Drug Breakthroughs

We have known for some time that one drug and one dose of that drug do not produce the same effect on everyone. Some of my readers do not like any drug that is ‘man-made’ and would prefer something that naturally grew in the rain forest (rather than something made by a drug company). Toxic side effects of drugs like Vioxx or Fen-Phen strikes fear in everyone that uses known medications and each and every time some news release or newspaper headlines focuses us upon a death from a drug’s side effect, we become more distrustful. Many readers to the BaldingBlog (at least the vocal ones) are detest taking drugs like Propecia, but they are willing to take something that has no value under the illusion that herbal products are safe and probably effective. The pharmaceutical industry is working hard, as are many universities, to develop safer drugs.

Some doses of drugs can be toxic in one person and not toxic in another person. Some people can get more value out of one dose of a drug than other people. In effect, the concept of Personalized Medicine is fast evolving to a new future in medications and the way we use them. A revolution in safe medications will evolve. In an article from the prestigious journal Science, a breakthrough in our understanding of how drugs work was just published. It shows the mechanisms on how to make one drug work better with smaller doses customized to a particular patient’s needs.

Here’s a quote from an article I found a couple weeks ago and forgot to share with you earlier titled, Researchers Believe They Have Found A Way To Change The Action Of 60 Percent Of Currently Available Medications:

The researchers believe they have found a way to change the action of 60 percent of currently available medications, in some cases making them many times more effective, according to an article published in the April edition of journal Science. The discovery has the potential to improve treatments for diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and arthritis. These same discoveries may mean that drugs that are developed to target these diseases, can be made more safe and more effective.

Breakthroughs like this will change the face of medicine in the years to come, extending our life, attacking diseases more effectively than ever before, reducing the side effects of drugs that normally might not be tolerated well at traditional doses. Although it will most likely have hair drug ramifications, I would not be so bold as saying that the ‘balding’ problem will be high on the drug company’s list, but alas, considering that half of the male and female population will bald in their lifetime, the drug companies usually follow the money.