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.
Author(s): Roland Seifert
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 279
City: Cham
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
