| Drug terminology — what the...? | |
Let's explore some of them!
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Blockers . . . inhibitors . . . receptors . . . half-life . . . agonists . . . antagonists . . . therapeutic levels . . . addiction . . . neurotransmitter . . . tolerance . . .
Confused yet? As we try to learn more about the various drugs that can be used in treating headache disorders, terms such as those above are coming up with increasing frequency. One person said to me via email,
"I totally buy into your premise that a better educated patient will gain more from their treatment, but sometimes I can't begin to fathom the forum conversations about drugs because of the terms used."
I can definitely relate to
that problem as I've found myself reaching for reference books more than once.
While we won't be able to address every possible term here, I'm going to give
some basic explanations of some of those used most often. For others, please
check our Headache Glossary.
Addiction: uncontrollable psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice that is beyond voluntary control and has progressed to a degree that withdrawal from it causes severe reactions.
Agonist: a drug that shows an affinity for and stimulates a receptor.
Analgesic: a drug that relieves pain.
Antagonist: a drug that has an affinity for a receptor but doesn't stimulate it and prevents a response from occurring.
Half-life: the amount of time taken for half of the drug to be eliminated by the body.
Inhibitor: a substance that prevents or retards chemical, enzymatic, or physiologic action.
Margin of Safety: the relationship between the desired therapeutic effects of a drug and it's adverse effects. (Also referred to as therapeutic index) This is an especially important concept because when drugs have a narrow margin of safety, there's little difference between a therapeutic does and a lethal dose.
Narcotic: any drug, synthetic or naturally occurring, with effects similar to those of opium and opium derivatives.
Neuron: the basic nerve cell of the nervous system.
Neurotransmitter: a chemical that modifies or results in transmission of nerve impulses between synapses.
NSAID, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug: a drug that reduces pain and inflammation without the use of steroids.
Opioid: originally, a term used to refer to synthetic narcotics resembling opiates but increasingly used to refer to both opiates and synthetic narcotics.
Opiate: any preparation or derivative of opium.
Potentiate: to enhance the effects of a drug. (Caffeine is often added to compounded drugs as a potentiating agent.)
Receptor: a protein molecule, either inside or on the surface of a cell, that selectively receives and binds a specific substance. If a drug works on only one receptor, it's termed a selective receptor.
Serotonin: a naturally occurring derivative of tryptophan. Found in the cells of the brain, in platelets, and in the intestine. In the central nervous system , it is a key neurotransmitter. In the blood vessels, it is released from platelets when blood vessel walls are damaged. Serotonin is also called 5-hydroxytriptamine.
Serotonin Agonist: drug that attacks migraine at its source by selectively binding to receptors in the brain that regulate the release of serotonin.
Steroids: a large family of substances, including many hormones and drugs containing the tetracyclic cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene skeleton.
Synapse: junction between nerve cells where nerve impulses are transferred from one neuron to another.
Therapeutic Dose: the dose of a drug that is required to achieve a desired result.
Therapeutic Level: the level of a drug that is required in the bloodstream to maintain a desired result.
Tolerance:
decreased response to a drug over time, requiring more medication to produce the
same results.
The definitions/explanations above are simplified, but should provide a basis to better understand our meds or discuss them with our doctors or on the forum. If you'd like a more in-depth definition of any of them, you can look them up online in the Stedman's Medical Dictionary.
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