Pharmacology Introduction Flashcards
2 types of ways drugs are made:
Drugs that come from natural resources- you have to extract it, purify it and use biotechnology
Drugs that come from chemical synthesis
What is pharmacokinetics?
The way the drug moves through the body
1.) Absorption = how the drug enters to the blood stream from where it is administered
2.) Distribution = how the drug moves through the blood stream to target specific cells and molecules
3.) Mechanism = how drug is modified by enzymes to become effective
4.) Excretion = how the drug leave the body through urine/ feces
What is pharmacodynamics?
It is how the drug effects the body and the studies relating to it
Types of pharmacodynamic studies- assays of drugs- bioassay
Assays of drugs - investigation of assessing and measuring the presence, amount and functionality of drug.
Bioassay- investigations by using living materials to detect substances, toxicity of chemicals and contaminated matricies
Types of pharmacodynamic studies - radioimmunoassay (RIA)
Radioimmunoassay - it uses antibodies and determines the amount of antigen in a sample
Types of pharmacodynamics studies- radio-gland assay
Commonly used to measure ligand binding to receptors
Types of pharmacodynamic studies- ELISA
(Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) - used to measure antibodies, proteins and glycoproteins.
Types of pharmacodynamic studies - pharmacovigilance
The process and science of monitoring the safety of medicines and taking actions to reduce the risks and increase benefits of medicines
Types of pharmacodynamic studies- agonists and antagonists
Agonists is a drug that binds to the receptor producing a similar response to the internal chemical and receptor.
Whereas the antagonist is a drug that binds to the receptor on the primary site or on another site which stops the receptor from producing a response.
Types of pharmacokinetic studies- Half life
It’s the time it takes for a drugs active substance in your body to reduce by half
Types of pharmacokinetic studies- toxicity studies
Investigate the safety profile of a candidate compound
Types of pharmacokinetic studies- clinical trials
They provide information about benefits, adverse effects and possible uses of new drugs that allow prescribers and patients to make rational decisions in relation to drug therapy
Type of pharmacokinetic studies- pharmacoeconomics
It’s a branch of health economics that focuses on weighing the costs and benefits of a particular interventions in the follow up of a drug use with a alternative
What are drugs used for?
Alleviate symptoms, cure disease, disease prevention, aid to other procedures, general aesthetics during surgery and lifestyle aids.
What are the aims?
Administered drugs that are safe, acts with high specificity, potency at low dose acts with appropriate duration to give maximum advantage. Minimise the side effects and low cost availability.
