Inclined to Believe That Drug Discoveries Are Essay

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inclined to believe that drug discoveries are often the result of a fortunate set of events making it possible for a person to come across a combination of substances that have the exact effect the respective person considers when starting the discovery process. While this was the case a few hundreds of years ago, things changed in recent decades, as society got actively involved in promoting drugs and in supporting individuals involved in creating them. One of the best example regarding drug discovery and widespread support from the public is the 1950s with psychotropic drug discoveries. A great deal of drugs from the period came to play an important role in society, considering the fact that they have been widely used during recent decades.

A series of drugs were discovered as a result of individuals using natural products with the purpose of exploiting some of the substances they contained. Fungal sources in particular proved to be especially effective in enabling scientists to synthesize certain substances and to create therapeutic agents. The complexity associated with creating a drug and the process of creation is remarkable, as there are numerous ways in which a scientist can fail and numerous ways in which he or she can succeed in creating the intended product. "Albert Hoffman, the Swiss chemist who isolated the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, also synthesized LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) from compounds that he isolated from ergot, a fungus that grows on rye grass." (Milkman & Wanberg 128)

Chemists with access to innovative laboratories were able to play an active role in creating drugs that are, to a certain degree, responsible for helping society as a whole experience faster progress. Chlorpromazine is a positive example of a drug being successful in helping individuals suffering as a result of their disorders. Marketed as Thorazine, the drug was first made at Rhone-Poulenc, a French chemical and pharmaceutical company. From the very first tests it was subjected to, it became visible that the substance had a positive effect on calming psychotic patients. "Chlorpromazine also helped bring about a revolution in our understanding of the central nervous system through research into the drug's mechanism of action." (Li & Corey 246) The drug was especially important because of how it emphasized the significance of the neurotransmitter dopamine. The masses were virtually provided with the opportunity to get a more complex understanding of drugs that had a neurological effect. Numerous disorders could be treated through using these respective drugs and individuals who previously had trouble controlling their lives.

The moments when Liberium and then Valium emerged during the 1950s, and, respectively, the 1960s, further contributed to society's understanding of biological treatment methods for mental disorders. Antipsychotic drugs are generally aimed to help individuals suffering from mental disorders experience less problems as a result of their conditions. In many cases these people become able to integrate society normally and to perform tasks they would not be able to if they did not have access to drugs.

Summary

One of the most intriguing aspects of a drug is actually the process of its discovery. Many individuals discovering psychotropic drugs during the 1950s were initially interested in creating drugs that would have different effects and that would be for a different market from the one that they actually came to be associated with. With numerous minor tranquilizers in the 1950s having side effects that made it difficult for doctors to continue to prescribe them, Dr. Leo Sternbach turned his attention to a new class of substances that was relatively ignored at the time. He had previously worked with benzheptoxdiazines, but did not perform in-depth study of the compounds because he lacked the financial support to pursue the substances. Being an employee of Hoffmann-La Roche laboratories in New Jersey changed his perspective on the topic and enabled him to create a series of drugs that came to be appreciated for their benefits in cases involving patients suffering from disorders such as anxiety. Sernbach submitted 26 benzheptoxdiazines for pharmacological testing and one of the last to be tested proved to be especially effective in achieving the effects Hoffmann-La Roche was searching for at the time. The substance came to be called Librium and it was observed to have powerful hypnotic effects on mice, thus meaning that it could be used with the purpose of treating individuals with anxiety or depression. "Time was now ripe for clinical trials after more detailed pharmacological and toxicity studies had been performed.

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In 1958 the compound Ro 5-0690 (methaminodiazepoxide or chlordiazepoxide) was administered to geriatric patients in relatively large doses and found to be primarily sedating." (Ramchandani)

One of the most recognized drugs that Sternbach came to discover is diazepam. The drug is better known by the name it was first commercialized for, as Valium entered the social order as a substance that made it easier for a great deal of individuals to cope with symptoms associated with anxiety disorders. "Diazepam was, for many years, the most widely prescribed of all medicinal agents." (Ravina 67)

Benzodiazepines were accepted because of the way that allowed individuals to continue their daily lives without being negatively affected by the impairments typically encountered in patients trying to treat anxiety disorders. One of the principal side effects associated with benzodiazepines relates to individuals developing an addiction for them. People using them as a form of treatment often experience problems when they stop taking these substances. In spite of these factors, benzodiazepines received widespread appreciation and entered the world of medicine as substances that played an essential role in differentiating between individuals limited as a consequence of their mental disorders and people who could have relatively normal lives.

Through addressing dopamine as one of the primary elements making a person more probable to be happy with his or her condition, scientists came to concentrate on diverse ways in which they could put an end to abnormal levels in individuals suffering from mental disorders. "Studies in the 1960s suggested that chlorpromazine and haloperidol (the two "prototype" antipsychotic drugs) may act via blockade of postulated dopamine (DA) receptors (the "DA receptor blockade hypothesis")." (Csernansky 225)

By following the creation of haloperidol, one can gain a more complex understanding of how drugs evolve. Paul Janssen acknowledged the therapeutical effects of chlorpromazine and considered that he should concentrate on symptoms observed in disorders that the drug was meant to treat and to use a series of other compounds with the purpose of trying to find a more effective drug. Chlorpromazine was, in spite of its benefits, also recognized for several side effects such as sedation, hypotension, or jaundice. As a consequence, individuals like Jenssen believed that the world needed to be provided with a new drug -- one that could provide all the benefits associated with chlorpromazine and that would have lesser side effects at the same time. "Although it is less sedating than chlorpromazine or other chemically related antipsychotics, haloperidol unfortunately has a greater tendency than chlorpromazine to produce dyskynesia." (Landau et. al. 221) The fact that drugs often have side effects means that producers and users are both struggling to achieve levels where they get the best benefits possible out of a substance while experiencing as little problems as possible.

Psychotic drugs are on a constant path of evolution, as they are being renewed on a constant basis and as scientists do everything in their power in order to come up with new compounds that are better than conventional drugs and that are less likely to have a negative effect on people using them. With schizophrenia currently being a common mental disorder, it is important for society to acknowledge the benefits associated with antipsychotic drugs, as they can calm patients and can make them feel less limited as a consequence of their condition.

There is currently much controversy regarding antipsychotic drugs, as while they have proved to be effective in a series of cases, there are a lot of individuals claiming that individuals suffering from mental disorders should also look into other methods of treatment. This is mainly owed to the fact that antipsychotic drugs have been found to trigger addiction in individuals using them, with many being unable to continue to live their lives as they did before if they put an end to their treatment. Even with this, the fact that these respective people were actually able to remove several of the symptoms characteristic to their disorders as a result of using these substances demonstrates that the drugs should actually be taken into account for their overall positive effect on society.

Compounds such as diazepam, chlorpromazine, and haloperidol made it possible for the world of medicine to experience great advancement. These substances can be considered responsible for saving numerous lives and for enabling individuals suffering from serious mental disorders to integrate society as normal people.

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