[Kinetic analysis of drug disposition and biological response]

This review deals with pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis of drugs. For the analysis of antipyretics, it was assumed that: (1) The rat body is divided into two compartments, core and skin. (2) Metabolic heat (M) is generated in the core compartment. (3) Heat loss by vaporization (V) is mainly originated from a respiratory effect and occurs in the core compartment. (4) At the skin compartment, heat is gained from the core compartment by conduction (K) and is transferred to the ambient air by radiation and convection. (5) Central nervous system commands efferent signals for M, K and V to change their values according to changes in afferent signals from core and skin temperatures. (6) The effect of antipyretics is shown as afferent signals to the controller. For loop diuretics, it was assumed that: (1) The diuretic rate can be correlated with the urinary excretion rate of diuretics. (2) If there is no intervention in a body fluid regulation system, the relationship between the diuretic rate and the corresponding urinary excretion rate can be described by a Hill equation. (3) Intensity of the body fluid regulation is also described by the Hill equation, in which the intensity is correlated with cumulative amount of drugs excreted in the urine. For neuromuscular blockade, assumptions were: (1) There exists an acetylcholine (ACh) compartment at a motor nerve terminal. (2) ACh in the compartment is eliminated by a first-order rate process. (3) All of the ACh in the compartment is released by one electrical stimulus. (4) The compartment is replenished by two kinds of ACh mobilization. One is a slow mobilization with a constant rate and the other is a momentary mobilization which takes place just after the release of ACh. (5) The released ACh is metabolized immediately after binding to receptors and causing a twitch response. For centrally acting drugs, the quantitative electroencephalographic (EEG) method was used as a surrogate measure of a pharmacological response. Signals from two electrodes fitted on the skull of rats were continuously measured, recorded and subjected to off-line analysis. Total amplitude from aperiodic analysis was taken as an EEG parameter.