pharmacology

Question 1

what is pharmacodynamics?

Answer 1

how drugs act on the body

Question 2

what are the two classes of antithrombotics?

Answer 2

antiplatelet aggregators and anticoagulants (stop fibrin formation)

Question 3

what are the primary drug targets? (regulatory proteins)

Answer 3

RICE:
receptors
ion channels
carrier molecules (transporters)
enzymes

Question 4

how do drugs work on carrier molecules?

Answer 4

they block them (eg. SSRIs)

Question 5

how do drugs work on enzymes?

Answer 5

competitive inhibition - drug and substrate compete for active site on enzyme
non-competitive inhibition - drug binds to enzyme and destroys enzyme or distorts its shape

Question 6

what drugs work by non-competitive inhibtion?

Answer 6

nerve gas/sarin gas

irreversible, usually non therapeutic

asprin is probably the only therapeutic example (anti-platelet action)

Question 7

how do drugs act on ion channels?

Answer 7

bind to receptor and open or close channel

or

physical blocking (local anaesthetics block sodium channels)

Question 8

GTN: drug class?

Answer 8

organic nitrates - relaxes smooth muscle

Question 9

what three things about the nature of the absorbing surface effect drug absorption?

Answer 9

number of cell membrane layers

surface area

blood supply

Question 10

what is pharmacokinetics?

Answer 10

the study of how the body acts on drugs:
absorption
distributions
metabolism
excretion

Question 11

how much efficacy do antagonists have?

Answer 11

zero efficacy - it’s a blocker

Question 12

what does agonist potency depend on?

Answer 12

affinity and efficacy

Question 13

pharmacodynamics of NSAIDs

Answer 13

competitive inhibition of cox-1 and cox-2 inhibitors

inhibits prostoglandin synthesis

Question 14

what are the main routes of drug excretion?

Answer 14

renal route

biliary route

• excreted in faeces
• enterohepatic recycling

expired air

breast milk

sweat

saliva

Question 15

what are the main ways that drugs act on the body?

Answer 15

1. they act on dna
2. they act via a chemical reaction
3. they act by binding to protein molecules aka primary drug targets

Question 16

how do drugs act on receptors?

Answer 16

drugs bind to receptors on membranes or inside the cell

lock and key (specific)

binds as an agonist or antagonist

(receptors bind to ligands)

Question 17

what is a full agonist?

Answer 17

a ligand that fits a receptor perfectly, for full and maximal effect

as opposed to a partial agonist