Pharmacology of the NS Flashcards
What is pharmacology?
-the study of how chemical agents (drugs) can influence the function of living systems.
What is a drug?
-a chemical substance that interacts with a specific target within a biological system to produce a physiological effect
What are the 3 questions we should consider about drugs?
1) Where is the effect produced?
2) What is the target for the drug?
3) What is the response produced after interaction with this target?
What is the type of drug target that atorvastatin?
-enzyme
What is the type of drug target that amlodipine?
-ion channel
-blocks calcium channel, stopping contraction
What is the type of drug target that salbutamol?
-receptor
-in blue inhalers, dilates airways
What is the type of drug target that citalopram?
-transport protein
-prevents re-uptake of serotonin
To be an effective therapeutic agent, what must a drug show?
- a drug must show a high degree of selectivity for a particular drug target
- drug selectivity
What is a side effect and adverse effect?
- a side effect is an effect produced by the drug that is secondary to the intended effect.
- side effects can be due to off-target effects
- or side effects can be due to effects on the same target
- if that side effect has negative health consequences, then it is an adverse effect.
Tell me about the drug pramipexole.
-it activates the dopamine receptor
-used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
(-side effects start to appear particularly if the dose increases due to the drug interacting with other targets : hallucinations, dizziness due to low blood pressure)
What can side effects be due to?
Side effects can be produced by drug action:
a) on other targets in the same tissue or other tissue
b) on the same target in other tissues
c) dependent on the dose of drug administered
What are the ‘safest’ drugs?
-those drugs 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.
lecture slides
https://imperiallondon-my.sharepoint.com/personal/jmoss1_ic_ac_uk/Documents/Bioregulatory%20Systems/01.%20Neurology%20%26%20neuroscience/Student%20resources/Neuro_LE05_Pharmacology_of_the_nervous_system-2.pdf?&originalPath=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbXBlcmlhbGxvbmRvbi1teS5zaGFyZXBvaW50LmNvbS86YjovZy9wZXJzb25hbC9qbW9zczFfaWNfYWNfdWsvRWFHVlozc0hUbzFGcnZFb2xvd2s4TFFCNG55WUJ1RXJFdlprVkFOUE51b1NFZz9ydGltZT05YVlhQ3B1TTEwZw