Magic Molecules: How Drugs Work

ISBN-13: 9780521584142 / Angielski / Twarda / 1998 / 284 str.

Susan Aldridge

Opis

We have all been drug users at one time or another. Drugs can be used as medicines, as food additives, for pleasure, and to protect our long-term health. With so many new drugs on the market and an ever-widening definition of what exactly makes a drug a drug, we should all be well informed about the drugs we use--how they work, their benefits, and their risks. This book is a unique guide for the general reader to the drugs of everyday life--from commonly prescribed medicines to recreational drugs (including illicit ones) and food supplements. The author examines how drugs interact with their targets in the body, where drugs come from, how they are developed, and what new kinds of drugs are on the horizon. She reviews all the major pharmaceutical medicines--painkillers, antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, anti-depressants, heart drugs, tranquilizers, and hormones. Much more than a consumer handbook, this volume conveys the fascinating science behind drugs in an easily accessible way.

Recenzje

'… an elegant book … an admirable book. One can sense the enjoyment of the author in writing it. I wonder what she was on.' Paul Wymer, Chemistry and Industry

Spis treści

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. How drugs work; 2. From penicillin to Prozac: introducing pharmaceutical drugs; 3. Fighting infection; 4. The hormonal revolution; 5. Cardiovascular drugs: protecting the heart and brain; 6. The problem of pain; 7. The cancer challenge; 8. Drugs for the mind; 9. Drugs of recreation and addiction; 10. Natural alternatives: vitamins, minerals and herbs; 11. In the pipeline: gene-based medicine; Bibliography; Index.