NURS 2004 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Thalidomide, Health Professional, Drug Allergy
26 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
To achieve therapeutic objective we must control the time course of drug responses. Factors that affect therapeutic drug levels: half-life, dosing frequency, plasma drug levels, dosage amount, rate of absorption, route, metabolism, excretion. The relationship between size of an administered dose and the intensity of the response produced. Minimal amount of drug needed to get maximum response. Maximal efficacy- the largest effect that a drug can produce (height of curve) Relative potency- the amount of drug we must give to elicit an effect (length of curve) Receptor- drug interactions, agonism and antagonism and therapeutic index. Agonist- molecules that activate receptors (e. g. neurotransmitters, hormones); they bind to receptors and mimic the actions of the body"s own regulatory molecules; affinity (attraction) and intrinsic activity (once attached) Antagonist- produce effects by preventing receptor activation by endogenous regulatory molecules and drugs; exert no effect of their own; affinity, no intrinsic activity. Competitive antagonist- bind reversibly; produce receptor blockade; competes with agonists (naloxone/ narcan)
