Drug pathogenesis

While advances in the symptomatic drug therapy (summarized below) have certainly improved the lives of many Parkinson patients, the goal of current research is to develop treatments that can prevent, retard or reverse the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pats compacta (and of other neurons involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson s disease not mentioned in this essay). 

The ACCP Conference on Antithrombotic Therapy recommended against the use of aspirin as the primary method of VTE prophylaxis.2 Antiplatelet drugs clearly reduce the risk of coronary artery and cerebrovascular events in patients with arterial disease, but aspirin produces a very modest reduction in VTE following orthopedic surgeries of the lower extremities. The relative contribution of venous stasis in the pathogenesis of venous thrombosis compared with that of platelets in arterial thrombosis likely explains the reason for this difference. 

Recognize differences between ulcers induced by Helicobacter pylori (HP) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in terms of risk factors, pathogenesis, signs and symptoms, clinical course, and prognosis. 

Selman M, Thannickal VJ, Pardo A, Zisman DA, Martinez FJ, Lynch JP, 3rd. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis pathogenesis and therapeutic approaches. Drugs 2004 64(4) 405-430. 

Banks WA. Physiology and pathology of the blood-brain barrier implications for microbial pathogenesis, drug delivery and neurodegenerative disorders. J Neu-rovirol 1999 5 538-555. 

An indirect proof of the role exerted by gut bacteria in the pathogenesis of NSAID enteropathy is represented by the similarities between indomethacin-induced intestinal damage and Crohn s disease [234, 246], Not only are these lesions anatomically (both macro- and microscopically) similar [246], but also sensitive to the same drugs, e.g. sulfasalazine [234,247], steroids [234,247], immunosuppressive compounds [248], and antibiotics [234-237],... 

McGeer, E. and McGeer, P. 1997. Inflammatory cytokines in the CNS - possible role in the pathogenesis of neu-rodegenerative disorders and therapeutic implications. CNS Drugs 7(3), 214-228. 

Drug-induced cutaneous reactions tend to be immunologic in origin and relate to hypersensitivity, but some reactions are nonallergic. The pathogenesis of fixed-drug reactions is not well understood. 

Child TJ, Tan SL (2001) Endometriosis aetiology, pathogenesis and treatment. Drugs 61 1735-1750... 

---