Modeling the Human Body as a Dynamical System: Applications to Drug Discovery and Development

• Published in: The Control Handbook pp. 567 - 576
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom CRC Press 2011; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Electronics engineering; ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY; SCIENCE: GENERAL ISSUES; MPC; HIV Treatment; National Health Expenditure; Michaelis Menten Kinetics; Traditional Pk; RTI; PBPK; Noninfectious Virions; Target Mediated Drug Disposition; Uninfected Cells; Compartmental Models; PhRMA; Infectious Virions; IMS Health; ADME; Uninfected CD4; Infected CD4; NME; CMR; Animal Studies; Artificial Pancreas; Unknown Parameter Set; Drug Discovery; Ordinary Differential Equations; Reaction Diffusion Model
• ISBN: 9781420073607; 1420073605
• DOI: 10.1201/b10382-32

The objective of this article is to introduce the reader to some aspects of drug discovery where system theory can potentially play a useful role. Specifically, attention is focused on modeling the human body as a dynamical system, so that the action of a drug (both beneficial as well as unwanted) can possibly be predicted in a systematic fashion. We begin by describing the current serious, almost crisis-like, situation in drug discovery. Thenwe describe two out of themany success stories of physiologicalmodeling, namely the glucose-insulin control system in diabetics, and the control of infection amongHIV patients. Thenwe conclude with a brief description of how probabilistic methods can be used tomodel/predict toxicity. The overall message is that, given the current state of knowledge of human physiology, it is quite reasonable for control and system theorists to aspire to play a significant role in drug discovery and development.