Espinoza questions

6. What role do OTC drugs play in drug-drug interactions?

Consult physician or pharmacist before taking new drugs, including over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements. Discuss any disorders present and any prescriptions being taken.

1. What is a drug? An active ingredient? A safe drug?

Drug Any chemical that has an effect on living processes Active ingredient Medicinal ingredient in a pure, undiluted form of the chemical that has effects on body functions Safe drug Drug that causes no harmful effects when taken in high doses over a long period of time

3. What are the differences among a side effect, an adverse reaction, and an allergic reaction?

Side effect Mild or annoying but expected and fairly common undesirable response to a medication Adverse reaction Unintended, undesirable, and often unpredictable effect of a medication that cause pain, discomfort, or unwanted symptoms; more severe than a side effect Allergic reaction Hypersensitivity to a drug that may occur after only one dose has been taken (see Hypersensitivity reaction)

10. Why is DNA technology so important in today's medical practice?

the fastest growing area in the pharmaceutical world, uses artificially manipulated DNA segments from different organic sources by transferring a cell from a different species to a host cell to change the way the cell reproduces.

9. What is meant by drug-disease interaction? Why is this found more often in older adults?

Sometimes drugs used for one disease are harmful with regard to another disorder or disease These interactions are more common with older adults, who tend to have more diseases and an increased use of drugs.

7. Define synergism, antagonism, potentiation, idiosyncratic drug reaction, cumulative effect, and drug tolerance.

Synergism Working together of two or more drugs to produce a stronger effect than could be achieved with each drug taken alone Antagonism Cancellation or reduction of one drug's effect by another drug Potentiation Prolongation of or increase in the effect of a drug by another drug Idiosyncratic drug reaction Unexpected, unusual response to a drug Cumulation (accumulation) Increasing storage of a medication in the body caused by the body's inability to metabolize or excrete the medication before another dose is taken Drug tolerance Accustomization to a medication resulting in a decreased response to the usual dose

8. Describe what happens in drug-food interactions. Give examples of drug-food interactions.

They can induce toxic effects and/or cause failure of therapy. Milk and calcium products/tetracycline- Tetracycline becomes insoluble, and antibacterial properties are ineffective with binding to calcium. High-fiber diets with wheat bran and oats-Reduce the absorption of many drugs

2. Drugs are excreted by four routes. What are they? What organs are involved in excretion? Which organ is most commonly involved?

Urinary tract, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, and skin. Drug excretion occurs most commonly via the kidneys; therefore adequate renal function must be present.

4. Drugs work at various receptor sites. How do agonists work at receptor sites? Antagonists? Partial agonists? Antidotes? Chelators? Antimetabolites?

When the medication stimulates the receptor site, the drug works with the body to mimic its function, or is called an agonist. When drugs are attached strongly and do not produce a chemical reaction but do prevent agonists from binding at the receptor site, the medication is called an antagonist. A weak bond that prevents other chemicals or drugs from binding to receptor sites on the cell wall is called a partial agonist. antidotes, used to neutralize toxic substances; chelators, used to treat metal poisonings; and antimetabolites, used with cancer to disrupt essential cell metabolic process, either by inhibiting enzymes or by interrupting DNA replication and function.

5. Drug-drug interactions occur when medications are taken together. Some interactions are wanted; others are undesirable and even life-threatening. Give two reasons for giving medications together, and cite two types of dangerous drug interactions.

When two or more medications are prescribed together, (1) the drugs have no effect on each other's action, (2) the drugs increase the effect, or (3) the drugs decrease the effect of each. Some terms for drug effects in drug-drug interactions are synergism and antagonism, which may be desirable or undesirable.