ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Schild's ladder

Okay kiddo, let me tell you about Schild's ladder. Imagine you are climbing up a ladder, each rung higher than the one before it. This ladder has a special power called "inhibition." This means that when you reach a certain rung, you can use this power to stop or slow down the activity of the rungs below you.

Now, let's look at Schild's ladder from a scientific perspective. Schild's ladder is a hypothesis in pharmacology that explains how drugs can work to stop or slow down the activity of certain receptors in the body. Receptors are like little doors in our cells that allow things in or out. Certain drugs can act like keys to these doors, either unlocking them and increasing activity or locking them and decreasing activity.

So, Schild's ladder explains that drugs can work by climbing up this ladder of receptors, one rung at a time. Each rung represents a level of activity of the receptor, with the lower rungs being more active and higher rungs being less active. When a drug reaches the top of the ladder, it can use its "inhibition" power to slow down or stop the activity of the receptors below it.

In simpler terms, Schild's ladder is a way of understanding how drugs can interact with our cells and affect their activity. Just like climbing a ladder, certain drugs can climb up the ladder of receptors in our cells and use their power to slow things down or stop them altogether.