Drugs Easily Explained

Description

Billions of people worldwide take medicines every day to treat important diseases. In many cases, however, neither the doctor nor the pharmacist has the time to explain to the patient why a particular drug should be taken, how the drug works and what side effects to expect. Of course, the patient can find "everything" about a particular drug on the Internet. But how reliable and understandable is this information? In addition, most Internet sources do not point out the interrelationships between different diseases and drug interactions. Written by an experienced and well-known textbook author, this book provides an overview of the most common diseases and the drugs used to treat them. The book is designed for a general audience. It provides patients with essential information about how medications work and what side effects and interactions to expect. Finally, the book gives patients advice on what they can do themselves to improve drug therapy and safety. Summaries, bullet points, tables and diagrams support the information process. Preface Contents Abbreviations 1: What Should I Know About Drugs? 1.1 Some Important Terms Drugs Are Useful; Poisons Are Harmful An Overview of Different Dosage Forms What Is a Placebo Effect? What Is a Nocebo Effect? Do Drugs Work the Same for Everyone? 1.2 Drug Names Are Drug Names Just Medical Jargon? Names of Old Drugs Problems Associated with Use of Brand-Names The Difference Between a Brand-Name Drug and a Generic Drug Problems Associated with Use of Generics Problems Associated with Traditional Drug Class Names 1.3 How Do Drugs Get to Market? How Did Drug Development Work in the Past? Caution When Buying Drugs Abroad How Does Drug Development Work? Real-World Testing of Drugs Off-Label Use of Drugs Drug Repurposing Getting Information on Drugs 1.4 How Do Drugs Work in Your Body? What Is the Basis of Drug Effects? Receptors as Target No. 1 Enzymes as Target No. 2 Pumps as Target No. 3 Channels as Target No. 4 The Cell Nucleus as Target No. 5 Is It Good or Bad if a Drug Has Only One Target? Is It Good or Bad if a Drug Has Many Targets? How Do Adverse Drug Reactions Occur? 1.5 How Do Drugs Travel Through the Body? The Path of a Drug Through the Body Other Forms of Drug Administration Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Risks of Taking Many Drugs (Polypharmacy) Interaction of Foods with Drugs Reduce Drug Doses in Kidney Failure Treating Infants and Young Children 2: Painkillers (Analgesics) 2.1 Overview and Nonopioid Analgesics 2.2 How Pain Arises and How It Is Assessed Different Painkillers Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs: Risks for the Stomach, Blood Pressure, and Kidney Problematic Coxibs Use of Acetylsalicylic Acid for Pain Is Outdated Paracetamol: Toxic for the Liver Metamizole: Effective but Not Available Everywhere 2.3 Opioid Analgesics How Do Opioid Analgesics Work? Use of Opioid Analgesics Many Effects of Opioid Analgesics Addiction to Opioid Analgesics Tramadol: Popular and Overrated Buprenorphine: Less Effective Than Morphine Morphine: The Gold Standard Fentanyl: Versatile but Risky 3: Drugs for Gastrointestinal Disorders 3.1 Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease How Does Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Develop? Proton Pumps in the Stomach Are the Most Important Target for Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease What Are the Causes of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease? What Options Do You Have for Self-Treatment? H2 Receptor Blockers Self-Medication with Proton Pump Inhibitors How Your Doctor Treats Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease What Are the Risks of Taking a Proton Pump Inhibitor for Many Years? When Is Metoclopramide Used? 3.2 Peptic Ulcer Disease How Does Peptic Ulcer Disease Develop, and How Is It Treated? How Does Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Treatment Cause Peptic Ulcer Disease? What to Do if You Take Cortisone, Acetylsalicylic Acid, or Clopidogrel 3.3 Constipation and Diarrhea How Does Constipation Occur? Why You Should Not Take Laxatives Regularly Which Drugs Can Cause Constipation? Which Laxative Should You Take? What Causes Diarrhea? How to Treat Diarrhea 4: Drugs for Respiratory Diseases 4.1 Allergies and Asthma How Do Allergies and Asthma Develop? From Harmless to Life Threatening General Therapy Drugs for Wheals, Conjunctivitis, and Rhinitis Asthma Therapy Short-Acting and Long-Acting Beta Receptor Agonists Cortisone More Options Aspirin-Induced Asthma Anaphylactic Shock Treatment of Anaphylactic Shock 4.2 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease How Does Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Develop? Short-Acting Beta Agonists and Long-Acting Muscarinic Antagonists Long-Acting Beta Agonists and Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors Oxygen and Lung Transplantation Caution with Cortisone 5: Drugs for Cardiovascular Diseases 5.1 High Blood Pressure What Is High Blood Pressure? How Do I Know I Have High Blood Pressure? What Are the Consequences of Untreated High Blood Pressure? What Are the Risk Factors for Developing High Blood Pressure? Which Drugs Are Used for High Blood Pressure? Drug Class A Drug Class B Drug Class C Drug Class D How Is High Blood Pressure Treated During Pregnancy? Hypertensive Emergencies 5.2 Heart Attacks and Strokes How Do Heart Attacks and Strokes Occur? Drugs as Risk Factors How Are Heart Attacks and Strokes Treated? Primary and Secondary Prevention Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs When Statins Aren’t Enough Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors Vitamin K Antagonists Alternatives to Vitamin K Antagonists Amiodarone 5.3 Chronic Heart Failure Chronic Heart Failure Underlying Diseases Problematic Drugs Heart Protection Eliminate Causes and Exercise as Best You Can Drugs for Heart Failure 6: Drugs for Metabolic Disorders 6.1 Diabetes How Does Diabetes Develop? How Is Type 1 Diabetes Treated? Which Adverse Drug Reaction Can Occur with Insulin Treatment? What Do I Need to Consider When Dosing Insulin? How Is Type 2 Diabetes Treated? Metformin, the Gold Standard Gliptins and Incretin Mimetics Gliflozins Other Drugs 6.2 Thyroid Diseases What Is the Task of the Thyroid Gland? How Do I Know I Have Hyperthyroidism? How Is Hyperthyroidism Treated? How Do I Know I Have Hypothyroidism? How Is Hypothyroidism Treated? Misuse of Thyroid Hormones Stay Away from “Natural” Thyroid Hormones 6.3 Osteoporosis How Does Osteoporosis Develop? Diseases and Drugs That Can Lead to Osteoporosis What Is the Basic Treatment for Osteoporosis? Bisphosphonates Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators Denosumab 7: Drugs for Her and Him 7.1 Hormone Replacement Therapy The Female Sex Hormones Estrogen and Progesterone What Happens to Hormones During Menopause? How to Treat Menopausal Symptoms Consider Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators, Statins, and Antihypertensives 7.2 Erectile Dysfunction What Makes a Penis Erect? How Does Erectile Dysfunction Occur? Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction with Sildenafil Sexual Activity in Patients with Angina Pectoris Caution with Methylphenidate and Antipsychotics 8: Drugs for Neurological Disorders 8.1 Parkinson’s Disease Parkinson’s Disease, a Neurodegenerative Disorder How Does Parkinson’s Disease Develop? Parkinson’s Syndrome Caused by Antipsychotics How Is Parkinson’s Disease Treated? Risks of Too Much Dopamine Options When Levodopa Fails Inhibition of Acetylcholine 8.2 Epilepsies How Do Epilepsies Develop, and How Are They Treated? Mechanisms of Action of Antiepileptic Drugs Rules for Treatment with Antiepileptic Drugs Use of Antiepileptic Drugs in Other Neurological and Mental Disorders Carbamazepine, Lamotrigine, Phenytoin, and Valproic Acid Pregabalin Benzodiazepines Z-Drugs 9: Drugs for Mental Disorders 9.1 Attention Deficit–Hyperactivity Disorder How Does Attention Deficit–Hyperactivity Disorder Develop? How Can Attention Deficit–Hyperactivity Disorder Be Treated? Methylphenidate Abuse 9.2 Depression How Do I Know If I or Someone Else Is Suffering from Depression? How Does Depression Develop? Who Diagnoses and Treats Depression? How Is Depression Treated? Ketamine Antidepressants Have Many Uses Are Antidepressants Ineffective? Do Antidepressants Cause Addiction? How to Choose an Antidepressant How to Start Treatment for Depression How Is Depression Treated When Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Do Not Work? What Can Be Done If This Therapy Doesn’t Help Either? What to Do If Nonselective Monoamine Reuptake Inhibitors Do Not Help Avoid Chocolate, Cheese, and Red Wine if You Take Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors Other Drugs for Severe Depression Ten Reasons for Taking an Antidepressant for Depression Herbal Remedies for Depression 9.3 Bipolar Disorder How Does Bipolar Disorder Develop? Treatment of Bipolar Disorder Lithium Why Patients Should Take Lithium for Bipolar Disorder Adverse Drug Reactions Associated with Lithium Lithium in Pregnancy Caution with Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs and a Low-Sodium Diet Treatment of Bipolar Disorder with Antiepileptic Drugs 9.4 Schizophrenia What Is Schizophrenia? Crystal Meth and Cannabis as Triggers of Schizophrenia Antipsychotics Ten Reasons for Taking Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia Antipsychotics for Emergency and Long-Term Therapy Typical and Atypical Antipsychotics “Antagonists at Many Receptors” Explains Therapeutic Effects and Adverse Drug Reactions Problems in Use of Antipsychotics Clozapine Other Uses of Antipsychotics Avoid Antipsychotics in Dementia 10: Drugs for Eye Diseases 10.1 Glaucoma What Is Glaucoma? How Does Glaucoma Develop? How Is Glaucoma Treated? Prostaglandins Alternatives to Prostaglandins Which Drugs Can Worsen Glaucoma? What to Do in Acute Glaucoma 10.2 Wet Macular Degeneration What Is Macular Degeneration? How Does Wet Macular Degeneration Develop? How Is Wet Macular Degeneration Treated? Adverse Drug Reactions Associated with Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Inhibitors Bevacizumab as an Alternative to Aflibercept and Bevacizumab 11: Drugs for Cancer and for Autoimmune and Infectious Diseases 11.1 Cancer What Is Cancer? Cancer Development Cancer Diagnostics and Treatment Cytostatics Adverse Drug Reactions due to Cytostatics Cytostatics and Childbearing Targeted Therapeutics Pain Management 11.2 Autoimmune Diseases What Are Autoimmune Diseases? Any Organ Can Be Affected T Cells as a Focus of Therapy “Cortisone” and Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Coxibs Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases with Cortisone Low-Dose Cytostatics Risks Associated with Low-Dose Methotrexate Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases with Inhibitors of T Cell Function Specific (and Expensive) Approaches 11.3 Infectious Diseases How Do Infectious Diseases Develop? Vaccinations No Therapy Without a Proper Diagnosis Antibiotics: A Misleading Term Use Antibiotics Wisely Antibiotic Treatment and Adverse Drug Reactions Beta-Lactam Antibiotics Macrolides Fluoroquinolones Tetracyclines How Are Viral Infectious Diseases Treated? Influenza Herpes Infections Fungal Infections Dermatophyte Infections Yeast Infections Parasite Infections Glossary of Important Pharmacological Terms Further Reading