Pharmacology Notes

PT 112 | PHARMACOLOGY IN PHYSICAL THERAPY
Basic Principles of Pharmacology

DRUG NOMENCLATURE
INTRODUCTION
Pharmacology
• Pharmacology is the study of drugs
• Drugs - “any substance that, when taken into a living
organism, may modify one or more of its functions.”
• A drug includes any substance that alters
physiologic function in the organism, regardless of • Chemical names refer to the specific compound’s
whether the effect is beneficial or harmful. structure and are usually fairly long and
• In terms of clinical pharmacology, it has traditionally cumbersome
been the beneficial or therapeutic effects that have • Generic name (also known as the “official” or
been of special interest. “nonproprietary” name) tends to be somewhat
Pharmacotherapeutics shorter and is often derived from the chemical name.
• Area of pharmacology that refers to the use of • Trade name (also known as the brand name) is
specific drugs to prevent, treat, or diagnose a assigned to the compound by the pharmaceutical
disease. company and may or may not bear any reference at
Pharmacokinetics all to the chemical and generic terminology.
• Pharmacokinetics is the study of how the body deals
with the drug in terms of the way it is absorbed, Development of Approval of Therapeutic Agents
distributed, and eliminated. • Drug Approval Process
Pharmacodynamics
• Pharmacodynamics is the analysis of what the drug
does to the body, including the mechanism by which
the drug exerts its effect.
Basic Concepts in Drug Therapy

• All drugs exert their beneficial effects by reaching
some specific target cell or tissue
Toxicology • On the cellular level, the drug in some way changes
• Toxicology is the study of the harmful effects of the function of the cell either to help restore normal
chemicals physiologic function or to prevent a disease process
• Although it can be viewed as a subdivision of from occurring
pharmacology, toxicology has evolved into a • Dose of a drug must be large enough to allow an
separate area of study because of the scope of all adequate concentration to reach the target site, thus
the therapeutic agents’ adverse effects as well as producing a beneficial response
environmental toxins and poisons • Dosage must not be so excessive that toxicologic
Pharmacy effects are produced
• Pharmacy deals with the preparation and dispensing
of medications
• Although pharmacy is also frequently considered a
subdivision of pharmacology, this area has evolved
into a distinct professional discipline .
Dose-Response Curves and Maximal Efficacy

PT 112 | PHARMACOLOGY IN PHYSICAL THERAPY
1. Typically, very low doses do not produce any Quantal Dose- Response Curves and the Median
observable effect Effective Dose
2. At some threshold dose, the response begins to
occur and continues to increase in magnitude before
reaching a plateau
3. The plateau in the response indicates that there will
be no further increment in the response even if the
dosage continues to be increased
4. The point at which there is no further increase in the
response is known as ceiling effect, or maximal
efficacy, of the drug
Median Effective Dose ED50

• This is the dose at which 50 percent of the
population respond to the drug in a specified
manner.
Median Toxic Dose
• As dosages of the drug continue to be increased,
however, adverse or toxic effects may become
apparent
Potency • As the dosage is increased, more and more
• Potency is related to the dose that produces a given individuals will then begin to exhibit that particular
response in a specific amplitude adverse effect
• When two drugs are compared, the more potent • The dose at which 50 percent of the group exhibits
drug requires a lower dose to produce the same the adverse effect is termed the median toxic dose
effect as a higher dose of the second drug (TD50)
• In animal studies, the toxic effect studied is often the
death of the animal
• In these cases, high doses of the drug are used to
determine the median lethal dose (LD50)—the dose
that causes death in 50 percent of the animals
studied.
Therapeutic Index
• In animal studies in which the median lethal dose is

known, the TI is often calculated using the LD50 in
place of the TD50
• In either human or animal studies, the TI is used as
an indicator of the drug’s safety
• The greater the value of the TI, the safer the drug is
considered to be
• In essence, a large TI indicates that it takes a much
larger dose to evoke a toxic response than it does to
cause a beneficial effect
Elements of Drug Safety

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PT 112 | PHARMACOLOGY IN PHYSICAL THERAPY

Basic Principles of Pharmacology

Basic Concepts in Drug Therapy

Dose-Response Curves and Maximal Efficacy

Median Effective Dose ED50

• In animal studies in which the median lethal dose is

Elements of Drug Safety

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