Introduction to Pharmacology Flashcards
Drug is..
any article intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease.
What is the drug substance?
Active pharmaceutical ingredient.
Pharmacology is…
the study of drugs
Characterisation of drugs:
- structure, targets, mechanism of action, handling by the body, desirable and undesirable effects of drug.
Why is it important to understand pharmacology? (3)
- patient safety
- scientific methodology and monitoring of drug responses.
- maximisation of efficacy and minimisation of therapeutic failure.
Artemisinin
Function and derived from..
Ant-malarial drug derived from sweet wormwood
Digoxin
Function and derived from..
Cardiac ion pump inhibitor derived from foxglove
Where was aspirin found ?
Who found it?
Hippocrates found it comes from willow tree for pain relief.
What were the side effects of salicylic acid?
Gastric irritation
Clinical pharmacology is
the study of drugs in patients
Molecular pharmacology is
the interaction of drug with cellular targets and responses
Therapeutic is..
drug aimed toward curing disease
Palliative is..
drug aimed toward relieving symptoms
Efficacy is..
inherent capability of a drug to produce desired effect
Potency is..
relative effectiveness of a drug to produce desired effect
Tolerance is..
resistance to the usual effects of a dose of a particular drug.
Toxicology is..
the study of the adverse or toxic effects of drugs and chemicals
Paracelsus tells us that
all substances are potions - the right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy.
What do drugs make possible?
The transfer of information to cells by interaction with specific receptive molecules called receptors.
Receptors can be (2)
Membrane bound e.g. G protein linked, enzyme receptors
Internal receptors e.g. hormone receptors, nuclear receptors
What is the therapeutic index?
Differential between the desired therapeutic effect and the undesired adverse effects.
Large therapeutic index means…
Can administer a high concentration of drug without having adverse effects.
Pharmacokinetics is..
The effect of the body on the drug. What does the body do to the drug e.g. metabolising drug.
Pharmacodynamics is..
The action of the drug on the body, at physiological, biochemical or molecular level.
How was penicillin discovered?
Fleming left bacteria plates in lab while on holiday, mould was present but no bacteria growing.
Drugs are designed to be…
selective
Selectivity depends on several factors: (3)
- nature of the drug and its chemical features.
- age, gender, patient characteristics.
- dose and route of administration
What is Thalidomide?
Introduced as a wonder drug, showed activity as a sedative and marketed as non toxic and safe.
What did people use Thalidomide for?
Reducing morning sickness in the first trimester of pregnancy.
What was the effect of Thalidomide on pregnant woman?
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.
Scientific explanation for the disaster that was Thalidomide?
Racemic mixture, 1:1 mix of R, S enantiomers.
R - sedative
S - inhibits the release of tutor necrosis factor alpha.
How was the use of Thalidomide adapted? (3)
- treatment of TB in AIDS patients.
- anti cancer agent for several tumour types.
- treatment of leprosy.
