Pharmacology

Question 1

What is a drug? Give some examples

Answer 1

-A substance which alters the chemical and biological processes occurring in the body
-e.g medicines, caffieine, alcohol, nicotine, cosmetics

Question 2

What is pharmacology?

Answer 2

the study of how drugs affect tissue function

Question 3

What is meant by the term indication?

Answer 3

the condition or illness for which a particular drug can be prescribed

Question 4

What is meant by the term caution?

Answer 4

-when a drug is not recommended for use in patients with particular conditions/ comorbidities
-can be used to assess risk for pregnancy, kidney or liver disease

Question 5

What is meant by the term contraindication?

Answer 5

-far more restrictive than a caution
-the drug should be avoided in a patient with a condition which is contraindicated
-e.g aspirin not given to children and teens due to risk of Reye’s syndrome

Question 6

What is pharmacodynamics?

Answer 6

what the drug does to the body

Question 7

What is pharmacokinetics?

Answer 7

what the body does to the drug

Question 8

What are the 2 classifications of drugs?

Answer 8

1. therapeutic basis e.g analgesics
2. pharmacological basis e.g opioid

Question 9

What is an analgesic drug?

Answer 9

-a drug that relives pain
-non opioids
-opioids

Question 10

What is an antihypertensive drug?

Answer 10

-used to reduce blood pressure
-thiazide diuretics
-ace inhibitors

Question 11

What is topical drug administration?

Answer 11

Applied to the site where the drug will act

Question 12

What is enteral drug administration?

Answer 12

Taken orally

Question 13

What is parenteral drug administration?

Answer 13

Introduced directly into the body

Question 14

Why is the lock and key hypothesis important for dugs?

Answer 14

In order for a drug to be therapeutically useful it must act selectively on particular cells and tissues, showing a high degree of binding-site specificity

Question 15

What happens when a drug interacts with their target?

Answer 15

-they interact to initiate a biological change or physiological response often mimicking or blocking chemical signals found within the body e.g hormones or neurotransmitters

Question 16

What are the 4 different kinds of protein drug targets?

Answer 16

1. enzymes
2. carrier/ transport
3. ion channels
4. receptors

Question 17

What are the 2 drug-target interactions?

Answer 17

-Agonist= if a drug mimics the natural chemical signal it will produce the same or an enhanced effect as the natural chemical signal

-antagonist= if a drug blocks the natural chemical signal it will prevent the effect of the natural chemical signal

Question 18

What does a dose-response curve illustrate?

Answer 18

The relationship between the amount of a drug administered and the degree of biological response it produces

Question 19

What are the 6 determinants of drug action?

Answer 19

1. weight
2. genetics
3. other drugs
4. nutrition
5. illness
6. age

Question 20

What are older people more vulnerable to when using drugs?

Answer 20

-drug interactions
-side effects
-adverse drug reaction

Question 21

What is the impact of genetics on drugs?

Answer 21

-our genes determine how our bodies handle drugs, often related to how drugs are metabolised

Question 22

What are the 4 main stages of pharmacokinetics?

Answer 22

1. absorption
2. distribution
3. metabolism
4. excretion

Question 23

What is absorption and what factors affect this?

Answer 23

-the movement of drug from its site of administration to the systemic circulation
-rate of gastric emptying
-disease
-transit through gut
-blood flow
-age

Question 24

what is bioavailability?

Answer 24

the proportion of administered drug which reaches the circulation is classes as bioavailable

Question 25

What factors affect distribution?

Answer 25

-blood brain barrier
-body volume (body fat can influence how long drugs remain in the body)
-fat or water soluble
-rate of blood flow
-blood protein binding

Question 26

What is metabolism?

Answer 26

-When drugs are chemically changed from one chemical to another
-happens mostly in the liver
-can create toxic metabolites (e.g paracetamol)

Question 27

how is the liver involved in metabolism?

Answer 27

-liver contains a family of enzymes called cytochrome P450 responsible for metabolism of many drugs
-also stores chemicals which can be added to drugs
-enzyme breakdown and conjugation help to make drugs easier to excrete

Question 28

What factors affect metabolism?

Answer 28

-age
-liver disease
-genetics
-gender
-nature of the drug
-diet
-presence of other drugs
-enzyme inhibition
-enzyme induction

Question 29

Where does excretion take place and what are drugs excreted into?

Answer 29

-mostly occurs in the kidney
-some drugs are excreted via bile into faeces some via the lungs and via sweat

Question 30

What factors affect excretion?

Answer 30

-altered renal blood flow
-age
-pH of urine
-concentration of the drug in plasma
-molecular weight of the drug

Question 31

What is toxicity as an adverse drug effect?

Answer 31

-where the primary effect of the drug is greater than the therapeutic effect and becomes harmful e.g insulin

Question 32

What is an allergic reaction as an adverse drug effect?

Answer 32

-drugs cross react with either the same receptors in other body systems to different receptors to cause unwanted secondary effects
-stimulation of the immune system by drugs leading to allergic immune response e.g penicillin

Question 33

What is the definition of half life and why is it important

Answer 33

-the time taken for the peak concentration of the drug in the plasma to be reduced by half
-provides information of dosing intervals and residual effects