Drug dependence and drug abuse
Many drugs are taken for non-medical purposes, most commonly to generate a sense of well-being or to give pleasure. Drug dependence arises with centrally acting drugs producing a psychological reward…
PHARMACY
Venoms, toxins, poisons and herbs
It is important to note that the scientific discovery of new medicines has often been derived from venoms, toxins, poisons and chemicals derived from plants. It is therefore important to…
Prescribing and personalizing drug treatments
Variation in drug responses between individuals can be affected by ethnicity, age, gender, pregnancy, disease and drug interactions. Thus the practitioner must take these factors into account for effective and…
Drugs and cancer
The term cancer refers to a malignant tumour. Cancer cells can manifest, in greater or lesser degree, uncontrolled proliferation, invasiveness, the ability to metastasize and/or infiltrate normal tissues and loss…
Drugs and parasites: Anti-protozoal and anti-helminthic drugs
The main protozoans that produce disease in humans are those causing malaria, amoebiasis, pneumocystis infection, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis. Malaria Malaria, a mosquito-borne disease caused by various Plasmodium species, is a…
Antifungal drugs
Antifungal Drugs The incidence of fungal infections has been increasing with the spread of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and the increased use of broad-spectrum antibiotics that reduce the non-pathogenic bacteria…
Antiviral drugs
Viruses consist essentially of DNA or RNA in a protein coat. They have no ribosomes or protein-synthesizing apparatus, although some contain enzymes. They replicate by taking over the metabolic processes…
Drug use in dentistry
Physiology of the oral cavity The teeth and supporting tissues provide the initial digestive process essential to all bodily activities. Chewing and swallowing are carried out by specialized oral tissues,…
Drug use in disorders of nutrition
Components of nutrition include water, carbohydrates, proteins (including essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized by the body in sufficient quantities), fats, vitamins, trace elements and indigestible fibres. Disorders of…
Drugs used in anaesthesia
Local anaesthetics Local anaesthetics are drugs used primarily to inhibit pain by preventing impulse conduction along sensory nerves. They achieve this by blocking voltage-sensitive sodium ion (Na + ) channels…
