Pharmacokinetics in the 1980s

This article summarizes the achievements of pharmacokinetics and focuses on some areas of current interest. The aims, advantages, and drawbacks of different pharmacokinetic models are discussed. The differences and similarities of compartmental and clearance models, as well as those of other noncompartmental systems, are presented. "Variabilities" are currently the subject of major investigations. A new approach to the study of the behavior of drugs in renal and hepatic diseases has emerged, as has an interest in the combined influences of genetic and environmental factors on the kinetics of drugs. New pharmacokinetic concepts are being developed to analyze the numerous factors responsible for observed variability in drug kinetics and dynamics. These concepts include "population kinetics" and "integrated kinetic-dynamic" models. It appears that pharmacokinetics is now fully accepted as a scientific discipline necessary for the development of new and better drugs for the improved treatment of the individual patient.