

Answer 6

Ant-malarial drug derived from sweet wormwood

Question 7

Digoxin

Function and derived from..

Answer 7

Cardiac ion pump inhibitor derived from foxglove

Question 8

Where was aspirin found ?

Who found it?

Answer 8

Hippocrates found it comes from willow tree for pain relief.

Question 9

What were the side effects of salicylic acid?

Answer 9

Gastric irritation

Question 10

Clinical pharmacology is

Answer 10

the study of drugs in patients

Question 11

Molecular pharmacology is

Answer 11

the interaction of drug with cellular targets and responses

Question 12

Therapeutic is..

Answer 12

drug aimed toward curing disease

Question 13

Palliative is..

Answer 13

drug aimed toward relieving symptoms

Question 14

Efficacy is..

Answer 14

inherent capability of a drug to produce desired effect

Question 15

Potency is..

Answer 15

relative effectiveness of a drug to produce desired effect

Question 16

Tolerance is..

Answer 16

resistance to the usual effects of a dose of a particular drug.

Question 17

Toxicology is..

Answer 17

the study of the adverse or toxic effects of drugs and chemicals

Question 18

Paracelsus tells us that

Answer 18

all substances are potions - the right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy.

Question 19

What do drugs make possible?

Answer 19

The transfer of information to cells by interaction with specific receptive molecules called receptors.

Question 20

Receptors can be (2)

Answer 20

Membrane bound e.g. G protein linked, enzyme receptors

Internal receptors e.g. hormone receptors, nuclear receptors

Question 21

What is the therapeutic index?

Answer 21

Differential between the desired therapeutic effect and the undesired adverse effects.

Question 22

Large therapeutic index means…

Answer 22

Can administer a high concentration of drug without having adverse effects.

Question 23

Pharmacokinetics is..

Answer 23

The effect of the body on the drug. What does the body do to the drug e.g. metabolising drug.

Question 24

Pharmacodynamics is..

Answer 24

The action of the drug on the body, at physiological, biochemical or molecular level.

Question 25

How was penicillin discovered?

Answer 25

Fleming left bacteria plates in lab while on holiday, mould was present but no bacteria growing.

Question 26

Drugs are designed to be…

Answer 26

selective

Question 27

Selectivity depends on several factors: (3)

Answer 27

• nature of the drug and its chemical features.
• age, gender, patient characteristics.
• dose and route of administration

Question 28

What is Thalidomide?

Answer 28

Introduced as a wonder drug, showed activity as a sedative and marketed as non toxic and safe.

Question 29

What did people use Thalidomide for?

Answer 29

Reducing morning sickness in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Question 30

What was the effect of Thalidomide on pregnant woman?

Answer 30

Increase in number of babies born with limb defects in 1950’s.

it hadn’t been tested for effect on embryo development, was found to inhibit growth of certain tissues.

Question 31

Scientific explanation for the disaster that was Thalidomide?

Answer 31

Racemic mixture, 1:1 mix of R, S enantiomers.

R - sedative

S - inhibits the release of tutor necrosis factor alpha.

Question 32

How was the use of Thalidomide adapted? (3)

Answer 32

• treatment of TB in AIDS patients.
• anti cancer agent for several tumour types.
• treatment of leprosy.