Life Saving Drugs: Elusive Magic Bullet, The

Description:
In 1900 only a handful of drugs (morphine, quinine, aspirin, etc) had genuine efficacy but had little value for bacterial or viral infections or cancer. These conditions were usually untreatable. Now there are literally thousands of drugs which offer cures or greatly extended life-spans for those with life-threatening conditions. Life Saving Drugs: the Elusive Magic Bullet describes the discovery and development of antibacterial, anti-viral and anti-cancer drugs. The book highlights the colourful characters behind the inventions and the huge improvements in quality of life and life-expectancy that these drugs have produced. Emphasis is given to the new drugs that have emerged as a result of knowledge of the human genome, and the ways in which the newer drugs are being designed to tackle disease, particularly cancer, at the genetic level. Chemical structures are provided for all of the key drugs and the book is well illustrated. Life Saving Drugs: the Elusive Magic Bullet can be read as a history of drug development during the past 100 years by those with only a passing knowledge of chemistry. For anyone entering the medical profession, pharmacy, or nursing, it will provide a superb basic knowledge of all drugs they are ever likely to meet, including their modes of action. For the chemist or medicinal chemist, it will provide the fundamental knowledge of life-saving drugs that they all should know. And for the non-scientist who wants to know about 'super-bugs', SARS, Ebola, and all of the wonderful advances in treating cancer, it is illuminating and easy to read.

Review:
Useful for anyone withan interest in medicines, from good A-level students to postgraduates, it certainly deserves a place in the teacher's personal library. -- Journal of Biological Education, Vol 40, No.2, Spring 2006 (Gill Hickman) Journal of Biological Education Life Saving Drugs will be beneficial to undergraduates, not as a core text but to broaden their perspectives and to show them that pharmacology adn history are never dull. -- The Times Higher Educational Supplement, February 24, 2006 (Keith Hillier) The Times Higher Educational Supplement A fascinating read... should be on the recommended reading list for those entering the medical profession or a subject allied to medicine. -- Chemistry & Industry, Issue 18, 19th September 2005 (Dr Sally Freeman) Chemistry and Industry This is an essential book for the library - both personal and departmental. -- Education in Chemistry, September 2005 Issue (Simon Cotton) Education in Chemistry I recommend this book very strongly to all, whether chemists or biologists, who need to know about the biology of nitric oxide...of value not only to undergraduate students, and their teachers, but also to research workers. -- Biochemical Society, 27 July 2005 (Stuart Ferguson) Biochemical Society Of interest to anyone who wants to know more about the molecular entities that comprise life saving drugs...For the chemist. it will provide the fundamental knowledge... For the nonscientist, it is illuminating and easy to read. -- Journal of Natural Products, 70(4), 711-712, 8 March 2007 (Romila D Charan) Journal of Natural Products - ONLY SEND REVIEW COPIES WHEN REQUESTED

Table of Contents:
Introduction; Fighting Bacteria; Antiviral treatments; Cancer and anti-cancer drugs; Magic Bullets: still elusive after all these years; Further reading; Index