Pharmacodynamics Flashcards
What is pharmacology?
the study of how a drug interacts with living organisms and how this influences physiological function
What is therapeutics?
the study of drug prescribing and treatment of disease
What is pharmacodynamics?
the study of the biochemical and physiologic effects of drugs on the body
What are the three main concerns of pharmacodynamics?
Target, effect, response
What are the four different types of drug targets?
Receptors
Enzymes
Ion channels
Transport proteins
What is drug selectivity?
the degree to which a drug acts on a given site relative to other sites
What is drug specificity?
the measure of a drug’s ability to bind to a binding site
What is drug dose?
The amount of drug required to produce an effect on a drug target
Why do we start with the lowest possible dose?
The effect becomes less specific as the drug dose increases, leading to side effects
What are the four types of drug interactions?
Electrostatic interactions - most common mechanism
Hydrophobic interactions - important for lipid soluble drugs
Covalent bonds - interactions tend to be irreversible
Stereospecific interactions - stereoisomers interact stereospecifically with receptors
What is drug affinity?
The strength of binding of the drug to the receptor
What is drug efficacy?
the ability of an individual drug molecule to produce an effect once bound to a receptor
What is an agonist?
Affinity and maximal efficacy
What is a partial agonist?
Affinity and partial efficacy
What is an antagonist?
Affinity and no efficacy. Blocks the receptor
