26 Dec 7 drugs that changed the world

Posted by - Rubén

Drugs are very used in medicine and pharmacology. There are millions of drugs all over the world; but, which ones have played a huge role in history? Here are a few examples of drugs that have revolutionized medicine.

Aspirin

Aspirin is a pain-reliever that was introduced in 1889 by Bayer. This drug is, currently, one of the most commonly used drugs all over the world. If you have a headache, fever or even swelling, do not hesitate to take an aspirin.

Insulin

It was, undoubtedly, a major breakthrough in medicine. In 1916, when Paulescu isolated a substance called pancrein, he made an important medical advance for human life and health.

The most important drugs and medicines in history

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Antiretroviral

There is no a 100% effective cure for AIDS, nevertheless, it exists a drug for controlling the infection. Thanks to antiretrovirals, the annual number of AIDS death has notoriously declined all over the world.

Mechlorethamine

Mechlorethamine became the first drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of cancer. Mechlorethamine contains nitrogen mustard agents – which were developed as war weapons – but different later studies showed that they better suited for cancer treatments. This drug leaded the first fight against human lymphomas and sowed the seeds for oncology.

Penicillin

Penicillin was accidentally discovered, but it is highly responsible for the bacterial culture. In fact, it has become the most effective live saving antibiotic. Fleming merely won the Nobel in Physiology or Medicine for such discovery.

Chlorpromazine

Chlorpromazine or thorazine is a drug used in psychiatry which represented the “psychopharmacological revolution”. During the first decade after the release, 50 million people took this drug prescribed for anxiety and depression treatments.

Hormonal contraception

Are you planning to have a baby? Hormonal contraception has played an important role in population control. In the early 1920s, it was studied an alteration of hormones for animal contraception, which was later applied to humans.

Can you image life without these drugs?