pharmacology of neuro

Question 1

• What is the best definition of pharmacology?
• What 3 questions should you ask yourself when considering the pharmacology of a drug?
• How can you determine the most safe drug based on the dosage of the drug?

Answer 1

A chemical substance that interacts with a specific target within a biological system to produce a physiological effect

What is the target for the drug?
Where is the effect produced? 
What is the response produced after interaction with this target

where there is a large difference between the dose required to induce the desired effect and the dose required to induce side effects/adverse effects

Question 2

• What are the 4 main classes of proteins that drugs usually target?

Answer 2

Receptors

Enzymes

Transport Proteins

Ion Channels

Question 3

• What class of protein does Atorvastatin act on?
• What class of protein does Citalopram act on?
• What class of protein does Salbutamol act on?
• What class of protein does Amlodipine act on?

Answer 3

Enzyme - HMG CoA reductase

Transport Protein - Serotonin re-uptake protein

Receptor - Beta-2 Adrenergic receptor in lung

Ion channel - Calcium channel

Question 4

• Which of these drugs activates its target?

- Two ways a drug acts?

Answer 4

Salbutamol

enhance activation or prevent it

Question 5

• Why might selectivity be more important for drugs than endogenous compounds like dopamine?

Answer 5

Neurotransmitters are very specifically delivered to their drug target, e.g released by certain post-synaptic neurones to react directly with their receptors

Drugs would need to pass through bloodstream to be distributed to a certain tissue, however it could enter any tissue and so does not directly interact with target

Question 6

• What is the definition of a side effect?

- What is meant by an adverse effect?

Answer 6

An effect produced by the drug that is secondary to the intended effect

If that side effect has negative health consequences

Question 7

• As the dose of a certain drug increases, what is the effect on the selectivity of that drug?
• What are the two ways in which side effects occur?

Answer 7

decreases

off target effects- eg a drug meant for dopamine receptor binds to a serotonin receptor
on target effects but different tissue- eg bind to dopamine receptor on the adrenals rather than the brain

Question 8

• Which kind of effect increases as dosage of a drug increases?

Answer 8

Off-target effects