There are many different types of medicines available to us today, some of which cure diseases while others make us feel better and able to carry on with our lives. They include:
Medicines which destroy infectious organisms, e.g. antibioticantibiotic
Medicine that is used to treat bacterial infections and works by killing or stopping the growth and reproduction of bacteria. These can be specific to a particular bacteria or act on groups of related bacteria.
s.
Medicines which relieve symptoms but do not destroy pathogens, e.g. different kinds of pain killers such as ibuprofen, paracetamol.
Medicines which destroy cancer cells. Anticancer medicines are often given in combination, e.g. mitomycin, ifosfamide and cisplatin (MIC).
Medicines which change the chemistry of the blood eg statins which help reduce cholesterolcholesterol
A lipid which can be measured in the blood. High levels are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
levels.
Medicines which replace missing chemicals in the blood, e.g. insulin.
Personalised medicinepersonalised medicine
Medical model in which a treatment is customised for a particular patient, designed to work with their individual genome, so treatment delivers the maximum benefit with the minimum risk of side effects.
s are medicines which are prescribed using information from studies of the human genomehuman genome
The complete sequence of all 20,000-25,000 human genes. That is, which chromosomes they are in and whereabouts the gene appears on that chromosome's piece of DNA.
to identify the best medicine to use for a particular genotype. Particular groups of people, or particular types of cancers, will be given specific drugs. Medicine will be stratified so that everyone gets the medicine which will works best for them based on genetic information rather than trial and error. Not only will this mean people are treated more successfully but also the risk of unpleasant side effects will be kept to a minimum.
Biology
