Human Drug Metabolism An Introduction

Human Drug Metabolism, An Introduction, Second Edition provides an accessible introduction to the subject and will be particularly invaluable to those who already have some understanding of the life sciences. Completely revised and updated throughout, the new edition focuses only on essential chemical detail and includes patient case histories to illustrate the clinical consequences of changes in drug metabolism and its impact on patient welfare. After underlining the relationship between efficacy, toxicity and drug concentration, the book then considers how metabolizing systems operate and how they impact upon drug concentration, both under drug pressure and during inhibition. Factors affecting drug metabolism, such as genetic polymorphisms, age and diet are discussed and how metabolism can lead to toxicity is explained. The book concludes with the role of drug metabolism in the commercial development of therapeutic agents as well as the pharmacology of some illicit drugs. Completely revised and updated throughout with new chapter on drug metabolism and disease states with the Clinical Relevance Section revised to include current clinical status of CYP2D6/CYP2C9 genotyping (cost problems, lack of physician knowledge, uncertainty as to how the information can be used) as well as cost/benefit. more examples of induction with newer anticonvulsants, OTC herbal remedies with expanded coverage of the impact on protease inhibitorsNew section on Butyrylcholinesterase and the neuromuscular blockers (mivacurium etc) and new material on dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase/5-FU and recent toxicity studies.