Applied Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Psychopharmacological Agents

Book excerpt: This book is a comprehensive resource on psychotropic medications, detailing the latest methods for defining their characteristics, their use in different patient populations, and drug-drug interactions; an important collection of information forclinicians, students, researchers, and members of the pharmaceutical industry alike. The first section provides the foundational principles of these drugs. Mathematical modeling of parameters that affect their entryto,and exit from, the central nervous system (CNS) compartment are presented on an individual basis and then applied to target populations with specific disease states. Methods and characteristics that inform the transfer of these drugs from the laboratory bench to use in patient care are discussed, including imaging techniques, genetics and physiological barriers, such as the blood-brain barrier. The second section describes the characteristics of specific agents,nominally arranged intodifferent therapeutic categories and with reference crossover use in different disease states. The pharmacologic characteristics of different drug formulations are explored in the context of their ability to improve patient adherence. The third section focuses on drug-drug interactions.Psychotropic medications from different categories are frequently prescribed together,or alongside medications used to treat comorbid conditions, and the information provided is directly relevant to the clinic, as a result. The clinical application of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of CNS agents has made significant progress over the past 50 years and new information is reported by numerous publications in psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology.Our understanding of the interrelationship between these medications, receptors, drug transporters, as well as techniques for measurement and monitoring their interactions,isfrequently updated. However, with information presented on a host of different platforms, and in different formats, obtaining the full picture can be difficult. This title aims to collate this information into a single source that can be easily interpreted and applied towards patient care by the clinical practitioner, and act as a reference for all others who have an interest in psychopharmacological agents.