PSYC 1250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Alcohol Dehydrogenase, Biotransformation, Breast Milk
2 Oct 2018
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Biotransformation how drugs exit the body transform drug from original form and make it ready for excretion. Most drugs are eliminated from the body through urinary excretion. Drugs are broken down for elimination by the action of enzymes in the liver. An index of how long this process takes is called the elimination half-life. Alcohol dehydrogenase changes alcohol into acetaldehyde and then to acetate. Brain contains enzymes too as do other areas in the body. The major point is to illustrate differences in the structures of the transmitter, serotonin vs. it"s breakdown products (metabolites) Putting it together is relatively labor intensive it"s used over long periods of time to modulate other brain chemicals. Created in cells that only require that the precursor protein exists serotonin cells have potential to make serotonin. Serotonin only produces tryptophan serotonin cell means tryptophan exists in it and has appropriate enzymes to convert it into serotonin.
