BIOL126 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Molecular Mass, Feces, Penicillin
8 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Pharmacotherapy
• Define relevant pharmacological terminology: potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetics,
pharmacodynamics, pharmacological effects, indications, contraindications, clearance,
bioavailability, agonist and antagonist
o Pharmacology
• Study of drugs
• Actions, uses, mechanisms, adverse effects
o Drug
• Any chemical that can modify or explore biochemical and physiological
processes in a living organism or tissue
• Can be used to prevent, diagnose and cure diseases
o Medicine
• Type of drug
• A substance (e.g. drug) given for therapeutic purposes with potential to
reduce pathology, prevent or cure disease
• Mixed in a formulation for administration
o Dose
• Recommended drug amount given at a particular time
o Characteristics of drugs
• Efficacy
▪ Degree to which a drug is able to produce the desired response
• Potency
▪ Amount of chemical needed to produce 50% of maximal effect that drug
is capable of
▪ More potent, the lower the dose needed for an effect
▪ Used to compare compounds within classes of drugs
• Selectivity
▪ Narrowness of drug's range of actions on receptors, cells or tissues
▪ e.g. antibiotics - broad and narrow spectrum
▪ e.g. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) specifically inhibit
reabsorption/reuptake of serotonin at the synapse
o Indications
• A condition or illness for which a drug is used or prescribed
• e.g. antibiotics for bacterial infection such as UTI
o Contraindication
• Absolute warning that a drug should not be used in certain conditions or
illness, e.g. pregnancy as the patient or foetus may be harmed
• Known hypersensitivity to nitrates, severe anaemia
o Side effect
• An effect other than the primary one for which a drug is devised
• May be desirable or undesirable
o Adverse drug reaction ADR
• Side effect of a drug which is annoying, irritating or harmful
• More likely in elderly, females, those with multiple diseases
• e.g. GI bleeding with high dose or long term use of aspirin
o 2 important areas of pharmacology
• Pharmacokinetics
▪ Study of the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs
in the body
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▪ What the body does with the drug (movement of drug inside the body is
influenced by the route of administration)
• Pharmacodynamics
▪ Mechanism by which drugs work on body
▪ Includes biochemical mode of action, receptor, target, therapeutic
effects
• Distinguish between the names for drugs: chemical name, approved (generic) name and
trade name
o Main sources of drugs
• Micro-organisms
▪ e.g. fungi produce natural antibiotics
▪ Bacteria/yeast genetically engineered to produce drugs such as insulin
• Humans and other animals
▪ e.g. adrenaline, bovine, insulin, hcg
• Minerals or mineral products
• Substances synthesised in laboratories
▪ e.g. research chemicals, mimic natural compounds (legal and illegal)
• Plants - leaves, roots, extracts
▪ e.g. coffee, quinine, herbs
o Drug nomenclature
• Chemical: based on chemical structure
▪ e.g. 7-chloro-1-3-dihydro-1-methyl-5-phenyl-2H-1, 4-benzodiazepin-2-
one
• Approved/generic name: non-proprietary name
▪ Simplified chemical name
▪ Family name may vary from country to country
▪ e.g. Diazepam
• Trade name: simple name for commercial distribution, protected by patent
laws
▪ When patent expires other companies may market the drug under
different names and it usually becomes cheaper
▪ e.g. valium
• Describe the ways in which drugs can be administered
o Considerations by health care professionals when prescribing/administering
medicines
• Is there an alternate treatment/management
• The individual - understanding and expectations of medicines
• Patients clinical condition
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• Indication - what drug is used for
• How the body uses the drug (pharmacokinetics)
• Risks and benefits
• Dosage, frequency, length of treatment, route of administration
• Any co-existing conditions, e.g. pregnancy, impaired liver, kidney or heart
function
• Other therapies especially polypharmacy
• Monitoring considerations/review
• Cost to individual, community and health system
o Oral drug administration
• Swallowed and absorbed via GIT (including liver)
• Produces systemic effect
• Examples
▪ Tablets - compressed granulated powder (1 or more drugs); may
contain excipient (inert binding material)
▪ Enteric coating/capsule - protect drug from deactivation/breakdown by
stomach acid, dissolved in alkaline pH of SI
▪ Sustained-release preparations - combined with resin, slow release in
GIT
▪ Syrups - fast absorption as already soluble
▪ Advantages
• Easy - DIY
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Pharmacotherapy: define relevant pharmacological terminology: potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacological effects, indications, contraindications, clearance, bioavailability, agonist and antagonist, pharmacology. Selectivity: narrowness of drug"s range of actions on receptors, cells or tissues, e. g. antibiotics - broad and narrow spectrum, e. g. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (ssri) specifically inhibit reabsorption/reuptake of serotonin at the synapse. Side effect of a drug which is annoying, irritating or harmful: more likely in elderly, females, those with multiple diseases, e. g. gi bleeding with high dose or long term use of aspirin, 2 important areas of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics. Substances synthesised in laboratories: e. g. research chemicals, mimic natural compounds (legal and illegal, plants - leaves, roots, extracts, e. g. coffee, quinine, herbs, drug nomenclature, chemical: based on chemical structure, e. g. 7-chloro-1-3-dihydro-1-methyl-5-phenyl-2h-1, 4-benzodiazepin-2- one, approved/generic name: non-proprietary name. Is there an alternate treatment/management: the individual - understanding and expectations of medicines, patients clinical condition. Sustained-release preparations - combined with resin, slow release in.
