PHAR 300 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Mcgill University, Metabolism, Liver
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
PHAR 300
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
McGill University PHAR 300 Prof. E. Zorchyta, Prof. B. Hales
Chloé Davidson 1
September 4th, 2018
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Professors:
o E. Zorychta
o B. Hales
Course emphasis:
o North-American drugs (of the type you will probably use, from caffeine to painkillers via
alcohol)
o Basic principles of pharmacology
o Basic science of pharmacology
o Effects and side-effects of drugs
o Applying knowledge from prerequisites (BIOL 200, 201; PHGY/NSCI courses)
Grading: 35% midterm (in October), 65% final
Using the textbook is strongly recommended
LECTURE
INTRODUCTION
Pharmacology:
o The science and study of drugs and their effects
o Related to science and medicine
o Why study drugs?
Useful for every day life
Learn to critically analyse information from everyday sources
Learn how to explain the functioning of drugs to others
o NOT pharmacy (which is just counting pills)
Drug:
o Any substance which affects living systems. Can be:
Classic drugs: illicit, legal, over-the-counter…
Food
Vitamins and supplements
Cosmetics
Poisons and toxins
Immunotherapy
Hormones
Proteins
Gene therapy
o Uses:
Treat/cure diseases (ex: the drug for HIV blocks its polymerase from functioning)
Permit diagnosis and treatment (ex: anaesthetics)
Alter physiological functions (ex: gravol for motion sickness, contraceptives)
Prevent infection and disease (ex: osteoporosis drugs)
Investigate disease
Agriculture (pesticides)
Some of these can be derived from plants
Performance enhancement
o Key concept: There are no perfect drugs
Side effects always occur
Can occur through drug interactions: the more drugs you take, the more
chances of harmful interactions
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
McGill University PHAR 300 Prof. E. Zorchyta, Prof. B. Hales
Chloé Davidson 2
Humans are all different and will respond differently to drugs
Therefore, a cost-benefit analysis must be implemented
Analysis of toxicology
o Toxicology: the analysis of the harmful effects of drugs
Since humans are all different, the goal will ultimately be to make custom drugs
to fit the individual
A BRIEF HISTORY OF DRUGS
Originally from experiments with plants and animal parts (i.e. X and Y kill the subject, but Z
seems to help with fever)
Pharmacology only improved with advances in medicine
Timeline:
o 1700’s: noticing that digitalis affects the heart
o 1800’s: morphine (opium), ether anaesthetics
o 1900’s: acetyl salicylic acid (aspirin)
o 1940’s: revolution of medicine—Penicillin
o 1950’s: oral contraceptive, first mental illness drugs (anxiety and schizophrenia)
o 1960’s: first hypertension and heart disease drugs
o 1970’s: first anticancer drugs
o 1990’s: first antiviral HIV drugs
Current sources of drugs:
o Natural sources until an effective synthetic pathway is found
o Genetically recombinant organisms (ex: insulin created by bacteria via plasmid insertion)
o Biological engineering sources: ex: mAb: Monoclonal antibodies
CREATING DRUGS
If you have an idea of what you want the drug to do you can design a drug for the intended
purpose.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Grading: 35% midterm (in october), 65% final. Learn to critically analyse information from everyday sources. Learn how to explain the functioning of drugs to others. Drug: not pharmacy (which is just counting pills, any substance which affects living systems. Treat/cure diseases (ex: the drug for hiv blocks its polymerase from functioning) Alter physiological functions (ex: gravol for motion sickness, contraceptives) Prevent infection and disease (ex: osteoporosis drugs) Some of these can be derived from plants. Performance enhancement: key concept: there are no perfect drugs. Can occur through drug interactions: the more drugs you take, the more chances of harmful interactions. Humans are all different and will respond differently to drugs. Therefore, a cost-benefit analysis must be implemented. Since humans are all different, the goal will ultimately be to make custom drugs: toxicology: the analysis of the harmful effects of drugs to fit the individual.
