What does AUC mean in pharmacology?

area under the curve
In pharmacology, the area under the plot of plasma concentration of a drug versus time after dosage (called “area under the curve” or AUC) gives insight into the extent of exposure to a drug and its clearance rate from the body.

What is drug toxicity?

Toxicity refers to how poisonous or harmful a substance can be. In the context of pharmacology, drug toxicity occurs when a person has accumulated too much of a drug in his bloodstream, leading to adverse effects on the body.

How is drug toxicity measured?

Toxicity can be measured by its effects on the target (organism, organ, tissue or cell) or indirectly by measuring altered biological function downstream after acute, subchronic or chronic exposure to a chemical or biological entity. Drug exposure is then used as a proxy or surrogate for the undesirable effects.

Why is AUC important pharmacology?

The AUC (from zero to infinity) represents the total drug exposure across time. AUC is a useful metric when trying to determine whether two formulations of the same dose (for example a capsule and a tablet) result in equal amounts of tissue or plasma exposure.

What does area under the curve indicate?

Definition. A common use of the term “area under the curve” (AUC) is found in pharmacokinetic literature. It represents the area under the plasma concentration curve, also called the plasma concentration-time profile. The AUC is a measure of total systemic exposure to the drug.

What are signs of drug toxicity?

If you take too much of a stimulant-like drug, such as cocaine, amphetamine, crack or ecstasy, overdose signs can include:

• anxiety and paranoia.
• restlessness or agitation.
• hallucinations.
• high temperature.
• chest pain.
• rapid breathing.
• irregular or fast heartbeat.

What is determined by AUC?

What are Cmax and AUC?

Abstract. In bioequivalence studies, the maximum concentration (Cmax) is shown to reflect not only the rate but also the extent of absorption. Cmax is highly correlated with the area under the curve (AUC) contrasting blood concentration with time.

How is AUC calculated?

The AUC can be computed by adjusting the values in the matrix so that cells where the positive case outranks the negative case receive a 1 , cells where the negative case has higher rank receive a 0 , and cells with ties get 0.5 (since applying the sign function to the difference in scores gives values of 1, -1, and 0 …

What does AUC stand for in pharmacodynamics?

The AUC (from zero to infinity) represents the total drug exposure across time. Assuming linear pharmacodynamics with elimination rate constant K, one can show that AUC is proportional to the total amount of drug absorbed by the body.

How is the AUC related to the dose?

This total amount corresponds to the fraction of the dose administered that reaches the systemic circulation. The AUC is directly proportional to the dose when the drug follows linear kinetics. The AUC is inversely proportional to the clearance of the drug.

How are AUC and bioavailability of a drug Measured?

AUC and bioavailability. This is often measured by quantifying the “AUC”. In order to determine the respective AUCs, the serum concentration vs. time plots are typically gathered using C-14 labeled drugs and AMS (accelerated mass spectroscopy).

When do you need an AUC for a drug study?

AUC studies are often used when researchers are looking for drug-drug or drug-food interactions. The way to get an AUC involves collecting many blood samples (usually every one or two hours) right after a person takes a dose up until the next dose is due.