- Before the 20th century, most medicines were extracted from plants (herbal medicines). Since 1900. Thousands of moderndrugs have been synthesised from organic compound.
- .Modern medicines can be classified as follows based on theireffects on the human body.
- .Some examples of modern medicines are analgesics,antibiotics, psychotherapeutic drugs.
- .Modern drugs have a trade name and a generic name. Forexample, the analgesic aspirin (generic name) is sold underdifferent brand names such as Caprin and Disprin. Similarly,paracetamol (generic name) is sold under the trade name of Panadol.
- .Modern medicines usually contain a mixture of activeingredients prepared in different forms, such as capsules, pills,solutions or suspensions. For example, Alka-Seltzer (used asan antacid) contains sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), citric acidand aspirin. It is the sodium bicarbonate then neutralizes theexcess stomach acid.
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FUNCTIONS OF MODERN MEDICINE
ANALGESICS
1.Analgesics are medicines that relieve pain.
Examples of analgesics are aspirin, paraccetamol, and codeine. Analgesicsare sometimes called painkillers.
2.Aspirin and paracetamol are mild painkillers whereas codeineis powerful painkillers.
3.Analgesics relive pain but do not cure the disease.
4.Aspirin : pain relief and anti-inflammatory action
a)The IUPAC name of aspirin is acetyl aslicylec acid. Aspirincontains two functional groups, a carboxylic acid groupand the ester group. Thus, aspirin is aicidc in nature.
b)Uses of aspirinAspirin reduces fever and inflammable as well as relivespain.Aspirin is used to :
(i)Reduce fever
(ii)Relieve headaches, muscle aches and joint aches
(iii)Treat arthritis, a disease caused by inflammation of the joints
(iv)Act as an anticoagulant. It prevents the clotting of blood and reduce the risk of the heart attack and strokes.
5.Paracetamol
a)Paracetamol have the following structural formula. Thus,unlike aspirin, paracetamol is neutral in nature.
b)Paracetamol is similar to aspirin in its effects (that is,reduces fever and relieves pain) but it does not reduce inflammation.
c)Paracetamol also reduces or relieves flu symptoms suchas fever, bone aches and runny nose.
6.Codeine
a)Codeine is an organic compound that contains theelements of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.
b)Codeine is an analgesics and is used to relive mirror tomoderate pain. Codeine is more powerful than morphine.Codeine and morphine are narcotic drugs
c)Codeine is also used in cough mixtures for suppressing coughs.
ANTIBIOTICS:ANTIBACTERIAL MEDICINE
1.Antibiotics are chemicals that destroy or prevent the growth of infectious microorganism.
2.Two examples of antibiotics are penicillin and streptomycin.
3.Antibiotics are used to treat diseases caused by bacteria.
4.Antibiotics are not effective against diseases caused by viralinfections such as influenza, measles, or small pox.
5.Penicillin
a)Penicillin is derived from the mould Penicillium notatum.
b)Penicillin are used to treat diseases, caused by bacteria,such as pneumonia, gonorrhea and syphilis.
c)Penicillin is only effective on certain bacteria. Forexample, it cannot be used to treat tuberculosis.
6.Streptomycinis the antibiotic that is effective in treatingtuberculosis.
PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC MEDICINE
1.Psychotherapeutic medicines are a group of drugs for treatingmental or emotional illnesses.
2.Psychotherapeutic drugs can be divided into a few groups as shown below :
a) Stimulants :caffelne , amphetamine
b) Antidepressant :prozac
c) Antipsychotic agents:cloropromazin
3.Stimulants
a)Stimulants are naturally occurringor synthetic drugs thatstimulate (excite) the activity of the brain and centralnervous system.
b)Adrenaline is a stimulant that the body produces when itneeds to prepare for demanding or energetic activities.
c)Stimulants make a person more alert, more energetic,less tired and more cheerful.
d)Examples of stimulants are caffeine and amphetamines.Caffeine is a week, naturally occurring stimulant and isfound on coffee, tea and Cola drinks.
e)Amphetamines are strong synthetic stimulants andincrease alertness and physical ability.
f)Amphetamines increase the heart and respiration rates,as well as the blood pressure. As a result, it causes thebody to postpone the need of sleep and can reverse,partially and temporarily, the symptoms of fatigue.
4.Antidepressants
a)Depression is a chronic illness. Most cases of depressionare caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.
b)People experiencing depression feel hopeless. Theyexperience a loss of interest in everyday activities suchas work or hobbies.
c)There is a strong correlation between the amounts of special chemicals (called neurotransmitters) in the brainand a person’s mood. If these chemicals get too low, theperson may feel depressed.
d)Antidepressants are medicines that increase the brain’slevel of neurotransmitters, thus improving mood.
e)Antidepressants make a person feel calm and sleepy.
5.Antipsychotic medicines
a)Psychosis is the serious mental illness in which peoplelose touch with reality. People with psychosis may,
Hear voice and see things that are not really there(hallucinations)
Have belief that are not based on reality (delusions)
b)In psychiatry, there are a number of disorders that areclassified under ‘ psuchosis’, such as schizophrenias(madness), psychotic depression, mania and so on.
c)Psychotic patients have extreme mood swings. Theirmood changes rapidly from high spirit to deepdepression.
d)Antipsychotic medicines do not cure symptoms to helpthe person live a more normal life.
