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A variety of topics involved with pharmacology, including neuropharmacology, renal pharmacology, human metabolism, intracellular metabolism, and intracellular regulation.
A variety of topics involved with pharmacology, including neuropharmacology, renal pharmacology, human metabolism, intracellular metabolism, and intracellular regulation.

Pharmacology is the study of how drugs interact with living organisms to produce a change in function. A drug, broadly speaking is any chemical substance that when absorbed into the body [1] If substances have medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals. Medication, also referred to as medicine, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis cure mitigation treatment or prevention of disease The field encompasses drug composition and properties, interactions, toxicology, therapy, and medical applications and antipathogenic capabilities. A drug, broadly speaking is any chemical substance that when absorbed into the body Interaction is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an Effect upon one another Toxicology (from the Greek words toxicos and logos) is the study of the adverse effects of Chemicals on living organisms Pharmacology is not synonymous with pharmacy, which is the name used for a profession. Pharmacy (from the Greek φάρμακον 'pharmakon' = drug is the Health profession that links the Health sciences with the chemical sciences Though in common usage the two terms are confused at times. Pharmacology deals with how drugs interact within biological systems to affect function, while pharmacy is a medical science concerned with the safe and effective use of medicines.

The origins of clinical pharmacology date back to the Middle Ages in Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine, Peter of Spain's Commentary on Isaac, and John of St Amand's Commentary on the Antedotary of Nicholas. Clinical pharmacology is the science of drugs and their Clinical use TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born The Canon of Medicine ( Arabic: القانون في الطب Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb " The Law of Medicine " Persian Peter of Spain or in Latin, Petrus Hispanus ( 13th century) is the Mediaeval author of Tractatus, a standard textbook on Logic [2] Pharmacology as a scientific discipline did not further advance until the mid-19th century amid the great biomedical resurgence of that period. [3] Before the second half of the nineteenth century, the remarkable potency and specificity of the actions of drugs such as morphine, quinine and digitalis were explained vaguely and with reference to extraordinary chemical powers and affinities to certain organs or tissues. Medical uses Morphine can be used as an analgesic in hospital settings to relieve pain in Myocardial infarction pain in Quinine (ˈkwaɪnaɪn kwɪˈniːn ˈkwiːniːn is a natural white Crystalline Alkaloid having Antipyretic (fever-reducing antimalarial, [4] The first pharmacology department was set up by Buchheim in 1847, in recognition of the need to understand how therapeutic drugs and poisons produced their effects. Rudolf Buchheim ( March 1, 1820 - December 25, 1879 was a German Pharmacologist who was born in Bautzen. [3]

The word Pharmacology comes from Greek: pharmakon (φάρμακον) meaning drug, and λόγος, logos, "knowledge". Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Pharmakos ( Greek: φαρμακος in Ancient Greek religion was a kind of human Scapegoat (a slave a cripple or a criminal who was chosen and expelled A drug, broadly speaking is any chemical substance that when absorbed into the body Knowledge is defined ( Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding Early pharmacologists focused on natural substances, mainly plant extracts. Pharmacology developed in the 19th century as a new biomedical science that applied the principles of scientific experimentation to therapeutic contexts. [5]

Contents

Divisions

Pharmacology as a chemical science is practiced by pharmacologists. Subdisciplines include

Scientific background

The study of chemicals requires intimate knowledge of the biological system affected. Neuropharmacology is concerned with drug-induced changes in the functioning of cells in the nervous system Psychopharmacology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" grc φάρμακον pharmakon, "drug" and grc -λογία The terms Pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics tend to be used interchangeably and a precise consensus definition of either remains elusive Pharmacogenomics is the branch of Pharmacology which deals with the influence of genetic variation on drug response in patients by correlating Gene expression Toxicology (from the Greek words toxicos and logos) is the study of the adverse effects of Chemicals on living organisms Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources With the knowledge of cell biology and biochemistry increasing, the field of pharmacology has also changed substantially. See also List of basic cell biology topics. Cell biology (also called cellular biology or formerly cytology, from the Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living Organisms It deals with the Structure and function of cellular components such as It has become possible, through molecular analysis of receptors, to design chemicals that act on specific cellular signaling or metabolic pathways by affecting sites directly on cell-surface receptors (which modulate and mediate cellular signaling pathways controlling cellular function). In Biochemistry, a receptor is a Protein molecule embedded in either the Plasma membrane or Cytoplasm of a cell to which a mobile signaling In Biochemistry, a metabolic pathway is a series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell.

A chemical has, from the pharmacological point-of-view, various properties. Pharmacokinetics describes the effect of the body on the chemical (e. Pharmacokinetics (in Greek: “pharmacon” meaning drug and “kinetikos” meaning putting in motion the study of time dependency sometimes abbreviated as “PK” is a g. half-life and volume of distribution), and pharmacodynamics describes the chemical's effect on the body (desired or toxic). Half-Life (computer-game page here It's already listed in the disambiguation page The volume of distribution (VD, also known as apparent volume of distribution, is a pharmacological term used to quantify the distribution Pharmacodynamics is the study of the Biochemical and Physiological effects of drugs on the body or on microorganisms or parasites within or on the body and the mechanisms Toxicity is the degree to which a substance is able to damage an exposed organism

When describing the pharmacokinetic properties of a chemical, pharmacologists are often interested in ADME:

Medication is said to have a narrow or wide therapeutic index or therapeutic window. Excretion is the process of eliminating waste products of Metabolism and other non-useful materials The therapeutic index (also known as therapeutic ratio) is a comparison of the amount of a therapeutic agent that causes the therapeutic effect to the amount that causes toxic Therapeutic window (or pharmaceutical window is an Index for estimation of Drug Dosage which can treat disease effectively while staying within the safety This describes the ratio of desired effect to toxic effect. A compound with a narrow therapeutic index (close to one) exerts its desired effect at a dose close to its toxic dose. A compound with a wide therapeutic index (greater than five) exerts its desired effect at a dose substantially below its toxic dose. Those with a narrow margin are more difficult to dose and administer, and may require therapeutic drug monitoring (examples are warfarin, some antiepileptics, aminoglycoside antibiotics). Therapeutic drug monitoring is a branch of Clinical chemistry that specializes in the measurement of Medication levels in Blood. Warfarin (also known under the brand names Coumadin, Jantoven, Marevan, and Waran) is an Anticoagulant. The anticonvulsants, also called antiepileptic drugs (abbreviated "AEDs" are a diverse group of pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of epileptic An aminoglycoside is a molecule composed of a sugar group and an Amino group In modern usage an antibiotic is a Chemotherapeutic agent with activity against Microorganisms such as Bacteria, fungi or Protozoa Most anti-cancer drugs have a narrow therapeutic margin: toxic side-effects are almost always encountered at doses used to kill tumors. Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled See also Cancer A tumor or tumour is the name for a swelling or lesion formed by an abnormal growth of cells (termed neoplastic

Medicine development and safety testing

Development of medication is a vital concern to medicine, but also has strong economical and political implications. Drug development or preclinical development is defined in many pharmaceutical companies as the process of taking a new chemical lead through the stages necessary to allow it Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the An economic system is a System that involves the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services between Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions To protect the consumer and prevent abuse, many governments regulate the manufacture, sale, and administration of medication. Consumers refers to individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy. In the United States, the main body that regulates pharmaceuticals is the Food and Drug Administration and they enforce standards set by the United States Pharmacopoeia. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A technical standard is an established norm or requirement It is usually a formal document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria methods processes and practices The United States Pharmacopeia is an official public standards–setting authority for all prescription and over–the–counter medicines and other health care products manufactured In the European Union, the main body that regulates pharmaceuticals is the EMEA and they enforce standards set by the European Pharmacopoeia. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual The European Pharmacopoeia of the Council of Europe is a listing of a wide range of Active substances and Excipients used to prepare Pharmaceutical

If the structure of a medicine is altered slightly, this will slightly alter the medicine's properties. This means when a useful activity has been identified, chemists will make many similar compounds called analogues, to attempt and maximise the beneficial effects. This development phase can take up to 3 years and is expensive. [6]

These new analogues need to be developed. It needs to be determined how safe the medicine is for human consumption, its stability in the human body and the best form for dispensing, like tablet or aerosol. After extensive testing, which can take up to 6 years the new medicine is ready for marketing and selling. [6]

As a result of the long time required to develop analogues and test a new medicine and the fact that of every 5000 potential new medicines typically only one will ever reach the open market, this is an expensive way of doing things, costing millions of dollars. To recoup this outlay pharmaceutical companies may do a number of things:[6]

Drug legislation and safety

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for creating guidelines for the approval and use of drugs. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The FDA requires that all approved drugs fulfill two requirements:

  1. The drug must be found to be effective against the disease for which it is seeking approval.
  2. The drug must meet safety criteria by being subject to extensive animal and controlled human testing.

Gaining FDA approval usually takes several years to attain. Testing done on animals must be extensive and must include several species to help in the evaluation of both the effectiveness and toxicity of the drug. The dosage of any drug approved for use is intended to fall within a range in which the drug produces a therapeutic effect or desired outcome. A therapeutic effect is a consequence of a medical treatment of any kind the results of which are judged to be desirable and beneficial [1]

The safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs in the U. S. is regulated by the federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987. This article refers to a federal law For other meanings see PDMA.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has a similar role in the UK. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA is the UK government agency which is responsible for ensuring that Medicines and Medical devices

Education

The study of pharmacology is offered in many universities worldwide.
Again, pharmacology education programs differ from pharmacy programs. Students of pharmacology are trained as researchers, studying the effects of substances in order to better understand the mechanisms which might lead to new drug discoveries for example. Whereas as pharmacy student will eventually work in a pharmacy dispensing medications or some other position focused on the patient, pharmacologist will typically work within a laboratory setting.

Some higher educational institutions combine pharmacology and toxicology into a single program as does Michigan State University. Michigan State University ( MSU) is a co-educational public Research university in East Lansing, Michigan USA. Michigan State University offers PhD training in Pharmacology & Toxicology with an optional Environmental Toxicology specialization. They also offer a Professional Science Masters in Integrative Pharmacology. The Professional Science Master's ( PSM) is an a postgraduate Academic degree program established by the Council of Graduate Schools that is designed to allow

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Nagle, Hinter; Barbara Nagle (2005). Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources Medication, also referred to as medicine, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis cure mitigation treatment or prevention of disease Pharmakos ( Greek: φαρμακος in Ancient Greek religion was a kind of human Scapegoat (a slave a cripple or a criminal who was chosen and expelled Placebo is a substance or procedure a patient accepts as medicine or therapy but which has no specific therapeutic activity A prescription drug is a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a prescription before it can be obtained This article refers to a federal law For other meanings see PDMA. Psychopharmacology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" grc φάρμακον pharmakon, "drug" and grc -λογία Pharmacopoeia (literally the art of the drug compounder in its modern technical sense is a book containing directions for the identification of samples and the preparation of compound Traditional Chinese medicine (also known as TCM,) includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. Pharmacology: An Introduction. Boston: McGraw Hill. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc, ( is a Publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. ISBN 0-07-312275-0.  
  2. ^ D. Craig Brater and Walter J. Daly (2000), "Clinical pharmacology in the Middle Ages: Principles that presage the 21st century", Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics 67 (5), p. 447-450 [448-449].
  3. ^ a b H P Rang. (2006) The receptor concept: pharmacology's big idea. Br J Pharmacol. 147 Suppl: S9–S16.
  4. ^ Andreas-Holger M. , Cay-Rüdiger P. and R. F. Halliwell (2002), The emergence of the drug receptor theory. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 1, 637-641
  5. ^ Rang, H. P. ; M. M. Dale, J. M. Ritter, R. J. Flower (2007). Pharmacology. China: Elsevier. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Elsevier, the world's largest Publisher of Medical and Scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group ISBN 0-443-06911-5.  
  6. ^ a b c d e Newton, David; Alasdair Thorpe, Chris Otter (2004). Revise A2 Chemistry. Heinemann Educational Publishers, page 1. ISBN 0-435-58347-6.  

External links

Dictionary

pharmacology

-noun

  1. (medicine) The science that studies the effects of chemical compounds on living animals, especially the science of the manufacture, use and effects of medicinal drugs.
  2. The medicinal characteristics of a specific drug.
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