Magic Molecules: How Drugs Work / Edition 1

by Susan Aldridge

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521584142
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/28/1998
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.98(d)

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

"The book is well crafted and written in an accessible style...Highly recommended for general readers; undergraduate and graduate students; and professionals." CHOICE

"This is an important book for health professional and public libraries...This is a subject area that student and practicing pharmacists should know more about, not only for their own enjoyment in learning about the history of drugs, but also to become more aware of their patients' and consumers' beliefs about substances they view as 'magic molecules.'" American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

From the Publisher