Drugs and pain
Pain (nociception) is a subjective experience with both sensory and emotional components arising from actual or potential tissue damage. It is frequently a traumatic feature of many diseases and the…
Drugs and neurological disorders
Drugs are used to treat neurodegenerative disorders, anxiety, psychosis, depression, epilepsy and pain. Neurodegenerative Disorders The very limited capacity of neurons to divide and re-establish synaptic contacts means that neuronal…
Outline of transmission and drug action in the nervous system
The nervous system controls conscious and subconscious (autonomic) activities, and the higher order processes memory, emotion and intelligence. It is composed of the following systems: • The peripheral nervous system…
Drug discovery and the development of biologicals
The use of biotechnology has led to the creation of novel classes of drugs that have transformed therapeutic approaches for various diseases that were otherwise difficult to obtain with traditional…
Molecular aspects of drug action
Drugs produce effects in the body mainly in the following ways: • By acting on receptors • By inhibiting carriers (molecules that transport one or more ions or molecules across…
Pharmacokinetic and other factors influencing drug action
Whilst the practice of pharmacology is to ultimately reach an end goal of understanding pharmacodynamics (what the drug does to the body), scientists and clinicians also need to understand what…
General principles of drug action
Pharmacology concerns the study of how drugs affect the function of host tissues or combat infectious organisms. In most cases, drugs bind selectively to target molecules within the body, usually…
Drug safety, toxicology and pharmacovigilance
A drug has to be demonstrated to be reasonably safe and effective before it can enter the clinic (see Chapter 10 ). An integrated risk assessment will be made on…
Regulation of drug use
Drug regulation seeks to ensure the quality of the whole process of making and using a new medicine. Thus there are strict regulatory requirements to adhere to on the synthesis,…
Pharmacodynamics and the measurement of drug action
The action of drugs is usually measured by bioassay, which is the measurement of potency or activity of a drug using a biological response, using the principles of drug action…
