The Agonist-Antagonist Spectrum: What You Need to Know

Explain the agonist-to-antagonist spectrum of action of psychopharmacologic agents 

Understanding the meaning of these two terms is critical towards understanding their spectrum of action of psychopharmacologic agents. By definition, an agonist is a chemical that binds to a receptor, activates to produce a biological process. On the other hand, an antagonist act by blocking the action of the agonist. The agonist opens the channel the maximal amount and frequency allowed by the binding site, while antagonists that lie in the middle of the spectrum retain the resting state with the infrequent opening of the channel. After that, the ion channels are deactivated by the inverse agonist (Angell & Bolden, 2015).During this time, nothing can enter the agonist spectrum because the Antagonists block the channel. It also ensures that ions deactivated at all instances. At these states, an agonist locks into a receptor site, and this gives rise to biological response. While that process takes place, the antagonist works against the drug and blocks the receptor in the process. It then stimulates the action, while antagonist remains in its deactivated states. “For ideal therapeutic action of a drug, ion flow and signal transduction are required that is not too hot, neither too cold and has the right balance. Such an ideal state varies from one clinical case to another and depends upon the balance between agonism and silent antagonism” (Stefanska & MacEwan, 2015). 

Compare and contrast the actions of g couple proteins and ion gated channels 

The G protein-coupled receptors have a single polypeptide that is threaded over membrane on the other side, and the ion channels have pores that upon ligand binding, they are flexible to open and close. Also, G protein-coupled receptors can associate or interact with many proteins for an intracellular response. On the other hand, the ion channels regulate to have a critical role in regulating and maintaining the flow of ion. Furthermore, G protein involves GTP, while ion channels do not. Note that " GPCR are G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a family of integral transmembrane proteins that possess seven transmembrane domains and link to a heterotrimeric G protein” (Lundstorm, 2015). On the other hand, ligand-gated ion channels changes conformation to open a channel in the cell membrane through which ions relaying signals can pass. 

Explain the role of epigenetics in the pharmacologic action 

Epigenetics is a mechanism that can either promote to suppress the genetic expressions without doing away of changing the nature of the genetic coding in an organism. It implies a system genetic expression alteration with no genome's sequence alterations. The process is cri6tical in the body because through it, there is regulation of the gene activity that is important in maintaining the normal phenotypic activity of cells in an organism. In this process, epigenetics is also critical in the process of treatment of different diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, which may include dementia and schizophrenia ( Mental Heal Daily, 2018). 

Explain how this information may impact the way you prescribe medications to clients. Include a specific example of a situation or case with a client in which the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner must be aware of the medication’s action. 

The information is critical at an individual level and also healthcare sectors in general. With such knowledge, healthcare providers can determine how effective medication will be short term and long-term ( Barron, 2018). Determining the right medication for a patient for the first time medications can make a difference and improve the patient's quality of life and reduce the chances of harming the patient. Through understanding such pharmacology of drugs, a psychiatric nurse is in a position to prescribe the right drug for the victim to reduce the chances of giving pout the wrong drugs that can lead to harm. Take, for instance, a drug like a benzodiazepine that reduces anxiety, but extended daily treatment may lead to rapid tolerance onset. There is a high chance that such a drug may result in side effects if wrongly prescribe by the nurse, but can be useful for anxiety when used accordingly. 

References 

Angell, B., & Bolden, G. B. (2015). Justifying medication decisions in mental health care: Psychiatrists’ accounts for treatment recommendations.  Social Science & Medicine, 138 (2), 44-56. 

Barron, S. (2018). Psychopharmacology. In R. Biswas-Diener& E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. DOI: nobaproject.com 

Lundstrom, K. (2015). What is the potential of epigenetics. Future Medical Chemistry, 7 (3), 239-242. doi:10.4155/FMC.15.2 

Mental Heal Daily. (2018). The Most Dangerous Psychiatric Drugs: Highest Risk Medications. Retrieved from - dangerous-psychiatric-drugs-highest-risk-medications 

Stefanski, B., &MacEwan, D. J. (2015). Epigenetics and pharmacology.  British Journal of Pharmacology, 172 (11), 2701-2704. doi:10.1111/bph.13136