1 From Molecules to Man Flashcards
Q: What is pharmacology?
A: The study of how drugs affect the body and how the body affects drugs.
Q: What characterized the pre-scientific era of pharmacology?
A: Use of naturally sourced drugs like morphine, aspirin, alcohol, and cocaine with unknown mechanisms and unrecognized side-effects.
Q: Where does cocaine originate and what was its traditional use?
A: Cocaine originates from the coca plant in the Andes and was used as an anaesthetic and endurance extender.
Q: What did the discovery of an Andean mummy with cocaine traces suggest?
A: Cocaine has been used for thousands of years.
Q: How was cocaine used in the 19th century?
A: It was available from grocery stores, sold in Coca-Cola and toothache drops, and used for its medical potential and psychotropic properties.
Q: What were some of Freud’s interests in cocaine?
A: As a mental stimulant, treatment for digestive disorders, appetite stimulant, treatment for morphine addiction, treatment for asthma, and aphrodisiac.
Q: What is the Bier block?
A: A general category of intravenous anaesthesia named after August Bier, who used cocaine for spinal anaesthesia.
Q: Why was Procaine introduced in 1905?
A: To replace cocaine as an anaesthetic without the psychoactive effects.
Q: What were some significant synthetic anaesthetics introduced in the 20th century?
A: Tetracaine in 1941 and Lidocaine in 1943, which are still used today.
Q: Who was Paul Ehrlich and what did he research?
A: He was a researcher who tested over 900 arsenical compounds and discovered Salvarsan 606, used to treat syphilis.
Q: What is the modern methodology of drug discovery?
A: Folk medicine, serendipity, synthetic chemistry leading to lead compound identification, mechanistic understanding, and refinement.
Q: What are the key areas of modern pharmacology?
A: Pharmacology (actions of drugs on living organisms), pharmacodynamics (mechanisms of drug action), and pharmacokinetics (handling of drugs by the body).
Q: What scientific disciplines do pharmacologists often need to work with?
A: Molecular biologists, cell biologists, physiologists, biochemists, and neuroscientists.
