Pharmacology Flashcards
Define clinical pharmacology
the application of pharmacological principles and methods in the medical clinic or towards patient care
Define toxicology
The study of adverse affects, molecular targets, and characterisation of drugs or any chemical substance in excess (the dose makes the poison)
Define Agonistic drugs
a drug that binds to and activates a receptor to cause a response
Define antagonistic drugs
a drug that blocks or dampens a biological response by binding to a blocking a receptor
Define pharmacokinetics
[what the body does to the drug] how the drug is absorbed, distributed, moved around, metabolised and excreted
Define pharmacodynamics
[what the drug does to the body] — How well the targets (e.g. receptors, ion channels, enzymes, and immune system components) respond to the drug
Name the axis on a dose-response graph
increasing dosage across the X axis and increasing response across the Y axis
What gradient depicts a margin of safety on a dose response graph?
The higher the gradient, the less the margin of safety as changing the dose a little can have a large response change
What is the ED50
a value showing the dose required to produce 50% of the maximum response
Define Potency
the amount of drug necessary to produce a certain effect (often used in comparing ED50 values)
Define Efficacy
the maximum response that a given drug will produce, irrespective of dose (Emax)
What are the 4 main types of targets for drug action?
Receptors, Enzymes, Transporters and Ion Channels
What is a prodrug?
Prodrugs are inactive precursors that are metabolised to active metabolites (e.g. L-dopa is converted to dopamine)
Explain the mechanism of ligand gated channels
it permits the movement of positively charged ions into the synaptic cleft of the cytoplasm in response to the binding of a chemical messenger ligand
What are the 4 stages of drug disposition (ADME)
Absorption: the passage of a drug from its site of administration into the plasma
Distribution through the blood plasma and different body tissues
Metabolism: the chemical changes of the substance in the body
Excretion or elimination of the substance or the products of its metabolism
What is an analgesic?
A drug used to relieve pain
True or false: analgesics remove sensation
False, they just remove pain not full sensation
During pain perception, what is released into the blood plasma and what does it trigger?
Bradykinin is released, which causes the release of prostagladins and substance P which stimulates the nervous system
What are the most common types of analgesics given for toothache or post dental surgery
Non-opoid analgesics
True or false: ibuprofen causes xerostomia
True
Name three examples of Corticosteroids and what they do
Orabase-HCA, Oracort, Oralone, they are all anti-inflammatory
Explain pharmacogenetics
the identification of genetic variants that affect the responses to medications in patients
What is the term for when patients do not respond to a drug because of their particular genetic makeup?
Refractory
what tpyes of drugs are particularly affected by polymorphism?
Drugs involved in the liver, with proteins and enzymes
What is codiene?
opiate used to treat mild to moderate degrees of pain
What is the name of the catalyst involved in codiene and what does it do?
CYP2D6, as codiene is a prodrug this catalyses its breakdown into morphine in the liver
Give an example for the most common intravenous sedation drugs
Midazolam, which is in the branch of benzodiazepines, which works as a general CNS (HR included) depressant
What does midazolam bind to to work?
the GABAa receptor on the GABA neurotransmitter, which opens a chloride ion channel to increase -ve charge and depress the nervous system AP