The time course of drug effects.

This review aims to introduce the concepts and principles underpinning the time course of drug effects. Models describing the time course of drug concentrations (pharmacokinetic models) and the ensuing concentration-effect (pharmacodynamics models) as well as the linked time-effect (pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic models) are introduced. Different types of drug time-effects models are discussed with examples which aim to explain the time course of onset, duration, and maximal effect that occurs from any given dosing schedule. These drug effects are also described in relation to disease progression models.