Pharmacology Assignment PDF

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PSY 245 Assignment 4...

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• “ED” stands for effective dose which is the dose at which a given percentage of individuals show a particular effect for a drug (Maisto et al., 2019). ED 50 is an expression used by pharmacologists that indicates 50% of the people who receive that amount of a drug will experience sedation (Maisto et al., 2019). The ED is determined using a dose-effect curve, with the x variable being the drug dose and the y axis the percentage of people showing the effect (Maisto et al., 2019). “LD” stands for lethal dose which is the dose of a drug at which a given percentage of individuals die within a specified time (Maisto et al., 2019). LD 50 is the dose at which 50% of the animals administered a given dose of a drug died within a stated time (Maisto et al., 2019). LD 50 is calculated the same way using a curve and the same variables. o The significance of these doses for public health officials revolve around the issue of accidental suicides, as a result of drug use for nonmedical reasons. In medicine, the goal is to provide a therapeutic dose that is effective for the patient, but produces no side effects and is not lethal. • The Therapeutic Index is a tool used in medicine to measure the safety of a drug when providing medical care (Maisto et al., 2019). The target is an effective dose which relieves symptoms of disease or injury. The larger the therapeutic index of a drug, the more useful it is in medical treatment (Maisto et al., 2019). Also, a dose effect curve that is steeper has less useful therapeutic manifestations (Maisto et al., 2019). Therapeutic index is calculated as a ratio: LD 50 / ED 50 (Maisto et al., 2019). This is useful for health care professionals as a quick guide or reference to the benefits of prescribing drugs as a part of treatment (Maisto et al., 2019).

References Maisto, S. A., Galizio, M., & Connors, G. J. (2019). Drug Use and Abuse (8th ed.). United States of America: Cengage Learning, Inc....