Age-related aspects of pharmacodynamics.

The actions of various drugs in an aging organism has a number of characteristics. The major reasons are the age-related shifts of the morphological, biochemical and functional origin that result in a change with age both of drug pharmacodynamics, and drug pharmacokinetics. The important rule of geriatric pharmacology is to prescribe strictly individual reduced dosages of drugs, especially of those to which the organism is the most sensitive ( Chebotarev , 1978). These primarily include cardiac glucosides, narcotic, hypotensive and neuroplegic drugs. The elderly should be prescribed as fewer drugs as possible. It is advisable that a complex of pharmacological drugs having similar therapeutic effects and supplementing each other, and influencing different links of the organism's self regulation be administered in small doses.