Pharmacodynamics

Pharmacodynamics

Pharmacodynamics starts where pharmacokinetics left off – it assumes that the drug has managed to reach its target, and looks at the principles that govern the interaction between the two.

Almost all drugs will trigger their effects by binding to a receptor. In physiology, the term `receptor' is limited to the sites of action of hormones, neurotransmitters or cy-tokines. While many drugs do indeed bind to such recep-tors, in pharmacology the term is used in a more inclusive sense and is applied to other targets such as enzymes and cytoskeletal proteins as well.