Week 1 Flashcards
List target sites for drug action
Enzymes, Carrier Molecules, Ion Channels, Receptors, Structural Proteins, DNA
Define and explain the terms agonist, antagonist and partial agonist
- Agonist – molecule/drug that binds and activates the receptor
- Full agonist – 100% activation each time drug interacts with receptor
- Partial agonist - <100% activation even with maximum occupancy of receptors
- Inverse agonist – Reduces activation of a receptor, has negative efficacy
- Antagonist – Molecule/ drug that binds a receptor without activation (have zero efficacy)
Define IC50
• IC50 – concentration of antagonist to inhibit 50% of the agonist maximal effect , used to measure drug potency
Describe what is meant by dose-response curve
• Typically used to plot the concentration of a drug against its “response”
• Can be useful to compare drugs for affinity, efficacy and safety margins
(see notes for image of curve)
Explain affinity
• Affinity – tendancy of drug to bind to the receptor
Explain efficacy
• Efficacy – tendancy of drug to activate receptor once bound
Explain EC50
• EC50- Effective concentration – dose required for 50% maximal effect (in vitro)
Explain ED50
• ED50- Effective dose – Dose for 50% of the population to to obtain the therapeutic effect (in vivo)
Explain Therapeutic index
• Therapeutic index = toxic dose (TD50)/effective dose (ED50)
o You want a high therapeutic index as this indicates a large difference between the toxic dose and the effective dose – don’t have to worry about killing the patient by administering drug for therapeutic purposes
Explain Potency
Potency – Amount of drug required to produce 50% of its maximal effects
Explain Specificity
• Specificity – Capacity of a drug to cause a particular action in a population
Explain Selecticity
• Selectivity – The drugs ability to target only a selective population in preference to others
Define Tachyphlaxis
• Tachyphylaxis- “Rapid Protection” – Reduction in drug tolerance which develops after a short period of repeated dosing (reduced response)
Define self antagonism
• Self antagonism – Drug that becomes antagonistic to its own effect
Describe the potential outcomes of drug interactions
• Altered pharmacologic response to one drug caused by the prescence of a second drug • Outcomes include: o Enhanced action o Development of new effects o Inhibitory action o No change
Describe pharmaceutical interactions
o Pharmaceutical – related to physiochemical propertied and formulation (chemical/physical incompatibility/interation)
Describe pharmacokinetic interactions
o Pharmacokinetic – Related to interactions within ADME (Absorbtion, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion)
Describe Pharmacodynamic interactions
o Pharmacodynamic – Related to interactions within receptor signalling
Describe summation
Summation – Effect of multiple drugs = sum of individual effects of each drug (eg 1+1=2)
Describe potentiation
o Potentiation – Drug increases the effect of another drug but has no effect when administered alone (1+0=2)
Describe synergism
o Synergism – when two drugs are administered produce effect that are greater than would be produced with summative of individual admin effects (1+1=3)
Describe the link between Km and affinity
- Low Km = High affinity
* High Km = Low affinity
Define Km
The concentration of substrate that allows the enzyme to reach half of Vmax
Define Vmax
Vmax- The reaction rate when the enzyme is totally saturated by substrate
Describe a competitive inhibitor (incl effect on Km, VMax aetc)
Competitive inhibitor - • Increases Km
• No effect on Vmax
• Amount of inhibition depends on Ki
• Example: Captopril-angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (treatment of hypertension)
Describe a non competitive inhibitor (incl effect on Km, VMax aetc)
- No effect on Km
- Decreases Vmax
- Example:Aspirin-cyclo-oxygenase (anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic)
Define Ki
• Ki- (dissociation constant for inhibitor binding) = Indicator of enzyme affinity for inhibitor
Define Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the study of how drugs interact with living systems.
A drug is a substance which alters the chemical and biological processes occurring in the body.
Define pharmacodynamics
Study of the effects that drugs have on the body
Define pharmacokinetics
Pharmacokinetics - the branch of pharmacology concerned with the movement of drugs within the body.
Describe antagonist drug receptor interactions (competitive, irreversible, non competitive)
As the name suggests, competitive antagonists compete with the agonist for binding sites at the receptor. Competitive antagonism is surmountable – that is, may be overcome/reversed with increased concentrations of the agonist.
Irreversible antagonists dissociates from the receptor only very slowly or not at all. This sort of antagonism is non-surmountable – that means that additional agonist cannot overcome the receptor blockade. Irreversible antagonists that act at receptors are not widely used clinically.
Non-competitive antagonists block the chain of events “post” receptor binding, this sort of antagonism is not related to receptor binding. This type of antagonism could be described as acting “downstream” of the receptor.
Describe the 4 main stages of pharmacokinetics
Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
Excretion
Describe how drugs are absorbed post oral administration
Site of absorption depends on the drugs properties and conditions in each area of the tract.
Rapidly absorbed compounds tend to have:
- Low degree of ionisation
- High lipid/water partition
- Relatively low molecular weight
Describe the effect of the drugs acid /base properties on absorption mechanism
• Drugs must be neutral to cross a membrane
o Many drugs are weak acids/weak bases
Weak acids donate H+ to form anions (no charge in protonated form)
Weak bases accept proton H+ to form cations (protonated has positive charge)
Describe the involvement of the Henderson Hasselbalch Equation in the absorbtion of drugs
pH=pKa+log[nonprotonated/protonated]
pH=pKa: protonated form equal to nonprotonated concentration
pHpKa: vice versa
Describe First Pass Metabolism
- Oxidation and conjugation, make compounds water soluble (common method of inactivation and excretion (of drugs)
- Lipophillic converted to become hydrophilic, often inactive and then excreted
- Enzymes in the Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum of liver cells
- Entero- hepatic circulation Parent drug/metabolites may recycle several times before entering systemic circulation (follows bile salts)
Define and explain Cmax
• Cmax – Peak level of drug in the plasma
Define and explain Tmax
• Tmax – Time taken for drug to reach peak level in plasma from administration
Define and explain Area Under the Curve in drug effect/time
Area under the Curve - Represents the bodies exposure to the drug