Research project
Pharmacodynamics of analgesics and sedatives in neonates and infants
In neonates and infants, body size, enzyme pathways, and expression and function of receptors and (target) proteins are still developing.
- Contact
- Catherijne Knibbe
Information on drug effects and the sources of variability in these effects remain largely unidentified in this population, yielding suboptimal drug dose selection. To improve this situation, it is essential to study the influence of age and maturation on drug pharmacodynamics, as previous work has led to major achievements in knowledge on drug pharmacokinetics.
This project aims to optimize analgesic and sedative treatment in neonates and infants. Specific focus is on establishing concentration-effect relationships of morphine in a population pharmacodynamics analysis. As pain cannot be measured directly and data in neonates may be particularly scare, advanced data analysis techniques are developed thereby facilitating future pharmacodynamics analyses of other drugs in neonates and children.