Posted by viper1431 on February 3, 2010, at 22:58:22
In reply to Re: What does it mean if a drug has an 'affinity'?, posted by willey on February 3, 2010, at 22:06:43
It can mean either increase or decrease i think. Affinity just means attraction, so it depends exactly what substance is being talked about. For eg a dopamine antagonist with an affinity for d2 receptors will be attracted to and block d2 receptors, such as antipsychotics.
Where as a dopamine agonist with an affinity for d2 will bind to d2 and effectivly increase it (or so the brain is fooled into thinking), such as the case in parkison drugs.
poster:viper1431
thread:935856
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100122/msgs/935913.html