Exam 3: Basic Principles of Pharmacology

Assume that 30 mg of drug A puts 10% of people to sleep and that 100 mg of drug A puts 80% of people to sleep.Assume that drug B has no effect on sleep at any dose (except at lethal doses).If we give 100 mg of drug B along with 30 mg of drug A, we observe that the combination puts 50% of people to sleep.What phenomenon are we observing? Explain your answer.

Distinguish between a drug's "efficacy" and its "potency".

If the rate at which a drug is metabolized is constant, i.e., is not proportional to the plasma concentration of the drug (in log units), it is referred to as _______________ kinetics.

Although heroin and morphine both exhibit analgesic properties, heroin is more potent that morphine when injected intravenously.What is the clinical relevance of this difference in potency between these two drugs?

Describe the structural basis of the "blood-brain barrier" and list two characteristics of a drug that e.g., like alcohol or lipid soluble or possess a structure allowing it to bind to a transport protein to be carried across these lipid membranes.

As blood passes through the liver, drugs diffuse into the liver cells and are acted upon by

The textbook suggests that morphine is more potent than aspirin because morphine

Alcohol is metabolized at a fairly constant rate regardless of the amount of alcohol ingested.This is referred to as _________________ kinetics.

Choose the correct statement:

Drugs are most commonly administered

When drugs with sedative-hypnotic properties are administered chronically, what is the general effect on the P450 enzymes of the liver?

The rate of excretion of certain acidic drugs can be enhanced by "alkalization" of the urine; also the rate of excretion for alkaline drugs can be enhanced by "acidification" of the urine.This is called

If given in an amount proportional to body weight, a water-soluble drug (e.g., alcohol) is likely to achieve higher blood concentrations in

A drug is generally considered to be any

Fred, a lipid-soluble drug molecule, has just been swallowed by a human.Trace Fred's likely routes through the body and describe what is likely to happen to Fred by the time he leaves the humans' body.

When one is concerned with a drug's pharmacokinetics, one is chiefly concerned with

Metabolism of drugs occurs primarily in the

When one is concerned with a drug's pharmacodynamics, one is chiefly concerned with

In a proper double-blind experiment

Describe or define the following terms: -pharmacodynamics: