Unit 1 Description of a Pharmacy Grammar

Drugs for incurable diseases

Some medicines and drugs are used to treat chronic conditions which have no cure, such as diseases of the central nervous system. By controlling or reducing the symptoms of the disease, medicines and drugs can improve the sufferer's quality of life. For example, Parkinson's disease affects over 100,000 people in Britain, most of them elderly. It causes muscle stiffness and severe shaking. The drug Levodopa reaches the brain through the blood system and helps to improve balance and reduce the shaking. Sometimes drugs which act on the central nervous system have unwanted side effects on the person's personality and emotional state. Some people feel depressed and 'not themselves'. However, these side effects can usually be controlled by using other drugs and for most people relief from the symptoms of the disease is the most important effect.