NSG 531 Advanced
Pharmacology Exam 2
Comprehensive Questions with
Verified Answers Graded A+
Pharmacodynamics: - Answer: what the drug does to the body
What is an LDR curve? - Answer: A log dose response curve, or a curve that describes the
relationship bewteen the drug effect (Y axis) and the log of the dose (X axis).
What is the difference between quantal and graded LDR curves? - Answer: Graded: the effect of
the drug falls on a scale (i.e. how many mmHG did the BP decline when plotted against an
increasing log dose?)
Quantal: the "response" is predefined (i.e. a SBP < 130 mmHg) and data is plotted to show who
was affected and who wasn't. an either/or situation.
Potency - Answer: The dose of a drug necessary to produce 50% of a drug's maximal effect
(ED50). Sort of tells you "how much bang you get for your buck" in terms of solely dosage
amount.
If the maximal response to a new medication is a 50mmHg decline in SBP, what is the ED50 on a
graded LDR curve? - Answer: The dosage that will produce a 25mmHg declined in SBP.
,If the desired response for a new medication is a decrease in SBP to < 130 mmHg, what is the
ED50 on a quantal LDR curve? - Answer: The dosage associated with reaching the target BP (<
130) in 50% of the population.
Efficacy - Answer: The maximum response that a drug is capable of producing.
Compare each drug's potency and efficacy - Answer:
What does the steepness of an LDR curve indicate? - Answer: What degree of effect a dose
change will have (slight change on a steep curve will elicit large effects, big change on a flat
curve will elicit small effects).
ED50 - Answer: The dose of a medication that produces a specific therapeutic effect in 50% of
the population.
TD50 - Answer: The dose of a medication that produces a specific toxic effect in 50% of the
population.
Therapeutic index - Answer: TD50/ED50, or the space between the therapeutic and toxic LDR
curves of a drug.
True or false: a drug with a wide therapeutic index is generally safer than a drug with a narrow
therapeutic index. - Answer: True
Calculate the therapeutic index of a drug if the ED50 = 0.4 and the TD50 = 40. - Answer: 40/0.4 =
100
True or false: you can visually compare the therapeutic indexes, and safety, of two drugs with
different slopes. - Answer: False - if the two drugs have curves that are not parallel to each other
they are not easily compared.
, Stereoisomer - Answer: A drug that has both an active and inactive isomer, formulated so that
the active isomer is at a dose that achieves the therapeutic response.
Enantiomers - Answer: Mirror image stereoisomers (have the same chemical structure with a
different orientation) that have different pharmacological effects.
Racemic mixture - Answer: An equal mixture of two enantiomers. Ex: Albuterol, consisting of
the active isomer (R-albuterol) and an inactive isomer (S-albuterol). Effects from the inactive
isomer are usually clinically insignificant.
Ka - Answer: The volume needed to get one mole of unbound drug when 50% of the target
receptors are occupied.
Kd - Answer: The concentration of drug in the plasma when 50% of the target receptors are
occupied
Partial agonist - Answer: A drug that binds to a receptor and stimulates an effect that has both
lower potency (curve is shifted right of the full agonist) and efficacy (curve is shorter in height).
Why would we give a partial agonist? - Answer: To prevent undesirable side effects of the full
agonist, or because the full agonist isn't necessary. Ex: greater pain relief and psychotropic
effects from methadone, but less respiratory depression from buprenorphine.
Competitive antagonism - Answer: Reversible; effects depend on the relative concentration of
the agonist and antagonists (which also occupy receptor sites)
What will the LDR curve of an agonist combined with a fixed dose of a competitive antagonist
look like? - Answer: Parallel to the agonist curve, but shifted to the right. Effects of the
antagonist can be overcome with an increased dose of the agonist.
Pharmacology Exam 2
Comprehensive Questions with
Verified Answers Graded A+
Pharmacodynamics: - Answer: what the drug does to the body
What is an LDR curve? - Answer: A log dose response curve, or a curve that describes the
relationship bewteen the drug effect (Y axis) and the log of the dose (X axis).
What is the difference between quantal and graded LDR curves? - Answer: Graded: the effect of
the drug falls on a scale (i.e. how many mmHG did the BP decline when plotted against an
increasing log dose?)
Quantal: the "response" is predefined (i.e. a SBP < 130 mmHg) and data is plotted to show who
was affected and who wasn't. an either/or situation.
Potency - Answer: The dose of a drug necessary to produce 50% of a drug's maximal effect
(ED50). Sort of tells you "how much bang you get for your buck" in terms of solely dosage
amount.
If the maximal response to a new medication is a 50mmHg decline in SBP, what is the ED50 on a
graded LDR curve? - Answer: The dosage that will produce a 25mmHg declined in SBP.
,If the desired response for a new medication is a decrease in SBP to < 130 mmHg, what is the
ED50 on a quantal LDR curve? - Answer: The dosage associated with reaching the target BP (<
130) in 50% of the population.
Efficacy - Answer: The maximum response that a drug is capable of producing.
Compare each drug's potency and efficacy - Answer:
What does the steepness of an LDR curve indicate? - Answer: What degree of effect a dose
change will have (slight change on a steep curve will elicit large effects, big change on a flat
curve will elicit small effects).
ED50 - Answer: The dose of a medication that produces a specific therapeutic effect in 50% of
the population.
TD50 - Answer: The dose of a medication that produces a specific toxic effect in 50% of the
population.
Therapeutic index - Answer: TD50/ED50, or the space between the therapeutic and toxic LDR
curves of a drug.
True or false: a drug with a wide therapeutic index is generally safer than a drug with a narrow
therapeutic index. - Answer: True
Calculate the therapeutic index of a drug if the ED50 = 0.4 and the TD50 = 40. - Answer: 40/0.4 =
100
True or false: you can visually compare the therapeutic indexes, and safety, of two drugs with
different slopes. - Answer: False - if the two drugs have curves that are not parallel to each other
they are not easily compared.
, Stereoisomer - Answer: A drug that has both an active and inactive isomer, formulated so that
the active isomer is at a dose that achieves the therapeutic response.
Enantiomers - Answer: Mirror image stereoisomers (have the same chemical structure with a
different orientation) that have different pharmacological effects.
Racemic mixture - Answer: An equal mixture of two enantiomers. Ex: Albuterol, consisting of
the active isomer (R-albuterol) and an inactive isomer (S-albuterol). Effects from the inactive
isomer are usually clinically insignificant.
Ka - Answer: The volume needed to get one mole of unbound drug when 50% of the target
receptors are occupied.
Kd - Answer: The concentration of drug in the plasma when 50% of the target receptors are
occupied
Partial agonist - Answer: A drug that binds to a receptor and stimulates an effect that has both
lower potency (curve is shifted right of the full agonist) and efficacy (curve is shorter in height).
Why would we give a partial agonist? - Answer: To prevent undesirable side effects of the full
agonist, or because the full agonist isn't necessary. Ex: greater pain relief and psychotropic
effects from methadone, but less respiratory depression from buprenorphine.
Competitive antagonism - Answer: Reversible; effects depend on the relative concentration of
the agonist and antagonists (which also occupy receptor sites)
What will the LDR curve of an agonist combined with a fixed dose of a competitive antagonist
look like? - Answer: Parallel to the agonist curve, but shifted to the right. Effects of the
antagonist can be overcome with an increased dose of the agonist.
