Magic Molecules Ho Drugs Work [Hardcover]

Popular science account of how drugs work - including medical, recreational and herbal drugs.This book is about the science of drugs. It covers the basics of how different drugs work in the body. It also describes how a medicine is developed from its discovery to its launch as a treatment for patients. All the drugs of everyday life are described--antibiotics, painkillers, hormones, anti-cancer and heart drugs, antidepressants and sleeping pills. Recreational drugs - from caffeine to cocaine--are covered too, as are food supplements and herbal medicines. Taking an accessible approach, Susan Aldridge clearly describes the science behind how drugs work.This book is about the science of drugs. It covers the basics of how different drugs work in the body. It also describes how a medicine is developed from its discovery to its launch as a treatment for patients. All the drugs of everyday life are described--antibiotics, painkillers, hormones, anti-cancer and heart drugs, antidepressants and sleeping pills. Recreational drugs - from caffeine to cocaine--are covered too, as are food supplements and herbal medicines. Taking an accessible approach, Susan Aldridge clearly describes the science behind how drugs work.We have all been drug users at one time or another. Drugs can be used as medicines, as food additives, for pleasure, and to protect our long-term health. With so many new drugs on the market and an ever-widening definition of what exactly makes a drug a drug, we should all be well informed about the drugs we use--how they work, their benefits, and their risks. This book is a unique guide for the general reader to the drugs of everyday life--from commonly prescribed medicines to recreational drugs (including illicit ones) and food supplements. The author examines how drugs interact with their targets in the body, where drugs come from, how they are developed, and what new kinds of drugs are on the horizon. She reviews all the major pharmaceutical medicines--painkillls*