BASIC

PRINCIPLES OF
PHARMACOLOG
Y

Dr. Mehwish Waseem Butt

DPT, MS-CPPT

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BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
PHARMACOLOGY
Pharmacology the branch of medicine concerned
with the uses, effects, and modes of action of
drugs.
Drug:
“any substance that , when taken into a living
organism, may modify one or more of its
functions.”
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 A drug includes any substance that alters physiologic

function in the organism, regardless of whether the effect
is beneficial or harmful.
 In terms of clinical pharmacology>beneficial or
therapeutic effects have been of special interest.
 Throughout history, certain naturally occurring chemicals
have been used to relieve pain or treat disease in humans.
 Within the past century, the use of natural, semisynthetic,
and synthetic chemical agents has expanded to the point
where many diseases can be prevented or cured, and the
general health and well-being of many individuals has
dramatically improved through therapeutic drug use.
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 An understanding of basic drug mechanisms can help

practitioners such as PT, OT and other rehabilitation
specialists better understand a patient’s response to
the drug. In addition, the knowledge of how certain
rehabilitative procedures may interact with
medications is helpful in getting an optimal response
in the patient’s drug and therapy treatment.
 Dramatically improvement in sessions>effect of
analgesics, anti-Parkinson drugs.
 Useless session require active participation
>Sedatives
 Interaction> vasodilator vs. whirl pool
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Pharmacology

Pharmacotherapeutics Toxicology

Pharmacokinetics Pharmacodynamics

Distribution Systemic Cellular

Absorption Elimination
Effects Effects
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DIVISION OF PHARMACOLOGY
PHARMACOTHERAPEUTIC:
is the area of pharmacology that refers to the Use of
specific drugs to prevent, treat or diagnose a disease. (In
humans)
PHARMACOKINETIC: Sub group of
pharmacotherapeutic, is the study of how the body deals
with the drug in terms of the way it is absorbed,
distributed, and eliminated.
PHARMACODYNAMICS: Subgroup of
pharmacotherapeutic, is the analysis of what the drug
does to the body, including the mechanism by which the
drug exerts its effect.
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Cont….
 TOXICOLOGY: Deals with harmful effects of
drugs. (Therapeutic agents’ adverse effects as well
as environmental toxins and poisons).

 PHARMACY: Deals with preparation and

dispensing of drugs.
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DRUG NOMENCLATURE
It is the System of naming drugs.
 CHEMICAL NAME: According to chemical structure of drugs e.g.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine
 GENERIC NAME:(also known as the “official” or “non-proprietary”
name) tends to be somewhat shorter and is often derived from the chemical
name. e.g. Levodopa
 TRADE NAME:(also known as the brand name) is assigned to the
compound by the pharmaceutical company. Used for prescribing drugs. E.g.
Larodopa
 Confusion occur when similar names: Celebrex
(Analgesic),
Cerebryx (Anti-seizures), and Celexa (Anti-depressant).
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Prescription Versus Over the-

Counter Medication

Controlled Substances
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BASIC CONCEPTS IN DRUG

THERAPY
DOSE: Amount of drug required to get therapeutic effect.
MAXIMAL EFFICACY/ceiling effect:
 The point at which there is no further increase in the
response is known as ceiling effect, or maximal
efficacy, of the drug.
 Dose response curve: used to provide
 information about the dosage range over which the drug
is effective, as well as the peak response that can be
expected from the drug.
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DOSE RESPONSE CURVE AND MAX

EFFICACY
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POTENCY: it is related to the dose that produces a given response in

a specific amplitude. When two drugs are compared, the more potent
drug requires a lower dose to produce the same effect as a higher dose of
the second drug.
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ELEMENTS OF DRUG
SAFTY
QUANTAL DOSE RESPONSE CURVE: Relation of dose to
effectiveness in population ( %age).
 This curve differs from the dose-response curve it is not the
magnitude of the response that increases with increasing the
dosage, but the percentage of the population who exhibit a
specific response as the dosage is increased
MEDIAN EFFECTIVE DOSE(ED50):The dose to which
50% of population responds in specific manner.
MEDIAN TOXIC DOSE(TD50): The dose at which 50%
population develops toxic effects.
MEDIAN LETHAL DOSE(LD50): Used in animals studies.
dose that causes death in 50 percent of the animals studied
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THERAPEUTIC INDEX(TI)
It is ratio of TD50 to ED50.
 TI =TD50/ED50

Higher the therapeutic index safer will be the drug.

Blood monitoring of drugs is required for those

drugs having low therapeutic index
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Thanks