Drug Therapy And Its Effects On The World

Antivirals are the treatment for HIV and presently there is no known cure. Treatment most often involves combinations of different drugs to avoid creating strains of the virus that are immune to single drug treatments (Mayo Clinic, 2013). The number of CD4 or T cells monitors treatment response. The viral load should be undetectable while undergoing antiviral therapy. The count is checked when treatment starts and usually monitored every 3-6 months. Even if someone has an undetectable viral load, the spreading of HIV is still a possibility.

Pharmacotherapy typically is not the first course of action when treating post-traumatic stress disorder. Doctors hesitantly prescribe medications because of the risk of side effects or unfavorable outcomes. PTSD drug treatment side effects include intolerable sexual dysfunction, gastrointestinal issues, glaucoma, sedation, dizziness, and depression. Taking any medication runs the risk of side effects but psychotherapy eliminates that risk. Side effects can easily change the outcome of the course of treatment by making the quality of life worse than before treatment. Some therapists such as Dr. Robert Moore claim that medications do not treat the root of the problem. Pharmacotherapy locks the problem in and does not solve anything, it just halts the symptoms temporarily. Overall medications do not clear up the residual psychological effects of PTSD (Films for the Humanities & Sciences).

People take social drugs to help them relax or occasionally give themselves the feeling of having more energy (BBC 2013). Social drugs are also known as recreational or non medicinal drugs. These types of drugs are used for recreational purposes and without medical justification. There are two types of social drugs, illegal and socially acceptable drugs. Illegal social drugs include heroin, cocaine, cannabis and LSD. Examples of socially acceptable drugs are caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. However, unlike social drugs, medicinal drugs are taken for the purpose of treating, preventing and diagnosing a disease (Taylor and Reide 1998 p3). Examples of medicinal drugs include amitriptyline – an

Dr. N.A.S states that one of the antiretrovirals blocks translation of RNA into the proteins required to make new viruses. Some of the current antiretrovirals include reverse transcriptase, fusion and entry, protease, and integrase inhibitors;6,10 however there is not an inhibitor that blocks translation of rna into proteins on the market. Targeting inhibitors specific to HIV has made ARVs increasingly effective and less harmful to humans.

NNRTIs (Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors) disable a protein needed in the HIV virus to make copies of itself and continue on spreading throughout the body. On the reverse side NRTIs (Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors) are used to confuse the virus with in this case phony versions. Protease inhibitors also disable protease which is needed by the virus to continue on making copies of itself in the body. Many other forms exist to try and control this virus once detected in the body , not controlling the disease once inside someone’s body can speed up the process of the person getting sick from a bacteria or another virus and result in the person dying.

Since the arrival of triple therapy, the challenge of sustained and complete viral suppression has been solved for the majority of patients [1]. The major limiting factors for improving the long-term success of ART are tolerability and convenient pill burden [2]. The latest class of the antiretroviral drug developed are Integrase inhibitors (INI). Dolutegravir (DTG) is an Integrase inhibitor, particularly focused on maintaining a favorable safety profile and a high efficiency rate, within a single-tablet regime (STR), it improves resistance barrier and allowing co-formulation with an NRTI backbone. Dolutegravir has been compared against both other classes of HIV anti-retrovirals as well as other integrase nuclear strand inhibitors. In August 2013, DTG was approved by FDA for its use in both patients who have never taken ART (ART-naïve) and patients who have taken ART (ART-experienced) [3]. It is predicted that very soon a STR containing Dolutegravir (DTG), abacavir (ABC) and lamivudine (3TC) will become

Treatment for HIV is just to control the disease. They use a combination of drug therapies known as cocktails. This way when the virus figures out how to get around one there is another drug to block it from duplicating itself.

When the HIV virus was identified in the 1980’s, many companies began to search for an antiviral drug but Burroughs Wellcome led the research effort. There were three drugs being tested by other companies as well including, AZT by Burroughs Wellcome, DDI by Bristol Myers and DDC by Hoffman-LaRoche. These drugs inhibit reproduction of HIV and slow the damage it causes.

The growing non-medical use of prescription drugs is a global health concern. Such usage can be defined as the taking of prescription drugs, whether obtained by prescription or otherwise, other than in the manner or for the reasons or time period prescribed, or by a person for whom the drug was not prescribed. The real scale of the problem is unknown, due to lack of data on the non-medical use of prescription drugs, and to the existence of many gaps in the monitoring of their legal use for medical purposes as pre-scribed by health-care professionals (which creates chances for these drugs to be in the hands of people who they were not prescribed). Most studies on and monitoring instruments for substance abuse pertain to the use of illegal

When patients have already faced the situation that they could not afford their prescription brand, they would turn to other measures. One of those measures would be to use a different brand to substitute the same drug to treat their condition. However, this drug may not be as effective as their previous one. For example, Epipens are a very popular drug to treat individuals with severe allergies. If they experience an allergic reaction, they would rely on an Epipen injection to offset it. While it is a very popular and widely used allergy treating prescription, its substantial price increase over the years have made it quite an expensive one. With being quite costly, patients may turn to finding an inexpensive brand, anticipating that it would have an equivalent effect as their previous prescription. However, according to Rubenfire from Modern Health Care, “[f]or most drugs or devices, patients might look to a competitor for a cheaper price. But Dr. Bobby Lanier, a Fort Worth, Texas-based allergist, said most of his patients end up using the name brand EpiPen rather than competitors such as Adrenaclick” (Rubenfire). Thus, this points out that alternative brands claiming to have equal effects as the name brand may not be as efficient to treating the patient’s condition. With its cheaper price and yet ineffectiveness, it may lead patients to worsen their overall health due to the circumstances given by the new drug. In other words, their health is at risk since they would have

Drug- or disease- related problem to presentation and current drug therapy for the problem are:

Drug therapy implies the treatment and prevention of CVDs and involves a variety of broadly acting classes of drugs. Here, we provided a brief description of a select number of commonly used drugs that are used in the treatment of CVDs. Anticoagulants, blood thinners such as heparin, decrease the clotting ability of blood. Although, anticoagulants may prevent clotting, they do not dissolve existing blood clots. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors dilate blood vessels and thereby decreases vascular resistance, which allows blood to flow more easily and relieves effort on the heart. These drugs can effectively be used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure and heart failure. Angiotensin-2 Receptor Antagonists (ARBs ) equilibrate heart and blood vessels and prevent an increase in blood pressure. In addition, ARBs are also used to treat high blood

Illicit drug use is a prevalent issue in today’s society. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the global increase of death and disease can be largely attributed to the illegal use of drugs (Illicit Use of Drugs, 2013). Though the rates of illegal drug use have remained constant in recent years, there has been a shift in the use of specific drugs (Illicit Use of Drugs, 2013). One drug that has received a lot of attention due to an apparent increase in usage is Methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant drug that has been a source of controversy within Australia. Though the usage of methamphetamine in Australia has remained constant over the past few years, there has been a significant change in the preferred form of the drug (Illicit Use of Drugs, 2013). For example, the usage of methamphetamine powder saw a significant decrease from 2010 to 2013. In contrast, the use of the crystalline form- more commonly know as ice- nearly doubled in the same time frame (Illicit Use of Drugs, 2013). Due to the increase of ice usage, as well as the highly addictive nature of the drug, many are concerned that Australia is in the midst of an ice epidemic. This essay will examine methamphetamine’s pharmacokinetic properties, its pharmacological mechanisms, the long and short-term effects of use, as well as discuss the prevalence of ice in Australia.

Since the introduction of novel antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the mid-1990s, the natural history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease has changed, such that persons infected with HIV have enjoyed substantial reductions in HIV/AIDS associated morbidity and mortality (1-4). A critical determinant of ART success however, depends on sustained adherence to the medication regimen. Previous studies have shown that ART adherence rates of ≥ 95% are associated with HIV viral suppression (5, 6), increased CD4+ cell count (7), and are also an important predictor of survival (8) and slower progression of disease (9).

Currently, there are no vaccines and no cures for HIV or AIDS, although scientists are researching and finding new drugs and treatments. So far, scientists have discovered a variety of drugs and medication that can be used to control and slow the virus and the progression of the disease. There are some drugs which interfere with the virus ability to make copies of itself by disabling a protein it needs, like Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. If someone is diagnosed with HIV, it is important to start with treatments as soon as possible.