Discovering drugs to save lives. To date, medical science has discovered many medicines for the benefit of human beings. As a result, billions of lives are being saved. Interestingly, there are many discoveries that have been made while researching one subject and discovering a completely different subject. This is called serendipity. The discovery of something by accident is called serendipity. Today’s discussion is about the story of some medical system and drug discovery.
Today’s topic of discussion……
1.Fleming inadvertently discovered penicillin
2.Chlorpromazine
3.Pacemakers for the treatment of heart disease
4.The discovery of sedative diazepam in the discovery of color
5.Psychologist Ronald Koon benefited from imipramine
6.Coronary angiography
7.Lithium in mental illness
8.Nitrous oxide
★1.Fleming inadvertently discovered penicillin
The discovery of antibiotics is one of the most important discoveries in the world. The discovery of penicillin was a search for a new horizon for the medical world. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by accident. While working with a bacterium called Staphylococcus, he discovered a type of fungus that has antiseptic properties. The name of the fungus is ‘Penicillium notatum’.
Fleming was a Scottish physician and bacteriologist. He was the first to invent the antiseptic penicillin. In 1928, he discovered the existence of a special type of fungus, penicillin, which was life-saving. Interestingly, Alexander Fleming invented penicillin. Accidentally one accidentally. While working with a bacterium called Staphylococcus, he discovered a type of fungus that has antiseptic properties.
The fungus, named Penicillium notatum, was being studied by Staphylococcus aureus in a Fleming Petri dish at St. Mary’s Hospital. Inadvertently leave petty dishes by the window after work. When he returned to work after a month’s vacation, Fleming noticed that a mold had formed on the petite dish of the Staphylococcus bacteria. Staphylococcus bacteria did not grow in the areas where the mold grew. He realized that the mold contained a substance that could inhibit bacterial growth. This mold was Penicillium notatum. Although Alexander Fleming was the first to discover penicillin, it was brought to use by humans by two scientists, Howard Flory and Ernst Chain.
★2.Chlorpromazine
This discovery is based on the idea that chlorpromazine can make people unconscious. On December 11, 1950, Paul synthesized chlorpromazine from Charpentier. In May 1951, chlorpromazine, a well-known pharmaceutical company in France at the time, was unveiled as a potential general anesthetic for clinical investigation. But at the end of the study, their idea was wrong. At the end of the clinical investigation it was announced that chlorpromazine could not make people unconscious. But it also makes you feel sleepy and apathetic. This led to the use of chlorpromazine in psychiatry.
★3.Pacemakers for the treatment of heart disease
The smaller, faster and smarter the technology, the better for heart patients. The idea of ​​using a pacemaker or implantable device came from managing irregular heartbeats in general. In modern medical science it is known as implantable cardioidata defibrillator. It is an electrical device that is used as a special type of pacemaker in the human body. This pacemaker is used to prevent a person from having a heart attack when their heart rate suddenly drops. The American physician and engineer Wilson Platbach was the inventor of this medical method. But he failed to understand its true meaning. The American wanted to invent a device that could record the heartbeat. However, after incorrectly assembling this method, he noticed that it was moving like a heartbeat. Greatbatch realized that it could be used as a modern pacemaker, and that it would be much smaller than the previous model. After two more years of testing, his implantable pacemaker was approved for medical purposes in 1960, and the device quickly went into production that same year. The first pacemaker in the history of medicine was installed in 1958; Which lasted about three hours. Modern medical systems implant a pacemaker in the human body lasting about 8 to 10 years.
★4.The discovery of sedative diazepam in the discovery of color
Diazepam is commonly used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and post-alcohol withdrawal complications. Diazepam is used in the first class treatment of intravenous diazepam or lorazepam status epilepticus. Scientist Leo Sternbach discovered diazepam. He was actually trying to discover new colors. But failed. He later discovered the sedative drug diazepam 20 years after this discarded chemical. This drug is also used in the treatment of epilepsy. Diazepam is mainly used as an immediate treatment for maternal seizures or eclampsia. When it is not possible to control magnesium sulfate and blood pressure. Benzodiazepines do not contain any painkillers. They are usually forbidden to apply to anyone in pain. Even then, benzodiazepines, such as diazepam, are recommended for muscle relaxants to relieve pain. This is given to patients who are suffering from muscle spasm or dystonia due to inability to move due to muscle contractions. This diazepam is made by discovering colors.
Note: Diazepam was invented by Leo Sternbach. He was actually trying to discover new colors. But failed. Twenty years later, he discovered the sedative drug diazepam.
★5.Psychologist Ronald Koon benefited from imipramine
Imipramine has structural similarities with chlorpromazine. For this reason, the Swiss pharmaceutical company was researching whether this drug can be used in any psychiatric treatment. Psychologist Ronald Koon. Thought he would succeed. But success did not catch on. He used to do imipramine. In this regard at the Cantonal Mental Hospital in Munsterlingen. This scientist wanted to use imipramine to treat schizophrenia. Robert Domenzo, who was in charge of research on the subject, saw after much effort that it was not actually working. Kun was very upset then. Still, there was a hope in Kun’s mind. He thought to himself, since it has the same chemical composition, it will definitely come in handy. So before returning all supplies of medicine, Kun decided to apply imipramine to a pregnant woman in a hospital with severe depression. At the end of the application, Kun got the benefits hand in hand. That patient’s depression really came down. Kuhn was optimistic about this success. The same results were obtained after application to the body of two more pregnant patients with depression. Then came the clinical trial. Kun succeeded. After those three, imipramine was applied to 40 more depressed patients. In 1957, Kuhn published his first paper on imipramine in the Swiss Medical Journal.
★6.Coronary angiography
Coronary angiography, simply put, is a method of diagnosing heart disease. Many people know the test as angiogram. It is a type of screening method that tests the blood flow in the arteries in the human body. This is done by X-ray examination to see the veins or arteries of the human body. In this procedure the doctor inserts a thin, flexible tube into the vein or artery. A dye is used with the camera in that tube. This is called a catheter, which is threaded. It is inserted through the arteries of the chest, back, arms and legs. A pigment or dissimilar material is injected through the catheter which makes the blood visible inside the blood vessels to create an X-ray image and shows the blocked or enlarged blood vessels. The process usually lasts 30 to 60 minutes. If heart problems are caused by certain diseases, angiography is done to check it. The first heart catheterization was performed in the history of the world. In 1929. Physician Werner Forsman did it himself. Diagnostic cardiac catheterization was introduced by Andre Cornand and Dickinson Richards in the early 1940s. Coronary angiography was completed in the early 1960s by scientist Mason Sones. Since then, this method has been used to test for blockages in the veins and arteries of the human body.
★7.Lithium in mental illness
Lithium is used in the treatment of mental illness. Psychiatrist John Ked first started using lithium to treat mental illness. After World War II, John Cade injected urine collected from healthy people and mentally ill patients into the guinea pig’s lower abdomen. Guinea pigs who received urine from a mentally ill patient died earlier than those who received urine from healthy people. Excess uric acid is responsible for the rapid death of guinea pigs. As a result, he concluded that patients with mental illness had excess uric acid in their blood. John Kade added lithium solution to increase the solubility of uric acid. Upon entering it, he noticed that the guinea pigs were calm instead of excited. John Cade also applied lithium to his body.
★8.Nitrous oxide
Joseph Priestley is famous for separating oxygen and carbon monoxide gases. He made many important discoveries. In 1972 he isolated nitrous oxide. It has many uses in medicine. While breathing, gas enters Priestley’s body, leaving her calm and numb. After realizing the effectiveness of nitrous oxide as an anesthetic, its widespread use in medicine began. Scientist Joseph was trying to separate the gas emitted by heating ammonium nitrate in an iron filling. This gas is nitrous oxide. Little did he know that he had discovered a new method of using anesthesia.