Drug therapy considerations in the elderly.

The growing elderly population receives an increasing proportion of the prescriptions dispensed each year. There are a number of problems associated with drug therapy in the elderly. This article reviews some of the pharmacological factors, which may change with increasing age, including absorption, transportation, tissue localization, receptor sites, homeostasis, excretion and metabolism, and which in turn may alter the action of a drug. Suggestions are made regarding the treatment of elderly patients.