Medical Journeys

Posts Tagged ‘drugs’

It’s not an unusual story:  you go to the doctor for eczema (or a related dermatological problem) and are prescribed cream when you were hoping for an ointment – if you were disappointed, you might want to learn more about drug formulation.

It’s likely that when you think of pharmaceutical development, you think of a research team coming up with a drug discovery, and then testing, approving, and selling this drug.  This is true, to a degree, but a closer look at the process reveals a much more complicated process.  To start, certain teams of researchers exist solely to discover promising drug pathways, after which more sets of teams seek to refine the drug.

Formulation development is the specific area of determining the best way to deliver a particular drug.   Using the field of dermatology as an example, we can examine why certain formulations are used for certain treatments.

Say an eczema patient see his or her doctor looking for help with moisturizing; it’s not unusual for a doctor to prescribe a cream.  Creams typically are composed of ½ oil and ½ water, which forms an emulsion of oil to penetrate beneath the outer layer of skin.  Creams don’t deliver an optimal barrier to loss of moisture when stacked up against an ointment, though.  Ointments contain about 80% oil to 20% water, which increases its effectiveness as a moisturizer.  So, why would the doctor prescribe a cream over an ointment?  Well, the likelihood is that the active ingredient to treat eczema in the cream is more effectively delivered in the 50/50 formulation.

This example highlights the importance of formulating a drug treatment that is most effective at delivering the benefits of a specific active ingredient.  The cream is formulated for one specific set of symptoms and the ointment is formulated for a slightly different set of symptoms.  Both treatments take a similar form, with different results.

Next time you take a medication, you can rest easy in the knowledge that a team of scientists very likely worked many months coming up with the ideal set of active and inactive ingredients to alleviate your symptoms.

Most of us do not realize how challenging the process of pharmaceutical development is. There is a lot to it than creating a “magic pill” and introducing it in the marketplace. It calls for significant financial investment and an average of 10-15 years before a pharmaceutical might be available in the marketplace to be employed by individuals. Scientists, chemists, and pharmacologists invest hours inside the lab researching prior to a drug is even synthesized. The specific thing that researchers need to find is how do genetic and cellular elements interact to trigger certain diseases. You’ll find four specific steps that researchers go through in the course of the drug study process and they’re: target identification, target prioritization, lead identification and lead optimization.

Target Identification is the procedure where researchers identify targets and attempt to establish what role they play in the development of diseases. This enables scientists to identify what compounds might be useful in treating a particular disease. Target prioritization is the method where researchers conduct tests to determine which compounds have an effect on a certain disease. The objective of this step is to determine the compounds that influence the target.

Lead optimization is the third step within the drug study process and the goal of it is to figure out that one compound or substance which is believed to have the propensity to treat an illness. Researchers obtain this by testing many molecules and determing each one’s influence on the target. Lead Optimization is the last step inside the drug study method and it involves conducting different tests and experiments to decide how each and every compound is metabolized and what effect each and every 1 will have on the body. This step helps identify the safest compound(s) which might be developed into a safe medication.

The procedure of conducting analysis on a drug that has the potential to hit the marketplace is lengthy and drawn out, but there is still work that has to be accomplished soon after that. The drug must still undergo extensive testing, which can take up to five years prior to it can be even allowed to be tested on humans. Once that testing is completed, the outcomes are reported to the FDA, which will determine whether or not the drug could be safely tested on a human.

The pharmaceutical industry has many specialized fields of inquiry, as one might imagine.   There is nothing easy or quick about getting a drug to market, and scientists of all stripes come together to provide the research and experimentation necessary for an effective therapy.  One zone of interest in the world of pharmaceuticals is drug formulation, a field where researchers work to find the ideal form of drug delivery for a particular therapy.

Many, if not all of us have had occasion to take a medication in the form of a pill.  This is perhaps the most common form for drug delivery.  It is not, however, always perfect.  Combining an active ingredient with other various substances before a drug hits the market is the task of those engaged in formulation development.  Pharmaceutical development is no easy task.

Drugs which are optimally taken orally are, as mentioned, often taken in the form of a capsule or pill.  These pills are not wholly composed of an active ingredient.   Indeed, if you look at the information included with one of your medications, you’ll notice the active ingredient is often a small percentage of the total product.  For example, an over the counter allergy medication could contain 25mg of the active ingredient Diphenhydramine HCI.  The dosage of 50mg includes various other inactive ingredients, including candelilla wax, polyethelene glycol, and stearic acid, among others.

A team of scientists figured out that this combination of ingredients created an ideal mix for drug delivery.  It might have been the case that a certain inactive ingredient reacted poorly when used in conjunction with Diphenhydramine HCI.  Perhaps it reduced its efficacy, or otherwise compromised the ability of the active ingredient to alleviate a set of symptoms.  In any case, the job of those engaged in drug formulation is to ensure optimal results when a patient ingests a particular drug.

Drug formulation is just one fascinating area of the pharmaceutical industry.  There are many interesting areas of inquiry to explore, particularly if you have an interest in pursuing a career in the field.

3. For which of the following reasons is drug addiction considered a complex brain disease?
(Points : 1)
Those who are addicted usually have a mental illness.

Use of drugs over time creates a disease in sections of the brain.

Drugs change the way the brain functions.

With drugs, brain chemicals increase and burn the brain.
Does abybody know?

My dog was just diagnosed as having Addison’s disease. I know she will have to take pills or get shots for the rest of her life. I am just curious if anyone has the same problem with their dog, and what it ended up costing them a month. I have read some wildly different prices online. I need to know what to budget every month for the drugs. Thanks!
I was asking people who have had the same health issue with their dog or are directly familiar with the disorder to answer. It is useless to tell me that things are more expensive in New York than rural Idaho or that my vet can tell me. I am going to a new vet that I do not know well yet. I want answers from people that know what they are talking about please. I also have heard people were able to cut out the vet middleman and save some money on the pharmacy visits. Thank you for trying to help, but please don’t try if you don’t have a specific answer.

Why would alcoholism not just be called an addiction like smoking or doing drugs? And if doing drugs is obviously worse and illegal than smoking, then why don’t we just call smoking a crutch? Or why don’t we call all smoking and drug addiction a disease as well? So, would food addicts also be considered diseased? Because it can be just as dangerous. Who made up these rules as to what’s a disease, what’s a crutch, and what’s an addiction?

My aunt went to the doctor because of a headache. After countless tests she was given Motrin and sent home. Why did her headache stump doctors? Why should one spend money to get tests done if one is going to be sent home with over the counter drugs?

I haven’t heard of any disease being cured lately. In fact I can’t see what incentive the drug companies have to find a cure. In fact they seem to be inventing diseases to sale more drugs.
The side effects on drugs seem worse then what they are treating. I lost my sense of smell to a high blood pressure drug.
The DEA approves these drugs even though they kill and injure millions of people ever year.
What have the drug companies done to earn the right to be the only ones able to provide solutions to our health care problem?

I need to know how disease affects each process of Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs.

Thanks

Hi, My husband has a liver disorder and his doctors have said he has a high increase level of enzymes and believe it has filtered into his blood. I believe the excess of over-the-counter drugs caused this and alcohol. Is there a cure? If so, please let me know.