Pharmacokinetic Flashcards
LO
- Define drugs pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics
- Develop understanding of basic concepts of ADME
- Introduce basic concepts of pharmacokinetics
o Absorption
o Distribution
o Metabolism
o Elimination - Define the common pharmacokinetic parameters
o Volume of distribution
o Clearance
o Elimination half life - Understand important optimal therapeutic response
What is meant by pharmacokinetics?
- The mathematical description, prediction and understanding of the time-course of drugs (and their metabolites) in the body
- By in the body, we mean plasma concentrations (time-course is time in circulatory system)
What is meant by pharmacodynamics?
The study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs and the mechanism of their actions on the body
Define the terms pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and how they are denoted?
* Pharmacokinetics is the study of **‘what the body does to a drug’ **
* Pharmacodynamics is often summarised as the study of **‘what a drug does to the body’ **
* Pharmacodynamics is sometimes abbreviated to ‘PD’, while pharmacokinetics can be referred to as **‘PK’ **
What is ADME an acronym for in pharmacokinetics?
ADME is the acronym in pharmacokinetics for absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, and describes the disposition of a pharmaceutical compounds within the body
Define Biopharmaceutics
Biopharmaceutics can be defined as the study of the physical and chemical properties of drugs and their proper dosage as related to the onset, duration, and intensity of drug action
What are the processes that define biopharmaceutics?
o (Liberation)- about the formulation of the drug
o Adsorption **
o Distribution **
o Metabolism
o **Excretion **
Frequently referred to as (L)ADME
What is the difference between PK and clinical PK?
- Remember: PK- the study and characterisation of the time course of drug ADME and the relationship to these processes to the time course of the therapeutic and toxicological effects of the drug
- Clinical PK- use of these principles to enhance safe and effective management of the patient
What are there links between with the pharmacokinetic models?
What are the types of pharmacokinetic models and briefly describe them?
*** Empirical: **use of mathematical equations
*** Physiological: **major tool for prediction of in vivo PK from in vitro data
*** Compartmental: **number compartments defined by concentration over time data
o One compartment assumes drug distributed fully throughout body- the simplest model, drug distributed in an equal way throughout the body
o **Two compartment **assumes simple model of drug absorption and elimination
Describe the one compartment IV bolus
- All drugs initially distribute into a central compartment (Vc)(blood stream/ circulation) before distributing into the peripheral compartment (Vt).
- If a drug rapidly equilibrates with the tissue compartment, then, for practical purposes, we use a one-compartment model which uses only one volume term, the apparent volume of distribution, Vd
- Assuming blood entered blood stream and being widely distributed in the blood stream
One compartment model example
- Distribution phase for **aminoglycosides **is only 15-30 mins
- A one-compartment model is best used to describe the behaviour of the drug
Whats an example of a two compartment model?
- Vancomycin is the classic examples of a two-compartment model
- Distribution phase is 1-2 hours
- Plasma concentration time curve may be more accurately represented by a 2-compartment model
- Distributed to major organs immediately after administration before then distributing around the whole body after distribution equilibrium
Summarise the pharmacokinetics pathway from administration of agonist or antagonist to response and the factors which can effect each of the processes
PK at the molecular level
- PK takes place at molecular level, a process we can only estimate
- Very dynamic process
- Black dots= drug molecules (some may be bound to proteins, if bound to proteins they can’t leave blood stream, so only free drug which can move)
- Drug will leave blood stream and distribute to other places of the body i.e., metabolised by liver, eliminated, go to site of action
- Measuring in plasma concentration time curve is a very dynamic process
- Some drugs may go back to tissues before elimination again
Why is ADME and PK important?
- To prevent negative patients’ outcomes
- Ignorance leads to ‘drug disasters’ e.g., Multaq (dronedarone)
- Primary cause of withdrawal of drugs
- A prominent components of marketing strategy
Preventable negative patient outcomes (PNPO)
(Don’t necessarily need to know just be aware)
- Unnecessary drug therapy (drug without indication)
- Improper drug selection (wrong medication)
- Sub-therapeutic dosage
- Over-dosage
- Adverse drug reaction
- Drug interaction(s)
- Failure to take/receive drug (inappropriate compliance)
- High-income countries, 1/10 patients harmed receiving hospital care: nearly 50% of them being preventable
- Globally, 4/10 patients harmed in primary and outpatients’ health case, 80% preventable
- Most detrimental errors and related to diagnosis, prescription, and the use of medications
- In OECD countries, 15% total hospital activity and expenditure is from adverse events
- No necessarily that drug isn’t working but that they wrong drug could be being used
Example of drug on marker with serious side effects- example
-
Zocor (simvastatin) is a cholesterol- lowering drugs that has been linked to rhabdomyolysis and myopathy (muscle injuries)
o As well as other serious side effects such as kidney failure, liver problems, and interstitial lung disease (ILD)
Multaq (dronedarone)
- Multaq (dronedarone)treats abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter)
- Marketed as drug reduces risk of being hospitalised for these heart problems (French Pharm company)
- Jan 2011 FDA issued drug safety alert for Multaq concerning severe liver injury (liver failure) requiring liver transplantation
- July 2011 FDA issues second (different) drug safety alert: data indicating 2-fold increase in death; 2-fold increases stroke and hospitalisation for heart failure
- Dec 2011 FDA said multaq increased risk serious cardiovascular events, including death, when used by patients in permanent atrial fibrillation (AF)
- Sept 2012 FDA approved label changes for multaq for types of lung disease such as pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis due to serious side effects of multaq use
Usefulness of PK for drug development: can answer Q with PK information about a drug
- Is the drug effective by mouth?
- Which organs is the drug exposed to?
- How long does it stay in the body?
- How is the drug removed from the body?
- What factors influence its handling?
- What is the appropriate route of administration?
- What are appropriate doses (animals/volunteers/ patients)?
- How should that drug be formulated?
- Which drug interaction are likely to be important?
What are some reasons for withdrawal in drug development in the UK?
What do drugs act on in the body?
Drugs act on specific proteins at the cell membrane called receptors
What are the 4 main drug actions at receptors (these receptors are found in the brain)
o Stimulation through direct receptor action (agonist)
o **Depression through direct receptor action (inverse agonist)
o Blocking/ antagonist drugs binds to receptor but does not activate
o Partial agonist** drugs bind to receptor and has some activity, depending on dose and recipient
What are the time curves for IV plasma concentration and oral plasma concentration?
- Time curve for IV bolus drug administration for plasma concentration
- Effect doesn’t follow same time curve, peak effect sometimes occurs after peak concentration
red= IV
green= oral
Whats the relationships between dose rate and effect?
rate at which drug gets to receptor impacts the rate at which an effect occurs
What are the general mechanisms of drug action?
- Block the action of specific enzymes
- **Inhibit cell transport **mechanisms
- Exchange/ replace substance or accumulating them to form a reserve
- Directly beneficial chemical reaction as in free radical scavenging
- **Directly harmful **chemical reaction to damage or destroy cells (act on cell wall proteins of bacteria- lysis)
Give an example of drugs that inhibit enzymes and how it works?
**Disulfiram: Antabuse **
o Aldehyde dehydrogenase is a polymorphic enzyme responsible for oxidation aldehydes to carboxylic acids, which leave the liver and metabolised by muscle and heart
o Three different types of these enzymes: ALDH1, 2 and 3
o Given to alcoholics to support non-drinking as the effects are not very nice so try to get alcoholics to stop drinking
• Disulfiram is a drug which is given to people with chronic alcoholism
• Alcohol pathway
• Alcohol –> acetaldehyde (via alcohol dehydrogenase) –> acetate (via acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH)
• This drug works by inhibiting ALDH and leads to an increase of the toxic alcohol-related compound
• Which leads to severe side effects in those who drink
What is “Asian flush” or “oriental flushing syndrome” ?
- ALDH2 plays a crucial role in maintaining low blood levels of acetaldehyde during alcohol oxidation
- Intermediate structures in this pathway can be toxic and can damage health if not eliminated
- high blood levels acetaldehyde can cause facial flushing, headache, palpitations, light headedness, and general symptoms hangover
Deficiency in ALDH
Tell me about disulfiram treatment
- ALDH2 inhibited by disulfiram
- Prescribed to abstinent alcohol dependent people
- If drink during treatment get high levels of acetaldehyde: become violently ill
- Several drugs (antibiotic metronidazole) cause a similar “disulfiram-like reaction”
What kind of effects can psychoactive drugs have?
Stimulate and depress
Give an example of a stimulatory psychoactive drug and its effects
Stimulate e.g., cocaine
o Speed up body mechanisms
o Increase heart rate, blood flow
o Respiratory rate increased
o BP raised
o Increased attention spam
o Increased ability to focus
o Increased ability to concentrate
o Increased alertness
Give an example of a depressive psychoactive drug and its effects
Depress e.g., alcohol, marijuana, benzodiazepine
o Slow down body
o Decreased heart rate, blood flow
o Respiratory rate depressed
o Analgesia
o Sedation
o Peacefulness
o Decreased alertness
PK and PD in addiction
- Important as addicts tend to use drug doses much higher than safe recommended levels
- No quality control of material- so purity an issue
- Monitor and publish adverse events
- Poly drug use and interactions
What is therapeutic drug monitoring?
The way in which we use PK and PD to optimise drug therapy for individuals
Define Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM)
The use of drug concentrations, pharmacokinetic principles, and pharmacodynamics factors to optimise drug therapy individual patients
Draw the concentration-time graphs for IV plasma and oral dose
Draw the blood level time curve after single oral administration and label the sections
What drugs require TDM?
- Possess a narrow therapeutic index
- Poor correlation between dose and effect
- Good correlation between serum concentration and effect
What is the goal of drug therapy?
Drugs requiring routine monitoring
(dont need to learn)
Define absorption
And the route of administration is the key factor in determinig what?
- Defined as: the process by which unchanged drug proceeds from the site of administration to the general circulation (site of measurement)
- Route of administration is the key factor in determining the **rate and extent of absorption **
What are two sites of administration?
Give examples for each?
Intravascular (placement of a drug directly into the blood stream)
o IV or inter-arterially
Extra vascular
o Oral
o Sublingual
o Buccal rectal
o Conjunctival
o Dermal
o Intramuscular
o Auricular
o Subcutaneous
Absorption can occur from other sites, what are these sites and why is absorption able to occur here
* Lungs when substances are smoked or inhaled (cannabis, salbutamol)- absorption is almost complete as for IV use- lungs are a good site of absorption because they have good blood stream associated with it, large surface area
* Mucous membranes (nasal insufflation- snorting cocaine)- snorting drugs are effective because it is easy access to blood stream, mucous membrane enables drugs to pass easily
* Sublingual and buccal (buprenorphine, nitro-glycerine like vasodilators)- under tongue, and in mouth, good blood supply, easily absorbed
* Skin patches (oestrogens, fentanyl, nicotine)- less effective but good for patches
*** Rectally **(suppositories morphine)- good blood supply
Define Biopharmaceutics?
o Influence of dosage form on the therapeutic activity of a drug
o Study of the relationship between the physical and chemical properties of a drug and its dosage form
o Study of the biological effects observe following administration
What is the therapeutic response of a drug dependent upon?
Therapeutic response of a drug is dependent upon an adequate concentration of the drug being first** achieved **and then **maintained ** at the site(s) of action
What is Biopharmaceutics concerned with?
- Biopharmaceutics is concerned with onset, intensity (i.e., amount) and duration (i.e., length of time) of a drug at its site(s) of action
- Onset, intensity, and duration are all influenced by the rate at which a drug enters the body
What are the mechanisms of absorption?
Absorption from formulation:
Solid drug –> drug in solution –> absorbed drug (drug has to be in solution before it can be absorbed)
What happens when absorption permeability rate is limited?
When absorption permeability rate limited **drug is mostly dissolved before absorption complete **
What happens when absorption drug release rate is limited?
When absorption drug release rate limited will be very little drug at absorption site; absorption delayed until dissolution occurs
What must the drug be in to be absorbed?
solution
How does transcellular permeation occur by?
o Passive diffusion
o Active transport
o Facilitated transport
Vascular absorption predominated as blood flow is greater than what?
lymph flow
Is paracellular absorption passive or active?
Passive
Tell me the following about passive diffusion
What is rate of absorption dependent upon?
What are the rate limiting steps?
**rate of absorption dependent upon **
concentration gradient across membrane –> surface area –> permeability constant
**rate limiting steps **
perfusion rate= very small molecules, membrane not barrier (passage depend on blood flow)
permeability factor= polar hydrophobic compounds (some antibiotics) insensitive to blood flow dependent on membrane
What is the permeability constant determined by?
o physiochemical properties of the molecule
o nature of membrane (thickness membrane varies from tissue to tissue) that is distance between surface of absorption and blood capillary
o partition coefficient of the compounds
o the more lipid the drug the better it will be absorbed
Most drugs that are administered orally act how?
Systemically
What can be an issue with oral absorption?
Sometimes a drug is intended to act locally (eye, lungs etc) so systemic absorption becomes a safety issue
Getting the drug to the small intestine- the major site of absorption
Many factors can influence how well and how quickly a drug is absorbed from the small intestine.
Tell me some of these factors
(a) gastric emptying (GE) and effect of food
(b) intestinal motility/ transit
(c) blood flow
(d) presence of other drugs
(e) degradation and metabolism
Gastric emptying
What is the function of the stomach?
store, mix and reduce the gastric contents to a slurry
empty its contents in a controlled manner to the small intestine
good correlation between GE and peak plasma concentrations of many drugs
Gastric emptying
The emptying of the contents of the stomach into the intestine- may alter the rate (and extent) of absorption
o small intestine (SI) is the main site of drug absorption
o important how quickly drug ‘arrives’ in SI
o large number of factors influence GE
What are some of these factors which influence GE?
o presence or absence of food and/or fluid
o physical state of stomach contents e.g. type of food, quantity, size, temperature, viscosity
o presence of drugs (alcohol decreases GE, while metoclopramide- to treat nausea- increases GE)
o disease states e.g., gastric ulcer decreases GE, duodenal ulcer increases GE
o emotional state- depressed decreases, aggression increases GE
o exercise- life style factors
Gastric emptying
What is the effect of food on GE and drug absorption?
the presence of food can:
decrease absorption (extent and possibly rate)
delay absorption (decrease rate- not extent)
increase absorption (increase extent, may alter rate)
have little or no effect
note that there is a large intra- and inter-subject variation
note the presence of food can influence absorption due to factors other than GE- reasons not always well understood
Gastric emptying
Give examples of when absorption is decreased or delayed
**Decrease absorption (extent) **
e.g., fatty meal reduced ethanol absorption from stomach by 50%
retention of captopril in stomach reduces absorption
**Delayed absorption **
e.g., cephadrine (an antibiotic) absorbed slower due to their delayed entry into the small intestine
Tell me about the small intestine and effects with GE and absorption
o absorption works best here on all accounts
o large surface area (microvilli 200M2)
o good blood supply (1L blood/min compared to 150mL/min stomach)
o permeability to drugs greater
o thus GE is important
Tell me about intestinal motility/ transit?
- SI is major site of absorption
- Residence time in SI is important
- Transit down SI towards colon is very reproducible- 1-2 cm/s
- Transit time is especially important for:
o Sustained release (SR) and coated products
o Drugs which are absorbed at specific sites in intestine
o Drugs which dissolve slowly
Tell me about blood flow and gastric emptying
- GIT highly vascularised (good blood supply)
- However, a reduced blood flow may increase absorption of actively absorbed drugs e.g., phenylalanine (an amino acid)
- Procainamide (an anti-arrhythmic drug)- slowly and incompletely absorbed in patients with acute myocardial infarction
Tell me about GE and intestinal transit
- Food especially fat slows down gastric emptying
- Hastening gastric emptying quickens absorption
- About 30 mins drug to dissolve in stomach
- Anticholinergics- slow gastric emptying
- Metoclopramide- hastens emptying
- Binding- ion exchange resins (cholestyramine) bind several acidic drugs (e.g., warfarin, aspirin)
- Drugs competing for the same transporter
Absorption may be affected by enzymatically mediated drug metabolism that can occur in the:
a. Intestinal wall
b. The lumen of the intestine due to the presence of microbes in the gut used to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease e.g., sulphasalazine (salicyclic acid derivative)
Whats the pH partition hypothesis?
Whats the effects of PKa?
Tell me about the ph partition hypothesis with GI absorption
o weak acids absorbed more rapidly from the stomach at pH 1.0 than at pH 8.0
o weak bases are absorbed more rapidly from the stomach at pH 8.0 than at pH 1.0
o small intestine
absorption of acids much quicker from the less acidic small intestine
What is meant by first pass metabolism?
The first pass effect (also known as first-pass metabolism or presystemic metabolism) is a phenomenon of drug metabolism whereby the concentration of a drug, specifically when administered orally, is greatly reduced before it reaches the systemic circulation.
- a drug must pass sequentially through the gut wall, through the liver, before entering the general circulation (bioavailability)
- drugs may be destroyed by the acid in the stomach
- enzymes in GI tract
What are biologics?
Tell me about them
Proteins as drugs (biologics)
- absorption proteins (e.g., monoclonal antibody) given orally minimal
o due to extensive degradation
o poor intestinal permeability - most often given IV or IM
- absorption large proteins drugs (>20,000 Da) slow and via lymph
- half-life rate limited by absorption
What is Bioavailability (F)?
Is the proportion of drug (parent drug usually) that reaches the systemic circulation after oral compared to IV administration
IV administration: bioavailability= 1 (100%)- instantaneous for bolus intravenous administration
Other routes of administration= <1
Which is best? What would you choose to ease your pain?
Methadone, F=0.85
Diamorphine, F= 0.25
Morphine, F=0.45
Methadone as has the highest F
What is absolute bioavailability and how can it be calculated?
Assessed with ref to IV dose
F is measured by comparing the area under the curve (AUC) for oral against IV doses from zero to the time point for which elimination is complete
F= Dose/ AUC (iv) x AUC/ Dose (oral)
When comparing routes of administration, we try to determine amount of drug remaining to be absorbed (non-disintegrated/ dissolved dose) . How is this calculated?
This is calculated **amount absorbed relative to amount released **
Draw and label the blood level time curve after single oral administration
If administration compound is a prodrug, what is F and IV?
F measured on active metabolite
IV ref is to active metabolite
What is relative bioavailability used for?
Used when no IV data available
Used to compare F between formulations of drug given by route (tablet Vs intramuscular solution)
What are the uses of bioavailability?
Bioequivalence studies (for quality assessment)
Clinical trials (batch testing before marketing drug)
Generic substitution when produce comes off patent (calculation is usually innovators product and new preparation should be <20% different)
Comparison of routes of administration
Absolute bioavailability vs relative bioavailability
A drug must pass sequentially through what before entering the general circulation?
A drug must pass sequentially through the gut wall, through the liver, before entering the general circular (bioavailability)
Drugs absorbed after oral ingestion pass through what?
What can happen in this ‘first-pass’?
Drugs absorbed after oral ingestion pass through mesenteric circulation into the liver
In this “first-pass” drugs can be substantially metabolised
What can lead to reduced oral bioavailability?
Formulation: time taken for absorption
Poor intestinal permeability (general polar drugs like H2 antagonist Ranitidine; IV excreted unchanged; oral 66% absorbed 3-4h after admin)
Molecular w’t> 400g/nole (gentamycin)
Competing reaction (acid hydrolysis or enzymes)
* Hepatic extraction (first pass effect) that is drugs may be metabolised in the liver before reaching circulation
* Examples of such drugs include
o Desipramine, dextropropoxyphene, ketamine, lidocaine, morphine, nicotine, papaverine
What can increase oral bioavailability?
What strategies are there for improving absorption?
Alter physiochemical properties of the molecule
* Absorption weak acids and bases increases if use a salt form
Change formulation
Administer by different route