title: Managing medication in the elderly.
abstract: The elderly receive 30% of all prescriptions and buy 40% of all OTC drugs. In addition to the potential pitfalls inherent to age-related changes in bioavailability and clearance, there are less well-known hazards in prescribing for the aged. Many drugs, for example, have powerful anticholinergic properties, and a generic agent may differ markedly from both the brand drug and another generic version.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Piraino
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D001682:Biological Availability; D016568:Drugs, Generic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010599:Pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D016568:Drugs, Generic; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations