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Most commonly, it refers to medication or drug compliance, but it can also apply to medical device use, self care, self-directed exercises, or therapy sessions. Both patient and health-care provider affect compliance, and a positive physician-patient relationship is the most important factor in improving compliance. [1]
When two drugs affect each other, it is a drug–drug interaction (DDI). The risk of a DDI increases with the number of drugs used. [1] A large share of elderly people regularly use five or more medications or supplements, with a significant risk of side-effects from drug–drug interactions. [2] Drug interactions can be of three kinds:
Index inducer or just inducer predictably induce metabolism via a given pathway and are commonly used in prospective clinical drug-drug interaction studies. [2]Strong, moderate, and weak inducers are drugs that decreases the AUC of sensitive index substrates of a given metabolic pathway by ≥80%, ≥50% to <80%, and ≥20% to <50%, respectively.
In reality, there are many factors affecting this goal. Pharmacokinetic factors determine peak concentrations, and concentrations cannot be maintained with absolute consistency because of metabolic breakdown and excretory clearance. Genetic factors may exist which would alter metabolism or drug action itself, and a patient's immediate status ...
The interaction between the drug and this site results in a modification of the target that may include inhibition or potentiation. [15] Most of the pharmacogenetic interactions that involve drug targets are within the field of oncology and include targeted therapeutics designed to address somatic mutations (see also Cancer Pharmacogenomics ).
Distribution is defined as the reversible transfer of a drug between one compartment to another. Some factors affecting drug distribution include regional blood flow rates, molecular size, polarity and binding to serum proteins, forming a complex. Distribution can be a serious problem at some natural barriers like the blood–brain barrier.
The action of drugs on the human body (or any other organism's body) is called pharmacodynamics, and the body's response to drugs is called pharmacokinetics. The drugs that enter an individual tend to stimulate certain receptors , ion channels , act on enzymes or transport proteins .
Every medication has potential adverse side-effects. With every drug added, there is an additive risk of side-effects. Also, some medications have interactions with other substances, including foods, other medications, and herbal supplements. [46] 15% of older adults are potentially at risk for a major drug-drug interaction. [47]