Medications

Researchers race to develop Paxlovid replacement

Researchers from Rutgers believe they are among the leaders in a race to find an oral COVID-19 treatment to supplement or replace Paxlovid—an antiviral medication that helps keep high-risk patients out of the hospital.

Oncology & Cancer

Investigating mechanisms of aggressive glioblastoma tumor growth

Northwestern Medicine investigators have identified a metabolism-related gene that may play a role in recruiting immune cells to support the growth of aggressive brain tumors, according to a study recently published in Nature ...

Oncology & Cancer

Exploring ferroptosis and its implications in lung cancer

An estimated 2.2 million people suffer from lung cancer worldwide, making it the second most common type of cancer. Though improvements in treatment have been made, the overall survival rate of lung cancer patients is low, ...

Oncology & Cancer

Beating by overheating: A new strategy to combat cancer

Many new drugs inhibit the processes that cancer cells need to divide rapidly. So as to inhibit the cancer as a whole. But cancer cells have all sorts of workarounds to get around that effect. As a result, the tumor becomes ...

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Drug

A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.

In pharmacology, Dictionary.com defines a drug as "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being." Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.

Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as opioids or hallucinogens. They may be used for perceived beneficial effects on perception, consciousness, personality, and behavior. Some drugs can cause addiction and habituation.

Drugs are usually distinguished from endogenous biochemicals by being introduced from outside the organism.[citation needed] For example, insulin is a hormone that is synthesized in the body; it is called a hormone when it is synthesized by the pancreas inside the body, but if it is introduced into the body from outside, it is called a drug.[citation needed]

Many natural substances such as beers, wines, and some mushrooms, blur the line between food and drugs, as when ingested they affect the functioning of both mind and body.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA