Week 1 A Flashcards
Carcinogenic vs teratogenic
causes cancer vs causing birth defects
Peripheral
at the extremities
Peristalsis
rythmic motion of GI system in digestion
Synergistic
working together to give super additive effects
Tachycardia vs Bradychardia
abnormally fast heart rate vs slow
Renal
pertaining to kidneys
Visceral
pertaining to internal organs
Febrile
feverish
Emetic
drug that induces vomiting
Antipyretic
drug that reduces fever
Analgesic
drug that reduces pain
Myo
muscle
Intra
within
Inter
between
Dys
painful,bad,difficult
emia
in or of the blood
itis
inflammation of
ectomy
incision or removal of a part
algia
pain in a part –ie neuralgia (nerve pain)
uria
in or of the urine
Pharmacodymanics
: studies drug actions and effects
Pharmacokinetics
studies rates of change of drug concentrations in the body and includes rates of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of a drug
Drug dependence and Addiction stages
• Occasional use>frequent use>physiological dependence>compulsive use>overwhelming involvement:addiction
Criteria for addiction
- Upon termination of the drug’s use, the addict suffers through a withdrawal syndrome (abstinance syndrome)
- This withdrawal crisis can be ended at any time with readministration of the drug
- Physiological changes in the addict’s body require the drug for normal existence (cf. a diabetic requires insulin for normal existence)
- Addicts develop a tolerance for the drug, so that ever-increasing doses are required to achieve the desired efffect
3 types of drugs producing withdrawal syndrome
- Depressants : alcohol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates
- Opiates: heroin, morphine, methadone
- Stimulants: cocaine, amphetamines,caffeine
Measuring Drug Effectiveness
- Clinical testing on animals, then diseased patients
- Placebo effects
- Side effect and overdose monitoring (use volunteers..often prison inmates who can shorten their term by doing this)
- Physicians and Pharmaceutical Companies work together (samples given to MD’s by Drug company representatives)
holistic medicine
considers emotional, spiritual & psychological factors
herbal treatments
some unconventional bee venom, shark cartilege, echinacea –
homeopathy
uses tiny doses (sometimes 0 concentration) of active constituent
• Naturopathy
:techniques used to restore health rather than to treat a disease
Bioelectromagnetic
uses magnets, electrical currents, copper bracelets etc
• Body based
can be very useful chiropractic,acupuncture,massage
• RECEPTOR SITE THEORY
drugs act at specific locations in tissues and organs
Naloxone
used to treat heroin overdoses-binds to the opiate receptor more strongly than heroin –> heroin is the agonist and Naloxone is an antagonist
• Morphine and codeine:
extracted from opium poppies
• Digitalis
cardioactive steroid from foxglove plant
• Insulin
promotes and regulates glucose metabolism:
• Thyroxine
regulates overall growth and metabolism
• Steroids
biosynthesized in humans from cholesterol :much more on these later!
Drugs from gene splicing
- For proteins only
- Available via recombinant DNA technology
- DNA makes RNA makes protein
- Insulin, Human growth hormone (HGH), interferon
• Synthesis by organic Chemists!!
- Modifications of naturally occuring materials via synthesis: penicillins from mould, then modified structurally via synthesis
- Taxol (anti-cancer drug) Precursor from pacific Yew tree, then modified by synthesis
Structure-Activity relationships
- Compounds with similar structures tend to show similar biological activity
- Computer assisted modelling of active sites of enzymes: can lead to new drug candidates
Alzheimers disease
- Caused by plaque accumulation on brain
* Large scale human trials starting
Why dosages are important
• All substances (even pure water) can be toxic ..even lethal–depending on the dose
