Pharmacodynamics

* Origin of Drug: Dutch word droog meaning dry for dried herbs and plants that were the 1st medicine.

They are popularly referred to as being part of a continuum, the ability to successfully perform in productive activities and relationships, as opposed to the inability to do such things (Mental Illness Overview). Ever since the first edition of the DSM was published in 1952, scientists have studied how a person’s mind relates to their brain and whether the disorders they listed were organic or purely in the mind (Arben). Science has made extraordinary leaps in this aspect, as they have come to discover not only the biological change that causes mental illnesses, but they are also able to pin down even specific chromosomes linked to them. One in particular that has been heavily studied is depression, which is known to be related to a lack of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. Some of the more recently developed medications, known as SSRIs, block the receptors that recycle serotonin from taking in too much and allowing enough to carry proper signals throughout the brain (Johnson). While some people insist on the opinion that drugs such as these are overprescribed (Medications for Mental Illness Are Overprescribed), professionals use tested algorithms when determining whether a patient is in need of medication, and if so what medication to use (Restricting Medications for Mental Illness Harms Patients). These methods have been fine-tuned over the past few decades and are used treat a patient to their own personal needs, and to aid

The general public increasingly attributes mental disorders to biological causes such as a chemical imbalance or inherited genes (Schnittker, 2008; Schomerus et al., 2012).

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are currently one of the most controversial groups of medicines, with fluoxetine, more commonly known by its brand name Prozac, at the head of the controversy. Opponents of the use of SSRI medications as a successful and safe method for treating depression and related disorders assert that the actions of the drug are an unnatural and a dangerous form of tampering with our neurochemistry. Not only are these medications incredibly safe in almost all cases, they are actually an unnatural method of modifying an already disordered, natural sequence of chemicals in the brain, and therefore are not a form of tampering, but are a method for fixing

It is based on the belief that all drugs are taking through pathways to break them down. The pathways are able to break down the drugs so they can digest into the person’s system. It tailors drug for a person’s use. How the drug is processed is how well you will react to it. Pharmacogenetics is when scientists examine the genomes of an individual genetic gene. It combines the science of drug and the study of genes and functions.It’s the study of how people get affected by drugs.The drugs that are administered, has to be broken down. The pathways are created by our genes.

Another study that was conducted on the treatment of bipolar disorder was “Metabonomic analysis identifies molecular changes associated with the pathophysiology and drug treatment of bipolar disorder”. The point of this study was to observe a spectroscopy-based metabonomic analysis in order to identify molecular changes in the post-mortem brain tissue of patients who have died from bipolar effective disorder (Lan, 2008, p.1). This is the first conducted study to observe post-mortem bipolar human brain tissue and is the first to compare the changes in a diseased brain with the changes that occur in rat brain after a mood stabilizer treatment. This study was conducted in laboratories in order to observe the whole process. There was seventy-eight

According to Burchum and Rosenthal, pharmacokinetic is the study of drug movement throughout the body. When working in a Cardiac ICU, many of our patients required the use of digoxin for heart failure. Due to the narrow therapeutic index of digoxin, it had to be closely monitored. The end point for digoxin, is the heart muscle (myocardium). The trick is that we cannot take samples of the heart muscle to determine the level of digoxin. The good news is that we are able to measure its concentration through periodic blood levels. We then assume that as blood levels rose and fell within therapeutic, sub-therapeutic, or supratherapeutic values, so did the concentration level at the heart or its “distribution” into the cardiac cells. This

My understanding and recall of medications needs to improve to match the environment I am working in. Although it is important to be alert for changes in best practice and recommended treatment protocols, having full knowledge of all medications regularly prescribed to the patient population would reduce the time needed to verify orders, build care plans, and carry out med passes. Since pharmacology is a concurrent course, it is not expected that I would have

(3) While successful drug therapies which act on neurotransmitters in the brain imply that depression is a neurobiological condition (4), the fact that such medications do not help about 20 percent of depression-sufferers seems to show that not all depression is due to such imbalances. Rather, depression is not caused by one single factor; it is most often caused by many different things. Genetics, biochemical factors, medicines and alcohol, developmental and other external factors, and relationships, marriage and children all have effect on the development of clinical depression. (5) The strongest hypotheses on the pathways to depression are in decreases in the activity of specific neurotransmitters, or the overactivity of certain hormonal systems. (3)

Astragalosides appear to exert their immunomodulatory actions via direct interaction with cellular membrane receptors. Shao et al. reported that astragalus root polysaccharide fractions activated mouse B cells and stimulated macrophage production via direct interaction between the polysaccharide fractions and TLR4 on cell surfaces.35 Hao et al. demonstrated in rat endothelial cells that astragalus root polysaccharide fractions stimulated the adhesion between neutrophils and endothelial cells by promoting the expression of superficial I-1 on the cell surface.87 This action would hypothetically facilitate the inflammatory response in wound healing and possibly underlie the detoxification and cellular protective actions

A pharmacologist is a scientist. They do this to study the effects of new medications and chemical compounds like pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary and nursing.They do research on animals or on willing humans subjects. They see if theres beneficial or harmful effects of the body also cardiovascular and respiratory system. This also means creating new chemical substances. A pharmacologist involves the study of biology, toxicology, chemistry,microbiology and physiology. Basically many careers in the life science field.

Kaitlyn earned her B.A. in Philosophy and History of Science and Mathematics at St. Johns College, during which time she became interested in the epigenetics and neurobiology of mental illness. To that end, she interned in a molecular genetics lab at University of Maryland and completed a pre-medical post-bacc after graduation. Throughout her coursework, her interests shifted to the neurobiology and treatment of mental illness and is now a second year MA student in the General Psychology program. Her research interests include suicide prevention and the neuropsychology of mood, memory and self-reference in mood and anxiety disorders.

The termination step in the chemical transmission process is the most essential step when pursuing pharmacological interventions. According to Carlson (2007), the reason that medications have an effect on both our behaviors and perceptions is because they influence the activity of neurons in the brain. These neurons communicate with each other to release a chemical known as a neurotransmitter. “Neurotransmitters may be released into circulation, from which they can act on distinct organs, or they may diffuse only a short distant to act on juxtaposed target cells at specialized connections called synapses” (Tashjian & Armstrong, 2012). When transmitters are released, they either bind to receptors or they continue to either excite or inhibit

Pharmacokinetics is term related to the ending of a substance that administered in a living organism. It consists of four phases and these are absorption, distribution, metabolism, and renal elimination, which referred to as ADME. There are two classes for pharmacokinetics: linear pharmacokinetics and non-linear pharmacokinetics. Linear pharmacokinetics of drug is a term refer to dose independent and concentration independent pharmacokinetics, in which pharmacokinetic parameters are constant when the drug concentration change. These parameters are half-life, clearance (CL), and volume of distribution at steady state (Vss). The pharmacokinetic phases like absorption, distribution, and elimination in dose independent pharmacokinetics are followed first order kinetics. In this condition, the changing in the drug dose results directly changing in the drug concentration in a body. In contract, non-linear pharmacokinetics of drug is known dose dependent, time dependent or concentration dependent pharmacokinetics. One or more of the pharmacokinetics parameters

Pharmacokinetics has evolved over the years from being a graphic science to a systematic and is frequently used in the current clinical studies. Scientists are progressively being conscious and willing to collect relevant pharmacokinetic data by using the in vitro studies. In vitro studies will allow the safer and more predictable studies compared and results compare to in vivo studies. Interpretation of toxic side effects of all the medications can be studied via pharmacokinetics in vitro analysis.