Variations in Drug Response
· Response 1
· Based on this week's readings and your previous examinations of neuroscience, what mental illnesses are most likely to be treated with drugs that have a side effect of tardive dyskinesia?
I recall reading that TD can occur after chronic use of some antipsychotics. I don't quite understand the entire psychophysiological explanation for the resulting TD, but saw that there are newer drugs that avoid this outcome.
· What is the relationship between the mental illness, the pharmacologic treatment, and the side effect of tardive dyskinesia?
I must personally answer this with the simple phrase "cost/benefit analysis". In the pursuit of fighting the effects of psychological disorders, a medication that causes TD may actually exacerbate the disorder due to the self-consciousness that may accompany the uncontrollable movements. Therefore, the creation of drugs (like Ingerezza) seems logical. But then, Ingrezza itself may come with unwanted side effects. So you fight side effects of the antipsychotic only to develop a need to fight a completely different set of side effects that were exogenously caused. At some point, patients need to get back to the initial reason for pharmaceuticals and decide if the ends justify the means.
· Is it possible to predict the types and kinds of side effects that a drug may exhibit?
I don't subscribe to the predictive ability of the medical or psychological professional regarding the effects of drugs. I only can rely on the published research and data sets. Past performance of a drug, while indicative of future performance, should not be used to predict, but only e estimate, the desired effects of drugs. Hence, the need for consent, full disclosure of risk, and a statement of all potential side effects to patients.
· How does knowledge of the pharmacodynamics (Advokat et al., 2018) of a drug affect understanding of the therapeutic properties and side effect profile?
I think the pharmacodynamics of a drug can be compared to the dynamics of any ingested substance. Whether you take Celexa or a spinach smoothie, there are definitive reactions within the body. With the spinach, medical science does not necessarily spend a lot of time defining therapeutic windows of effectiveness (at least not to the extent of drug analysis). However, for drugs created outside the natural processes of the body, to be introduced into the body, it is necessary to analyze every aspect available to mitigate negative effects.
· How did drug developers know what to develop to target the behavioral symptom of tardive dyskinesia?
Investigators probably targeted the process of dopamine insufficiency, but I wonder again about the cost/benefit analysis. How did it become a priority to target the TD without compromising the initial treatment of the psychological disorder?
· As students, how can use this knowledge to better understand the mechanisms of action, risks, benefits, and side effects of drugs?
Just keep studying, and adding additional knowledge to supplement our prioritization of health challenges, quality of life, and risk management strategies of medicinal and psychotherapeutic treatments
· Keeping an eye out on the media this week and throughout the course, can you start to accurately predict the types of side effects and symptom reductions you would expect to see based on the descriptions of specific drug types?
· Response 2
Oral administration is one of the many techniques for administering medications to patients; it includes the gastrointestinal system and starts with the patient eating a solid or liquid form by mouth. There are effective techniques for ensuring that they are taken correctly and properly treat the drug's expected consequence. Medicine must dissolve and retain its effectiveness inside the stomach contents as it enters the body and travels into the bloodstream to be effective (Buisman‐Pijlman, 2009). Because a solid form takes time to dissolve, a liquid form of medicine spreads faster than a solid form. In the case of orally taken drugs, 75% of them will be absorbed into the circulation within 1-3 hours.
Regardless of their differences, Ms. Jones and Mr. Smith are capable of receiving oral administration via the mouth, which is absorbed through the circulation. Unfortunately, women and men react differently to medication intake; the key goal of a drug's efficacy is the dose level, which allows the drug's effectiveness to operate as required. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (2007), Weight, gender, body water and fat distribution, age, metabolic state, and alcohol usage must be considered when administering an oral medicine for the best results. These two patients are of a distinct age range. One is a 30-year-old girl who is 5'4" tall and weighs 110 pounds, while the other is a 65-year-old man who stands 6' tall and weighs 235 pounds. The drug's absorption, distribution across bodily compartments, metabolism, and excretion pharmacokinetics. Their ages may have a huge impact on how drugs are distributed. Many medications' metabolism and excretion decrease, necessitating dosage reductions in certain drugs. Toxicity may occur slowly since the amounts of continually consumed drugs increase for 5 to 6 half-lives before reaching a stable level. In elderly individuals, some flurazepam, benzodiazepines diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, or their active metabolites, for example, have half-lives of up to 96 hours; indications of toxicity may not develop for days or weeks after treatment begins. Drug absorption, distribution in the body, action, metabolism, and excretion all alter as people become older. Furthermore, it is usual for elderly people to have various medical diseases, leading to a higher risk of drug difficulties due to polypharmacy.
Individuals respond differently to drugs. Despite the fact that the pathogens against which the drugs are developed are often equivalent regardless of gender or age, the prescriptions written differ significantly across individuals. Despite the fact that this method of medication ingestion is widely utilized, side effects such as vomiting and nausea have been reported in both men and women. Regardless of the efficacy of these drugs, estimating the appropriate dose in the bloodstream to aid the cause differs from person to person since everyone is genetically built differently, and not everyone can profit from produced drugs (Soldin & Mattison, 2009). Women and men metabolize drugs differently, which is why women are more likely to overdose than males. Notably, the medicine's volume of distribution typically differs by gender, which is another element that might impact how the drug reacts in various people.
References
Buisman‐Pijlman, F. T. (2009). A Primer of Drug Action: A Comprehensive Guide to the Actions, Uses, and Side Effects of Psychoactive Drugs.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, & Alcoholism (US). (2007). Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much, A Clinician's Guide.
Soldin, O. P., & Mattison, D. R. (2009). Sex differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Clinical pharmacokinetics, 48(3), 143-157.