Clinical Geriatric Pharmacology

The range of disorders of old age that are thought potentially amenable to drug therapy is increasing. However, factors such as the growing costs of drug development and prescription, the novel pharmacological profile and enhanced potency of many new compounds, and the concerns that the elderly may have enhanced susceptibility to toxicity all make drug usage in the elderly patient an increasingly specialized topic. This is compounded by the high incidence of multiple disorders in frail elderly patients, and consequently the possibility of the long term use of several drugs, thus, adding the risk of drug interactions. Thus, clinical pharmacology in the elderly requires understanding of pharmacologic characteristic determinants of the physiological changes (Table 1) associated with aging in terms of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.