This project will improve our understanding of how painkiller medicines work in very old and frail people which will improve the use of these medicines in pain management. This study will carefully examine pain control with two of the most commonly used pain killer medicines - paracetamol and oxycodone. By understanding all the factors that influence an older persons pain control we will be able to improve the safe and effective use of painkiller medicines in this special group of people.
There is evidence that elderly cancer patients are often inappropriately treated because of their age. This is usually because of concerns that aged patients can not eliminate drugs as well as the young and, as a result, could end up being overdosed. Some drugs are removed from the body through the urine and adjusting for decreased kidney function (which often decreases with age) means that adequate doses can be calculated. However, many anti-cancer drugs are removed from the body by being broke ....There is evidence that elderly cancer patients are often inappropriately treated because of their age. This is usually because of concerns that aged patients can not eliminate drugs as well as the young and, as a result, could end up being overdosed. Some drugs are removed from the body through the urine and adjusting for decreased kidney function (which often decreases with age) means that adequate doses can be calculated. However, many anti-cancer drugs are removed from the body by being broken down (or metabolised) in the liver. The rate of this process is very difficult to estimate. Although many studies have shown that liver drug metabolism is decreased with age, it is unclear whether this is due strictly to age itself or some of the conditions which accompany ageing. We aim to study the removal of anti-cancer drugs in patients treated for cancer to see what the effects of ageing are. We will estimate the extent of liver breakdown and examine whether it is a function of age or rather of several factors which are often associated with age such as inflammation, reduced nutritional status and other medical conditions. The optimal outcome of the study will be methods for correctly adjusting the dose of anticancer drugs for maximal benefit to the elderly patient.Read moreRead less
Effects Of Ageing On Hepatic Drug Clearance And Mechanisms Of Drug Induced Liver Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$581,892.00
Summary
With increasing age, there is increase in disease, for which medications may provide benefit, and an increase in the risk of adverse drug reactions, even after considering the increase in medication use by older people. We will investigate how the liver clears drugs from the blood in old age. This will guide dosing of medications for older people. We will also study how drugs injure the liver in old age and test interventions to prevent this toxicity.