Drugs That Changed Society: History and Current Status of the Early Antibiotics: Salvarsan, Sulfonamides, and β-Lactams.
Søren Brøgger ChristensenPublished in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) (2021)
The appearance of antibiotic drugs revolutionized the possibilities for treatment of diseases with high mortality such as pneumonia, sepsis, plaque, diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid fever, and tuberculosis. Today fewer than 1% of mortalities in high income countries are caused by diseases caused by bacteria. However, it should be recalled that the antibiotics were introduced in parallel with sanitation including sewerage, piped drinking water, high standard of living and improved understanding of the connection between food and health. Development of salvarsan, sulfonamides, and β-lactams into efficient drugs is described. The effects on life expectancy and life quality of these new drugs are indicated.
Keyphrases
- drinking water
- current status
- healthcare
- mental health
- mycobacterium tuberculosis
- health risk assessment
- cardiovascular events
- drug induced
- type diabetes
- acute kidney injury
- risk assessment
- cardiovascular disease
- mass spectrometry
- human health
- health information
- hiv infected
- solid phase extraction
- septic shock
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- antiretroviral therapy
- respiratory failure
- extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
- tandem mass spectrometry