BIOL 0170 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Prescription Drug, Germ Theory Of Disease, Miasma Theory
7 Nov 2016
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7/10 americans take at least 1 prescription drug. Antibiotics are most commonly prescribed (17%), then antidepressants and opioids (13%) Prescriptions for controlled substances must be written (not electronic) and frequently renewed. Us: 4. 3 billion prescriptions filled in 2014, cost billion. 2011: 18% of gdp is national health expenditures. By 2020, 20% of gdp (wrong use of otc drugs) Large majority says prescription drug costs are unreasonable. Child born in 1900 has life expectancy of 47 years. 1860s: germ theory developed by pasteur and robert koch. Before that, poor people had miasma (bad air) around them. 1894: salycyclic acid/aspirin (first drug ever developed, effective against fever) Pure synthetic chemistry: would develop chemicals in the lab and then look for pathologies that might be able to benefit from it. Thalidomide as anti-anxiety, but in women in their first trimester, caused birth defects. 1928: fleming discovers antibacterial effects of penicillium mold --> penicillin. Early use of mustard gas as a chemotherapeutic agent.
