Clinical pharmacology

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Clinical pharmacology

Clinical pharmacology is the science of drugs and their clinical

Clinical

Clinical can refer to:...
use. It is underpinned by the basic science of pharmacology

Pharmacology

Pharmacology is the study of drug action. More specifically it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and exogenous chemicals that alter normal biochemical function....
, with added focus on the application of pharmacological principles and methods in the real world. It has a broad scope, from the discovery of new target molecules, to the effects of drug usage in whole population

Population

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Encyclopedia

Clinical pharmacology is the science of drugs and their clinical

Clinical

Clinical can refer to:...
use. It is underpinned by the basic science of pharmacology

Pharmacology

Population

File:Population density.pngIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings....
s.

Clinical pharmacology connects the gap between medical practice and laboratory science. The main objective is to promote the safety of prescription, maximise the drug effects and minimise the side effects. It is important that there be association with pharmacist

Pharmacist

Pharmacists are health professionals who practice the science of pharmacy. In their traditional role, pharmacists typically take a request for medicines from a prescribing health care provider in the form of a medical prescription and dispense the medication to the patient and counsel them on the proper use and adverse effects of that medic...
s skilled in areas of drug information, medication safety and other aspects of pharmacy practice related to clinical pharmacology.

Clinical pharmacologists usually have a rigorous medical

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a Doctorate for physicians . The degree is granted from medical schools.It is a first professional degree in some countries, including the United States and Canada, although training is entered after obtaining at least 90 hours of university level work ....
and scientific training which enables them to evaluate evidence

Evidence

Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either a) presumed to be true, or b) were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth....
and produce new data through well designed studies

Clinical trial

In health care, clinical trials are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for new drugs or devices. These trials can only take place once satisfactory information has been gathered on the quality of the product and its non-clinical safety, and Institutional review board approval is granted in the country where the trial...
. Clinical pharmacologists must have access to enough outpatients for clinical care, teaching and education, and research as well be supervised by medical specialists. Their responsibilities to patients include, but are not limited to analyzing adverse drug effects, therapeutics, and toxicology including reproductive toxicology, cardiovascular risks, perioperative drug management and psychopharmacology

Psychopharmacology

Psychopharmacology is the study of drug-induced changes in mood, sensation, thinking, and behavior.The field of psychopharmacology studies a wide range of substances with various types of psychoactive properties....
.

In addition, the application of genetic, biochemical, or virotherapuetical techniques has led to a clear appreciation of the mechanisms involved in drug action.

Branches

Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacodynamics

Pharmacodynamics is the study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs on the body or on microorganisms or parasites within or on the body and the mechanisms of drug action and the relationship between drug concentration and effect....
- finding out what drugs do to the body and how. This includes not just the cellular
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
and molecular
Molecule

In chemistry, a molecule is defined as a sufficiently stable, electric charge neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds....
aspects, but also more relevant clinical measurements. For example, not just the biology of salbutamol
Salbutamol

Salbutamol or albuterol is a short-acting beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist used for the relief of bronchospasm in conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease....
, a beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist
Beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist

Beta2-adrenergic agonists, also known as Beta2-adrenergic receptor agonists, are a class of medication used to treat asthma and other lung disease states....
, but the peak flow rate
Peak flow meter

A peak flow meter is a small, hand-held device used to monitor a person's ability to breathe out air. It measures the airflow through the bronchus and thus the degree of obstruction in the airways....
of both healthy volunteers and real patients.

Pharmacokinetics
Pharmacokinetics

Pharmacokinetics is a branch of pharmacology dedicated to the determination of the fate of substances administered externally to a living organism....
- what happens to the drug while in the body. This involves the body systems for handling the drug, usually divided into the following classifcation:

Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
Elimination

Rational Prescribing
Medical prescription

A prescription is a health-care program implemented by a physician or other medical practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual patient....
- using the right medication, at the right dose, using the right route and frequency of administration for the patient, and stopping the drug appropriately.

Adverse Drug Effects
Adverse effect (medicine)

In medicine, an adverse effect is a harmful and undesired effect resulting from a medication or other intervention such as chemotherapy or surgery....

Toxicology
Toxicology

Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms. It is the study of symptoms, mechanisms, treatments and detection of poisoning, especially the poisoning of people....

Drug interaction
Drug interaction

A drug interaction is a situation in which a substance affects the activity of a medication, i.e. the effects are increased or decreased, or they produce a new effect that neither produces on its own....
s

Drug development
Drug development

Drug development or preclinical development is defined in many pharmaceutical companies as the process of taking a new chemical lead through the stages necessary to allow it to be tested in human clinical trials, although a broader definition would encompass the entire process of drug discovery and clinical testing of novel drug candida...
- usually culminating in some form of clinical trial
Clinical trial

In health care, clinical trials are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for new drugs or devices. These trials can only take place once satisfactory information has been gathered on the quality of the product and its non-clinical safety, and Institutional review board approval is granted in the country where the trial...
.

International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology

The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology is a voluntary, non-profit association representing the interests of scientists in pharmacology-related fields to facilitate Better medication through Global Education and Research around the world....
(IUPHAR)