Medical pharmacology is primarily concerned with the
mechanisms by which drugs treat disease processes, relieve
symptoms, and counteract the molecular manifestations of
disease. Pharmacology is also concerned with th
...
Medical pharmacology is primarily concerned with the
mechanisms by which drugs treat disease processes, relieve
symptoms, and counteract the molecular manifestations of
disease. Pharmacology is also concerned with the factors
that determine the time course of drug action, including
drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.
Students are often overwhelmed by the vast amount of
pharmacological information available today. This textbook
provides the essential concepts and information that students
need to be successful in their courses without an overwhelming
amount of detail.
This text is primarily intended for students who are taking
their first course in pharmacology, but it will also be useful
for those who are preparing to take medical board or licensing
examinations. Because of the large number of drugs available
today, this text emphasizes the general properties of drug
categories and prototypical drugs. Chapters begin with a
drug classification box to familiarize students with drug
categories, subcategories, and specific drugs to be discussed
in the chapter.
In the four years since the publication of the previous
edition of Pharmacology by Brenner and Stevens, major trends
in the development and marketing of new medications and
new formulations were apparent. First, there was an explosion
of combination drugs released onto the market in recent
years. This is a good thing, as there is often pharmacological
synergy between combined agents, but also because patient
compliance is improved. It is easier to take one pill than two,
or three, or four. The usual product combines two successful
and effective single agents for the treatment of a disorder.
These newly approved combination drugs are included in
this 5th edition of Brenner & Stevens’ Pharmacology.
Second, the market is flush with a number of new
immunopharmacology products. Immunopharmacology is
now a well-ripened field and the fruits of this discipline are
apparent to both the physician and consumer by the new
immunopharmacology drugs touted in TV commercials.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies that
target receptors or other proteins is a rapidly growing sector
of biologics. Many therapeutic classes of pharmacological
agents now have one or two drugs that work via antibodies
or that target immune system factors. This edition contains
a number of such new immunopharmacology drugs. However,
the FDA approval of monoclonal antibody drugs and other
biologics often comes with a number of serious warnings and
adverse outcomes.
Third, during the last four years, the rampant use of prescription opioids and the resultant opioid overdose epidemic
were fully recognized. The appropriate response from the
pharmaceutical manufacturers was to develop new agents and
formulations for the treatment of opioid dependence. The
expanded class of these opioid medications is fully described
in Chapter 23, “Opioid Analgesic and Antagonists.”
Fourth, the epidemic of type 2 diabetes across the USA,
and the tremendous market for product, brought drug developers back into the lab to work on antidiabetes medications.
There were eight FDA-approved antidiabetes medications
released into the market in the last two years. Many of these
new medications target recently discovered mechanisms of
action, like blocking sugar uptake at the kidneys. These new
drugs and mechanisms of action for treating diabetes are
updated in Chapter 35, “Drugs for Diabetes.”
The book now in your hands was extensively revised for
the 5th edition to include all the new drugs on the market,
and to exclude older drugs that were withdrawn from the
market since the last edition of this textbook. The figures
that were retained were updated and new figures added, with
an emphasis on illustrating drug mechanisms of action. A
modern graphic style was developed for the figures to improve
understanding and to entice the eye.
The reader of this book will know some drugs better by
their trade names. With the incessant marketing of new
pharmaceuticals, many trade names of new drugs become
common. As all medications are indexed under both their
generic and brand name, this book is also a valuable reference
for a quick review of drugs encountered in the reader’s personal
or professional life.
We thank our spouses and offspring for their encouragement and patience while we worked on this book. Much
appreciation goes to our “significant others” (P <0.05) who
both assisted with discussions of new drugs in their areas of
expertise. However, any errors or typos are solely the responsibility of the authors. We also appreciate the fine people at
Elsevier, who bring it all together to produce the nicely
designed textbook now in your hands. The interactions with
Lauren Willis (no relation to Bruce) and Rebecca Gruliow
were especially professional and pleasant. They both seem
to really know what they are doing.
Finally, we are pharmacologists who spent most of our
careers at a university medical school. We are not physicians
or medical consultants. Therefore none of the following text
should be taken as medical advice.
[Show More]
