Therapeutic Drug Monitoring The Impact of Age on ADME Pharmacokinetics is an important process typified by several activities including absorption, metabolism, distribution, and excretion of chemical compounds. Understanding drug pharmacokinetics is particularly beneficial since it helps researchers and clinicians determine the drug dosage that is safe and effective in the treatment of certain conditions (Ruscin & Linnebur, 2018). Various factors including the age of a person have the potential to influence the pharmacokinetics of drugs. The adsorption of drugs is significantly lower in older persons than younger people. The decreased absorption rate is attributed to the loss of mucosal intestinal surface, a reduction in gastric acidity and a decrease in the flow of blood to the gastrointestinal organs (Ruscin & Linnebur, 2018). Metabolism of drugs, which usually takes place in the liver, is also affected by aging. Aging contributes to a decrease in liver mass and hepatic blood flow. Subsequently, an older person may present with an increased concentration of drugs that go through the hepatic first step effect. A decrease in renal activity is one of the typical characteristics of aging. Therefore, renal elimination of drugs compounds may be affected in old age.
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