Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Drug-drug interactions can occur when certain drugs are administered at the same time. Effects of this can be additive (outcome is greater than those of one individual drug), less than additive (therapeutic effects are less than those of one individual drug), or functional alterations (one drug changes how another is absorbed, distributed, and ...
Upon drug binding, receptors can elicit their normal action (agonist), blocked action (antagonist), or even action opposite to normal (inverse agonist). In principle, a pharmacologist would aim for a target plasma concentration of the drug for a desired level of response. In reality, there are many factors affecting this goal.
Examples of toxic agents are toxic metals, toxic chemicals, microbe neurotoxins, radiation particles and even specific neurotransmitters when the system is out of balance. Also some types of drugs, e.g alcohol, [1] and some venom, e.g. from the puff adder (Bitis arietans) or brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa) are toxic to cells.
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. [1] Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell (cytotoxicity) or an organ such as the liver (hepatotoxicity).
One form of behavioral neuropharmacology focuses on the study of drug dependence and how drug addiction affects the human mind. Most research has shown that the major part of the brain that reinforces addiction through neurochemical reward is the nucleus accumbens. The image to the right shows how dopamine is projected into this area.
Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, [1] including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function. [2]
Pharmacokinetics is based on mathematical modeling that places great emphasis on the relationship between drug plasma concentration and the time elapsed since the drug's administration. Pharmacokinetics is the study of how an organism affects the drug, whereas pharmacodynamics (PD) is the study of
The therapeutic index (TI; also referred to as therapeutic ratio) is a quantitative measurement of the relative safety of a drug with regard to risk of overdose.It is a comparison of the amount of a therapeutic agent that causes toxicity to the amount that causes the therapeutic effect. [1]