Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics

Description

Pharmacology is a branch of science that deals with the study of drugs and their actions on living systems - that is, the study of how drugs work in the body (sometimes referred to as 'drug actions'). To understand this we need to consider what a drug is, how it affects our physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing, the type of drug being used, the modes of administration, how the drug is absorbed and the characteristics of the person taking the drug. Doctors have been providing one of the greatest services to the mankind because of which they hold a high respect in the sight of people. Thus, responsibility of maintaining high quality and standard in providing health care also rests with the doctors themselves. Pharmacotherapeutics (PT) is the application of pharmacological information together with the knowledge of the disease for its prevention, mitigation or cure. Selection of the most appropriate drug, dosage and duration of treatment taking into account the specific features of a patient are a part of PT. Pharmacogenomics is the study of the role of the genome in drug response. Its name reflects its combining of pharmacology and genomics. Pharmacogenomics analyzes how the genetic makeup of an individual affects his/her response to drugs. It deals with the influence of acquired and inherited genetic variation on drug response in patients by correlating gene expression or single-nucleotide polymorphisms with pharmacokinetics (drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination) and pharmacodynamics (effects mediated through a drug’s biological targets). The term pharmacogenomics is often used interchangeably with pharmacogenetics. Although both terms relate to drug response based on genetic influences, pharmacogenetics focuses on single drug-gene interactions, while pharmacogenomics encompasses a more genome-wide association approach, incorporating genomics and epigenetics while dealing with the effects of multiple genes on drug response. This book strengthens the scientific knowledge base and promotes rational thinking among students.