Common Drugs n Vaccine

7/29/2019 Common Drugs n Vaccine

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Common Drugs and Vaccines1

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COMMON DRUGS AND VACCINES

Anaesthetics are drugs administrated during surgical operations of all kinds to prevent the patient feeling

pain. General anaesthetics cause complete loss of consciousness and are used in major operations, such as

appendectomy and tonsillectomy. They include laughing gas (nitrous oxide), chloroform, ether and sodium

pentothal. Local anaesthetics deaden the nerves in one part of the body only. Dentists use them, for

example, when drilling or extracting teeth. Local anaesthetics include lignocaine and procaine.

Analgesics are substances which prevent or relieve pain, but the person taking them retains consciousness.

They include simple drugs like aspirin (acetylsalicyclic acid) and bromides and powerful ones like morphine

and heroin.

Antibiotics are drugs that have the power to destroy body gems quickly and to prevent germs from growing.

They are compounds that are produced by bacteria and moulds, tiny plant organisms (microorganism).

Antibiotics are thus probably the biggest lifesavers today. They combat pneumonia, typhoid, syphilis, scarlet

fever, and many other serious illnesses. Penicillin, streptomycin, chloromycetin, and terramycin are among the

most important.Antihistamines relieve the symptoms of asthma, hay fever, and other allergies. They counter excess

production in the body of substances called histamines which cause sneezing and a streaming nose.

Antipyretics are drugs used medically to lower the body temperatures.

Hormones are used as drugs when the body has a hormone deficiency that causes disease. Insulin is

probably the best-known hormone drug. It is given to sufferers of diabetes, who have an insulin deficiency.

The insulin injected is obtained from the pancreas of sheep, cattle, and pigs. Adrenalin, cortisone and ACTH

are other important hormone drugs.

Narcotics deaden the whole nervous system and prevent a person feeling pain. They may make one sleep or

go into a coma. Opium and the drugs derived from it- codeine, heroin and morphine are the most widely used

narcotics.

Sedatives are soothing drugs that generally send a person to sleep. Common sedatives are barbiturates and

bromides. Narcotics and anaesthetics have sedative effects too.

Tranquillizers are taken to calm the nerves and prevent worry. They do not, like sedatives, dull the nervous

system, or slow down mental or physical activity.

Some important common drugs

Class of drug Application Example Notes

Penicillin Antibiotic Syphills, staphylococcal

infections (foodpoisoning)

Narrow spectrum antibiotic

(treats only a narrow range ofdiseases)

Zedovudine Antiviral HIV

Lamivudine Antiviral Hepatitis B

Streptomycin Antibiotic Tuberculosis


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Erythromycin Antibiotic Respiratory tract

infections

Ciprofloxacin Antibiotic Urinary tract infections,

common pneumonia,

myoplasmal infections

Broad spectrum antibiotic

Amoxicillin Antibiotic Wide range of infections Broad spectrum

Tetracycline Antibiotic Cholera

Chloroquine Antibiotic Malaria

Aspirin Analgesic

antipyretic

Fever, pain One of the most widely used

medications in the world

Paracetamol

(Acetaminophen)

Analgesic

antipyretic

Fever, pain

Vaccines

A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. Vaccines were first used

by Edward Jenner (England) in the 1770s to inoculate small pox using the cow microbe. Vaccines have

resulted in the eradication of small pox, one of the most contagious and deadly diseases known to man. Other

diseases like polio, measles, mumps, typhoid etc have been significantly reduced. Currently, polio is prevalent

in only four countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and India.

Mechanism of action

A vaccine is usually made from a weakened or dead from of the microbe that it is intended to fight. It

stimulates the bodys immune system to recognize the microbe as foreign and destroy it and remember it.

When the same microbe re appears later, the immune system easily recognizes and destroys it. When the

body recognizes the virulent microbe attack, it

neutralises the target microbe before it can enter body cells

destroys infected cells before the microbe can spread to other cells and multiply

Types of vaccines

Killed Vaccines: These are vaccines that contain micro organism that have killed using chemicals or

heat. E.g. influenza, cholera, bubonic plague, polio, hepatitis A.

Attenuated vaccines: These contain live attenuated (numerous) micro organisms. These are usually

live viruses that have been cultivated under conditions which disable their virulent properties, or useclosely related by less dangerous micro organisms. These vaccines provide more durable immune

response and are preferred type for healthy adults. E.g. yellow fever, measles, rubella, mumps typhoid.

Toxoid vaccines: inactivated toxic compounds that cause illness. E.g. tetanus, diphtheria.

Subunit vaccines: These use protein subunits instead of the entire micro organism as a vaccine. E. g.

Hepatitis B vaccine (which uses only surface proteins), Human Papillioma Virus (HPV) vaccine (which

uses subunits of influenza virus).


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Effectiveness of vaccines

Vaccines do not guarantee complete protection from a disease

This could be due to

o Hosts immune system may not respond adequately

o Host may have lowered immunity (such as due to diabetes, HIV, steroid use etc)

o Host may not have a B cell capable of producing antibodies to that particular antigen

The efficacy of a vaccine depends on a number of factors, namely

o The disease itself

o The strain of vaccine

o The schedule of vaccination

o Individual host factors

o Genetic and ethnic predisposition

Most vaccines use adjuvant to boost immune response. Adjuvants are compounds added to the vaccine that

increase the immune response, without having any specific antigenic effect by themselves.

Aluminium salts like aluminium phosphate and aluminium hydroxide are the most common adjuvants used.

Vaccine Disease Type Notes

Anthrax vaccine Anthrax Protein subunit

Bacillus Calmette

Guerin (BCG)

Tuberculosis Live bacteria

DTP Diphtheria Pertussis

(Whooping cough)

Tetanus

Gardasil

(Human Papilloma Virus

(HPV))

Cervical cancer Protein subunit

Polio vaccine Polio Killed/inactivated Polio is prevented only in

humans. Currently polio

has been eradicated from

ail countries except

Afghanistan, Pakistan,

Nigeria and India

MMR Measles

Mumps

Rubella

Meningococcal vaccine Meningococcus

Rabies vaccine Rabies Attenuated

Yellow fever vaccine Yellow fever Attenuated

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Common Drugs n Vaccine