title: [Drug therapy of elderly patients from the viewpoint of the clinical pharmacologist].
abstract: Polypragmasy (polypharmacotherapy) is often due to the frequent incidence of multimorbidity among elderly patients. This may evoke unpredictable drug-interactions, which often become a reason for hospitalization. Additional medications might be the consequence. Geriatric patients are often characterized by variant pharmacokinetic parameters. Individualized drug-therapy should take into consideration not only the patients' age, liver and kidney functions but also the individual variability of hepatic metabolization and drug-resorption in the intestine based on genetic polymorphisms. Summing up, it is very important to verify a consisting or a new drug-therapy concerning its risk-benefit ratio and if it is needed, to omit or change some of the medications.
authors.affiliation: Zentrum für Gerontopharmakologie, Institut für Klinische Pharmakologie, Fakultät für Klinische Medizin Mannheim, Universität Heidelberg. martin.wehling@kpha.ma.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wehling
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peiter
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D000075202:Contraindications; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D010599:Pharmacokinetics; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations