PHARMACOLOGY

What is the meaning of pharmacology?

A drug is any synthetic, natural, or endogenous (produced by the body) molecule that affects a cell, tissue, organ, or organism biochemically or physiologically. 

Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology, and pharmaceutical sciences that studies how drugs or medications work (sometimes the word "pharmacology" is used as a term to encompass these endogenous and exogenous bioactive species). 

It is the study of pharmaceuticals, including how they are made, how they work, how they are used therapeutically, and how they are toxicologically assessed. More specifically, it is the study of how interactions between a live creature and chemicals impact whether the biochemical activity is normal or abnormal. Pharmaceuticals are chemicals that have therapeutic qualities. 

The field includes molecular and cellular mechanisms, organ and system mechanisms, signal transduction and cellular communication, molecular diagnostics, interactions, chemical biology, therapy, medical applications, and antipathogenic capabilities.

 It also includes drug composition and properties, functions, sources, synthesis, and drug design. Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics are the two primary subfields of pharmacology. Pharmacodynamics researches how a drug affects biological systems, and pharmacokinetics researches how a drug affects biological systems. In general, pharmacodynamics talks about chemicals that interact with biological receptors, and pharmacokinetics talks about how chemicals are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted (ADME) from biological systems.

Although the terms are commonly misunderstood, pharmacology and pharmacy are not interchangeable. A biomedical discipline called pharmacology is concerned with the investigation, identification, and characterization of chemicals that have biological effects as well as the clarification of how cells and organisms work in connection to these chemicals. Pharmacy, a health services profession, is concerned with using the pharmacology concepts taught in its clinical settings, whether it is in a dispensing or clinical care function. The main difference between the two in either discipline is how they treat direct patient care, pharmacy practice, and the scientifically rigorous research area that is fueled by pharmacology.

Etymology

The Greek roots o, pharmakon, "drug, poison," and -, -logia, "study of," "knowledge of," are the origins of the word "pharmacology" (cf. the etymology of pharmacy). Pharmakon is associated with pharmacies, a ritualistic human victim or scapegoat sacrifice or exile in ancient Greek religion.

Because it covers endogenous compounds and physiologically active molecules that are not medicines, the term "pharmacon" is now used more broadly than "drug." Enzyme inhibitors are typically included along with pharmacological agonists and antagonists (such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors).

The history of pharmacology 

With pharmacognosy and Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine, Peter of Spain's Commentary on Isaac, and John of Saint Amand's Commentary on the Antedotary of Nicholas, clinical pharmacology has its roots in the Middle Ages. Early pharmacology concentrated on natural ingredients, primarily plant extracts and herbalism. Pharmacopoeias are collections of medications. Since prehistory, chemicals from natural sources have been prepared as crude medications. Nevertheless, the material is contaminated with other compounds, and the active ingredient in crude medications has not been refined.

As in traditional Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Korean medicine, traditional medicine differs between civilizations and may be unique to a given culture. Unfortunately, a lot of this is now thought to be pseudoscience. Entheogens are pharmacological drugs that may have historical, spiritual, or religious applications.

The English physician Nicholas Culpeper used and translated pharmacological materials in the 17th century. The ailments that plants could alleviate were described in detail by Culpepper. Most clinical pharmacology was developed in the 18th century thanks to William Withering's expertise. 

Not until the great biomedical renaissance of the mid-19th century did pharmacology as a scientific field make additional strides. In the second half of the nineteenth century, explanations for the unusual strength and specificity of medications like morphine, quinine, and diamorphine were hazy and made reference to their extraordinary chemical properties and affinities for particular organs or tissues. In response to the requirement to comprehend how drugs work, Rudolf Buchheim established the first pharmacology department at the University of Tartu in 1847.

In the 19th century, pharmacology emerged as a biomedical discipline that utilized experimental design in therapeutic settings. The development of research methodologies accelerated the study of and understanding of pharmacology.

 Analysis of the effects of medications on tissues was made possible by the introduction of the organ bath preparation, in which tissue samples are attached to recording equipment, such as a myograph, and physiological responses are recorded following drug application. The determination of a drug's binding affinity to chemical targets was made possible by the development of the ligand binding test in 1945.

Modern pharmacologists use genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and other advanced tools to translate information about molecular mechanisms and targets into therapies directed against disease, defects, or pathogens, as well as methods for preventive care, diagnostics, and, eventually, personalized medicine.

Pharmacology is divided into numerous sub-disciplines, each with a distinct focus.

Systematization of the body

 Pharmacology covers a wide range of topics, including neuropharmacology, renal pharmacology, human metabolism, intracellular metabolism, and intracellular regulation.

Pharmacology can also concentrate on specific body systems. Divisions related to bodily systems study the effects of drugs on different systems of the body. These include neuropharmacology, which deals with the central and peripheral nervous systems, and immunopharmacology, which deals with the immune system. Cardiovascular, renal, and endocrine pharmacology are also divisions. The study of drugs that affect the psyche, mind, and behaviour (e.g., antidepressants) in the treatment of mental disorders is known as psychopharmacology (e.g., depression).

It is interested in the behavioural and neurobiological mechanisms of action of psychoactive drugs and incorporates approaches and techniques from neuropharmacology, animal behaviour, and behavioural neuroscience. [Citation required] The related field of neuropsychopharmacology focuses on the effects of drugs on the overlap between the nervous system and the psyche.  

It is interested in the behavioural and neurobiological mechanisms of action of psychoactive drugs and incorporates approaches and techniques from neuropharmacology, animal behaviour, and behavioural neuroscience. [Citation required] The related field of neuropsychopharmacology focuses on the effects of drugs on the overlap between the nervous system and the psyche.

Pharma-ecometabolomics also known as pharma-ecometabolomics is a field that stems from metabolomics, the quantification, and analysis of metabolites produced by the body.

 It refers to the direct measurement of metabolites in a person's bodily fluids to predict or evaluate the metabolism of pharmaceutical compounds and better understand a drug's pharmacokinetic profile. Pharma-ecometabolomics can be used to measure metabolite levels after a drug has been administered to monitor the drug's effects on metabolic pathways.

Pharmacomicrobiomics defined as the effect of microbiome variations on drug disposition, action, and toxicity was first proposed by Prof. Marco Candela for the ERC-2009-StG project call (proposal n. 242860, titled "Pharmacomicrobiomics, the study of the microbiome determinants of the different drug responses between individuals") and later publicly used in 2010. Pharmacomicrobiomics studies the interaction of xenobiotics, or foreign compounds, with the gut microbiome. It is estimated that the gut contains over 100 trillion prokaryotes from over 1,000 different species.

Clinical trials and drug development

A toxicologist at work in a laboratory

Pharmacology has applications in the clinical sciences. Clinical pharmacology is the study of drugs in humans using pharmacological methods and principles. Posology, the study of how medicines are dosed, is an example of this.

 

Toxicology and pharmacology are inextricably linked. Pharmacology and toxicology are both scientific disciplines that study the properties and actions of chemicals. However, pharmacology focuses on the therapeutic effects of chemicals, which are usually drugs or compounds that could become drugs, whereas toxicology studies the adverse effects of chemicals and risk assessment.

In medicine and pharmacy, pharmacological knowledge is used to advise on pharmacotherapy.

Drug discovery is the study of the process of developing new drugs. It includes drug design and development as subfields. Drug discovery begins with drug design, the creative process of discovering new drugs. In its most basic form, this entails creating molecules that are complementary in shape and charge to a given biomolecular target.

 Following the identification of a lead compound through drug discovery, drug development entails bringing the drug to market. Drug discovery is linked to pharmacoeconomics, a subfield of health economics that considers the value of drugs. Pharmacoeconomics is the study of drug costs and benefits to guide optimal healthcare resource allocation.

Medication development is a critical concern for medicine, but it also has significant economic and political implications. Many governments regulate the manufacture, sale, and administration of medications to protect consumers and prevent abuse.

 The Food and Drug Administration is the primary regulatory body in the United States, enforcing standards set by the United States Pharmacopoeia. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is the primary regulatory body in the European Union, and it enforces standards set by the European Pharmacopoeia.