Skip to main content
Please wait while the transcript is being prepared...
0:00
Hello. My name is Dr. Wayne Carter. This lecture is entitled Drug Safety. Drug benefits.
0:09
A drug has to complete safety and efficacy testing and predictions, and these are undertaken in silico, in vitro, and in vivo. Subsequently, drug administration has to balance the patient benefit versus the risk of adverse effects.
0:30
Drug adverse effects. Low drug specificity could result in off-target, undesired side effects. The risk of these adverse effects is proportional to drug concentration such that at higher drug concentration, there is increased likelihood that the drug will have off-target effects, and therefore, a potential for induction of toxicity.
0:57
Mechanism of drug toxicity. Toxicity can be mediated by drug on-target effects, such as excessive inhibition of enzymatic activity, or by off-target effects, which represent imperfect drug selectivity. Drugs can also induce general toxicity to cells via the induction of redox stress and deplete the cellular redox (antioxidant) defence systems. For example, oxygen, as shown here, can gain an electron and exist as a superoxide anion, O_2-. This is one of a series of molecules known as reactive oxygen species, or ROS. High levels of ROS in association with redox stress can damage proteins, lipids, and DNA.

Quiz available with full talk access. Request Free Trial or Login.