Concise Guide to the Cytochrome P450 System for Psychiatrists

Adverse medication reactions account for up to 7,000 deaths annually in the United States. In today's era of polypharmacy, busy clinicians - especially those who practice in medical/surgical settings - must be able to quickly find and even anticipate psychiatric drug interactions. This book is divided into three parts. Part 1 defines the P450 human oxidase system and its critical importance in metabolizing both endogenous and exogenous compounds, thereby rendering them less active. It also presents an in-depth discussion, tailored for psychiatrists, of pharmacology. Part 2 discusses - complete with case studies and tables - each of the six enzymes (2D6, 3A4, 1A2, 2C9, 2C19 and 2E1) that account for 90% of human drug oxidation. Unique to this guide, part 3 arranges the drugs commonly used in nonpsychiatric medicine that have clinically significant P450 drug interactions by specialty and lists them in tables, with pertinent clinical and research data to support and clarify the issues.
Concluding with appendices that offer suggestions about how to prescribe in a polypharmacy environment and monitor for drug interactions and tips on how to sort through the enormous amount of information available in this area, this concise "how-to" guide should prove valuable to students and practitioners in psychiatric (in complicated medical/surgical settings, such as geriatrics) and nonpsychiatric (primary care, family practice, internal medicine and obstetrics/gynaecology) specialties alike.