Drugs Looking for Diseases

Drugs Looking for Diseases PDF

Author: R. Vos

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 940113796X

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We all know how much time, effort and money it takes to develop a new drug. Hundreds of chemical compounds have to be synthesized and thousands of different activities in biology, physiology, pharmacology, clinical investigation, management and marketing have to be initiated and coordinated. Each new drug starts a voyage of discovery through an unmapped terrain which is shrouded in mist and beset by pitfalls, as Dr. Rein Vos puts it in his absorbing inside story of the development of the beta-adrenoceptor blocking agents and the calcium antagonists. Indeed we know, for example, how long it took before the theory of Ahlquist of the alpha and beta adrenergic receptors was widely accepted. Similarly, it suffices to memorize shortly the difficulty of expanding the new concept of calcium antagonism through the national German boundaries into the world. This shows how laborious and complex pharmaceutical progress is, and we all will benefit from a deeper understanding of the process of innovative drug research.

The Future of Drug Discovery

The Future of Drug Discovery PDF

Author: Tamas Bartfai

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2013-05-18

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 0124095194

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The Future of Drug Discovery: Who decides which diseases to treat? provides a timely and detailed look at the efforts of the pharmaceutical industry and how they relate, or should relate, to societal needs. The authors posit that as a result of increasing risk aversion and accelerated savings in research and development, the industry is not developing drugs for increasingly prevalent diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, untreatable pain, antibiotics and more. This book carefully exposes the gap between the medicines and therapies we need and the current business path. By analyzing the situation and discussing prospects for the next decade, the The Future of Drug Discovery is a timely book for all those who care about the development needs for drugs for disease. Provides an in-depth, broad perspective on the crisis in drug industry Exposes the disconnect between what society needs and what the drug companies are working on Analyses and projects over 10 years into the future Explains what it means for scientists and society Determines what is needed to be done to make sure that the industry responds to society's needs, remains commercially attractive and answers the question as to who decides which diseases to treat

Pills, Potions and Poisons : How Drugs Work

Pills, Potions and Poisons : How Drugs Work PDF

Author: Trevor Stone

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2000-03-16

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 9780191587849

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About half of all the medicines prescribed by doctors are not taken by their patients. One of the reasons most commonly given by patients for not taking drugs is that they feel unhappy about taking medicines which they do not understand and of which they are afraid. This book attempts to rectify this problem by showing in clear, non-technical language how medicines and other drugs work in the body to reduce the effects of disease. Most chapters include fascinating background information on how some of our most important drugs were discovered, along with intriguing and often amusing anecdotes about the drugs and the people behind their discovery. Each chapter also includes a summary of the key points together with illustrations, photographs or diagrams to summarise the main groups and how they work in the body. The book covers all the major groups of drugs, with complete listings of all the drugs available in the UK and the USA, so that the reader can locate his or her specific drug and read about the actions of the drugs in that group. The various chapters cover drugs used to treat high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, ulcers, cancers, infections, impotence, incontinence, arthritis, osteoporosis, as well as hormone replacement therapy, oral contraceptives and drugs used in disorders of the brain such as schizophrenia, depression, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. There is also a chapter on drugs which are abused such as cannabis, alcohol, nicotine and ecstasy, and a chapter covering some of the poisons we encounter, such as carbon monoxide, arsenic, sheep dip, and the venoms of snakes, spiders, scorpions and marine organisms. Here, then, a fascinating survey of how chemicals have their effects in the body. It shows how drugs work and explains why it is that taking some medicines for many years is far safer than suffering the long-term effects of disease. Pills, Potions and Poisons is an entertaining read that should also help to improve your health and quality of life.

Drug Repurposing

Drug Repurposing PDF

Author: Farid A. Badria

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2020-12-02

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 1839685204

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Drug repurposing or drug repositioning is a new approach to presenting new indications for common commercial and clinically approved existing drugs. For example, chloroquine, an old antimalarial drug, showed promising results for treating COVID-19, interfering with MDR in several types of cancer, and chemosensitizing human leukemic cells.This book focuses on the hypothesis, risk/benefits, and economic impacts of drug repurposing on drug discovery in dermatology, infectious diseases, neurological disorders, cancer, and orphan diseases. It brings together up-to-date research to provide readers with an informative, illustrative, and easy-to-read book useful for students, clinicians, and the pharmaceutical industry.

The Selection and Use of Essential Medicines

The Selection and Use of Essential Medicines PDF

Author: WHO Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines

Publisher: WHO

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13:

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This report presents the recommendations of the WHO Expert Committee responsible for updating the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. The first part contains a progress report on the new procedures for updating the Model List and the development of the WHO Essential Medicines Library. It continues with a section on changes made in revising the Model List followed by a review of some sections such as hypertensive medicines and fast track procedures for deleting items. Annexes include the 13th version of the Model List and items on the list sorted according to their 5-level Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification codes.

Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs

Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs PDF

Author: Jules J. Berman

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2014-05-26

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 0124200095

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Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs shows that much of what we now know about common diseases has been achieved by studying rare diseases. It proposes that future advances in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of common diseases will come as a consequence of our accelerating progress in the field of rare diseases. Understanding the complex steps in the development of common diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic diseases, has proven a difficult problem. Rare diseases, however, are often caused by aberrations of a single gene. In rare diseases, we may study how specific genetic defects can trigger a series of events that lead to the expression of a particular disease. Often, the disease process manifested in a certain rare disease is strikingly similar to the disease process observed in a common disease. This work ties the lessons learned about rare diseases to our understanding of common ones. Chapters covering the number of common diseases are minimized, while rare diseases are introduced as single diseases or as members of diseases classes. After reading this book, readers will appreciate how further research into the rare diseases may lead to new methods for preventing, diagnosing, and treating all diseases, rare or common. Makes rare diseases relevant to clinicians and researchers by tying lessons learned about the rare diseases to our understanding of the common diseases Stresses basic pathologic mechanisms that account for human disease (e.g., disorders of cell development, replication, maintenance, function and structure), that can be understood without prior training in pathology Discusses advanced concepts in molecular biology and genetics in a simple, functional context appropriate for medical trainees and new researchers Offers insights into how further research into rare diseases may lead to new methods for preventing, diagnosing, and treating all diseases

The Biology of Desire

The Biology of Desire PDF

Author: Marc Lewis

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2015-07-14

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1610394380

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Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned neuroscientist explains why the "disease model" of addiction is wrong and illuminates the path to recovery. The psychiatric establishment and rehab industry in the Western world have branded addiction a brain disease. But in The Biology of Desire, cognitive neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes a convincing case that addiction is not a disease, and shows why the disease model has become an obstacle to healing. Lewis reveals addiction as an unintended consequence of the brain doing what it's supposed to do-seek pleasure and relief-in a world that's not cooperating. As a result, most treatment based on the disease model fails. Lewis shows how treatment can be retooled to achieve lasting recovery. This is enlightening and optimistic reading for anyone who has wrestled with addiction either personally or professionally.