Pharmacology modular 2 test 1

Root of Pharmacology

pharma comes from pharmakon = drug, remedy, or poison

What is pharmacology?

The systemic study of drugs and their effects. Study of substances that interact with living systems through chemical processes. 

Why should a physician care?

Every prescription is a pharmacologic decision. Good pharmacology turns prescribing into a reasoned clinical process.

Where do drugs come from?

Originates from 5 main sources; plants, microorganisms, animals, synthetic chemistry, and biotechnology & recombinant DNA

Drug

 Chemical substance that alters function in a living organism 

Therapeutics

 Use of drugs/interventions to prevent or treat diseases

Toxicology

 Study of undesirable effects of chemical on living systems

Pharmacy

Profession and discipline concerns with preparation, formulation, dispensing,           storage, and appropriate use of medicines

Pharmacotherapy

Treatment of disease using drugs

Two questions that organize pharmacology 

Pharmacokinetics

Pharmacodynamics

Drug receptor interaction: The Big Idea

Many drugs act by interacting with molecular targets. Major target classes include receptors, enzymes, ion channels, transporters, and nucleic acids. Binding may activate, inhibit, block, or modify a biological process. Selectively is relative – not absolute.

Why are clinical trials necessary

A biological plausible drug is not automatically an effective or safe treatment.

Regulation & Drug safety

Drug regulation aims to protect patients while allowing effective therapies to reach clinical practice.

From Molecule to Medicine

1. Discovery — candidate compound

2. Preclinical work — pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicology

3. Phase 1 — initial human safety/PK

4. Phase 2 — preliminary efficacy and dose finding

5. Phase 3 — larger confirmatory trials

6. Regulatory review — evidence is evaluated before marketing authorization

7. Post-marketing — continues safety monitoring

What does early mediicne heavily rely on?

 Observation of beneficial and toxic effects of natural materials

What did Paracelsus emphasize?

The dose determines whether a substance is therapeutic or toxic.

Experimental physiology and chemistry in the 18th-19th centuries helped:

isolate active compounds

What does Modern pharmacology develop into

An experimental biomedical science

Natural sources of drugs

Nature gas provided many molecules that became important medicines.

Synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs

Medicinal chemistry can create, modify, and optimize molecules.

ADME

Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion.

Pharmacokinetics

What the body does to the drug 

Pharmacodynamics

What the drug does to the body