Pharmacology Flashcards
Physicochemical
Drug reactions Adsorption Precipitation Chelation Neutralisation
Pharmacodynamics
drugs effect on the body
Pharmacokinetics
body.’s effect on drug
Treatment for paracetamol overdose
Activated charcoal - binds to paracetamol (adsorption) and then leaves the body like this
Treatment for opioid overdose
Naloxone
Pharmacodynamics pathways
Summation
Synergism
Antagonism
Potentiation
Pharmacokinetics pathways
ADME - Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion
Drugs tend to be metabolised in
Liver
Kidneys
Lungs
Codeine
Metabolised into morphine
Codeine is essentially low-dose and slow-releasing morphine
Bioavailability
Comparison between how much oral drug vs IV drug makes it into the system (blood)
IV > Oral for bioavailability
Morphine side effects
Slows down gut motility and so level of adsorption (Para NS affected)
Acidity
Drug is split into 2 portions - ionised and unionised (tends to be equilibrium)
Unionised portion can coss through the phospholipid bilayer
Distribution - pathway of drug
Protein binding
Tissues
Effect sites
Volume distribution
Bigger VD = not much in blood
Lower VD = mostly in blood so more reaches effect site
Protein binding
How much drug can bind to protein
Metabolism
Morphine metabolised in Liver by CYP450 and then broken down into morphine-6-glucuronide (much more potent than morphine itself),
Anti-epileptic drug (acute epilepsy)
Phenytoin
Enzyme inhibition and induction
counter mechanisms of enzyme action
Warfarin
Warfarin inhibits vitK factors in coag cascade
it is highly protein bound and is affected by enzyme induction which causes it to have less of an effect.
Metronidazole inhibits this and so more warfarin is about in blood which can be toxic
AKI (acute kidney injury) -causing drugs
NSAIDs, ACEi, Furosemide, Gentamicin
Grapefruit juice
Interacts with warfarin by protein binding and CYP450 pathway
Excretion
Mostly extracted via kidney
Druggability
The ability of a protein target to bind small molecules ith high affinity
Also known as ligandability
Drug targets
Receptors
Enzymes
Transporters
Ion channels
Receptors
Component of a cell that interacts with a specific ligand and initiates a chain of biochemical events leading to ligand observed effects
Chemicals communicate via receptors
Ligands can be
Exogenous (drugs)
Endogenous (hormones, neurotransmitter)
Neurotransmitters
Acetylcholine
Serotonin
Hormones
Testosterone
Hydrocortisone
Autacoids (local)
Cytokines
Histamine
Receptor types
Ligand-gated ion channels (Nicotonic ACh receptor)
G protein-coupled receptors (Beta-adrenoreceptors)
Kinase-linked receptors (Growth factor receptors)
Cytosolic/nuclear receptors (steroid receptors)
G protein-coupled receptors
One of the most common group of membrane receptors
7 membrane-spanning receptors
Ligands include light energy, peptides, lipids, sugars and proteins
G proteins (GTPases) act as molecular switches. (On when bound to GDP, off when bound to GTP)
G proteins are guanine-nucleotide binding proteins which transmit signals from GPCRs
GPCR pathway
Ligand
Receptor G protein
Coupled receptor
2nd messenger
Kinase linked receptors
Transmembrane receptors activated when the binding of an extracellular ligand causes enzymatic activity on the intracellular side
Nuclear receptors
Work by modifying gene transcription
Steroid hormones
Tamoxifen (breast cancer) acts as a selective oestrogen receptor modular (SERM), or as a partial agonist of the oestrogen receptors
Chemical imbalances can lead to pathology
Allergy - increased histamine
Parkinson’s - reduced dopamine
Receptor ligands
Agonist - Compound that binds to and activates receptor
Antagonist - Compound that reduces the effect of an agonist
Potency
EC50 - Conc that gives half the maximal response
Full agonists
Complete saturation
Partial agonists
Never reaches complete saturation
Efficacy/Intrinsic activity
Max response achievable from a dose
Potency vs efficacy
Drug may be potent but not efficacious and vice versa
Competitive antagonism
Antagonist reverses the effects of agonists
Non-competitive antagonist
Molecule binds to an allosteric (non-agonist) site on the receptor to prevent activation of a receptor
Cholinergic receptor types
Nicotinic (agonist), curare (antag)
Muscarinic (agonist), atropine (antag)
Histamine receptor types
All are GPCRs H1 - H2 - Contraction of ileum, acid secretion from parietal cells (agonist), Cimetidine (H2 antagonist) H3 - H4
Affinity
How well a ligand binds to the receptor
Efficacy
How well a ligand activates a receptor
Antagonists
Have affinity but zero efficacy
Agonists
Have affinity and efficacy
Isoprenaline
Non-selective beta-adrenoreceptor agonist
Irreversible antagonist
BAAM
Receptor reserve
Where agonists need to activate only a small fraction of existing receptors to produce a maximal response, so spare receptors leftover (reserve)
Signal transduction (amplification)
Signaling cascade causes amplification of a signal and a response
Allosteric modulation
The ligand binds to site other than the active site of receptor and elicit a different response through a structural modification due to the binding at the allosteric site
Inverse agonism
When a drug binds to the same receptor as an agonist but induces a pharmacological response opposite to that of the agonist
Tolerance
Reduction in agonist effect over time
Continuous, repeated high concentrations
Desensitisation
Uncoupled protein is internalised and degraded
Salbutamol
B2-adrenoreceptor agonist
Streptokinase
Clot buster - degrades a clot
Enzyme which is a drug product
Statins
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors
Block the rate-limiting step in the cholesterol pathway
A class of lipid-lowering medications that reduces the level of bad cholesterol
Primary prevention of CV disease
ACEi
Increased blood pressure via the RAAS pathway
Increases amount of salt and water retained by the body
Inhibiting ACE reduces AT2 production and therefore causes this reduction in BP
Parkinson’s disease - Symptoms
Hypokinesia
Resting tremor
Muscle rigidity
Cognitive impairment
Parkinson’s disease - Treatment
Substrate - L-DOPA is a precursor for dopamine biosynthesis which crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB)
Drugs and ion transport
Passive - Symporters, channels
Active - ATP-ases
Protein ports
Uniporters - uses ATP to pull molcules in
Symporters uses movement of a molecule to pull in another against conc grad
Antiporters - one substance moves against its gradient after the other moves down
Na-K-Cl cotransporter (NKCC)
Example of a symporter
Protein that transports Na, K and Cl into cells
Functions in organs that secrete fluids
Epithelial sodium channel
Membrane-bound ion channel
Causes reabsorption of Na+ ions at collecting ducts of kidneys nephrons
Blocked by high-affinity diuretic amiloride (often used with thiazide) - Anti-hypertensive
Voltage-gated calcium channels
Found in the membrane of excitable cells (muscle, glial, cells, neurons, etc)
At resting membrane potential, VDCCs are normally closed until activation resulting in depolarisation which then opens them
Amlodipine is an angioselective CCB that lowers BP
Voltage-gated sodium channels
Conducts Na+ through plasma membrane
Lidocaine blocks transmission of action potentials
Voltage-gated potassium channels
Sulfonylurea lowers blood glucose levels by blocking potassium channels (Treatment of T2DM)
Receptor-mediated chloride channel
GABA-A receptor
Barbiturates increase the permeability of channel to chloride ions
Sodium-Potassium ATP-ase Pump
Digoxin - Inhibits this pump mainly in the myocardium
Mainly used for AF and heart failure
Proton pump (stomach)
Omeprazole (PPI - 1st in class) - Inhibits acid secretion (finitely irreversible)
Irreversible enzyme inhibitors
Organophosphates (irreversible inhibitors of cholinesterase)
Xenobiotics
Compounds foreign to an organism’s normal biochemistry such as any drug or poison
Cytochrome P450
Membrane-associated proteins located in the inner membrane of mitochondria or in the endoplasmic reticulum of cells
Major enzymes involved in drug metabolism
Most drugs undergo inactivation by CYPs
Many substances are bioactivated by CYPs to form their active compounds
CYPs metabolise thousands of endogenous and exogenous chemicals
Naturally occurring opioids
From opium poppy
Naturally occuring opioids from opium poppy
Moprhine - strong
Codeine - weak
Chemically modified (simple)
Diamorphine
Oxycodone
Dihydrocodeine
Synthetic opioids
Fentanyl
Pethidine
Allentanil
Remifentanil
Synthetic partial agonists
Buprenorhine
Synthetic partial antagonist
Naloxone
Bioavailability
First pass metabolism by liver
50% of oral is metabloised by first pass
Routes of admin
IV fastest
Oral slowest
IV PCA
Patient-controlled analgesia
Opioid receptors are located in
Epidural/CSF
Transdermal patches for lipid-soluble drugs such as
Fentanyl
Opium contains
Morphine
Codeine
Controlled drugs legislation
Opioids class A drugs
Secure storage
2 signatures required
Dihydrocodeine
1.5 times more potent than codeine
Oxycodone
1.5 times more potent than morphine
Opioid pharmacodynamics
Natural endorphins (endogenous morphine) and enkephalins
GPCR - Via second messengers
Inhibit release of pain transmitters at spinal cord and midbrain - and modulate pain perception