10 Landmark Drugs in Human History

Penicillin is an important antibiotic with high efficiency, low toxicity, and wide clinical application.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were no drug to treat bacterial infections with low side effects. By chance, the British biochemist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. In 1928, Fleming went on vacation and forgot the bacteria that was still growing in the laboratory. Three weeks later, when he returned, he noticed that a cluster of blue-green mold grew from a Staphylococcus aureus petri dish that had been accidentally exposed to the air. He immediately observed with a microscope and found that the staphylococcal colonies surrounding the mold had been dissolved, which means that a certain secretion of mold can inhibit Staphylococcus. Subsequent identification showed that the above-mentioned mold was Penicillium. Fleming named its secreted antibacterial substance penicillin.

Morphine is a part of opioids and the first alkaloid discovered by humans.
In the early 19th century, opium entered the public, which is a narcotic analgesic extracted from opium poppy. It can effectively relieve pain during surgery and treat diseases such as diarrhea. However, doctors did not like to use opium in that the extraction process of opium is immature, making it easy to produce impurities, and is addictive.
In 1806, German chemist Friedrich W. Sertürner successfully separated pure morphine from opium after extensive research. He used the isolated morphine to conduct experiments on dogs, his friends, and himself. The dog quickly fell asleep after eating it. At the same time, his friend and himself did not wake up for a long time after swallowing the powder. Therefore, he named it Morpheus, the god of dreams in Greek legend, and called it morphine.
Twenty years later, Merck began its commercial marketization in 1827. In 1852, morphine was used for subcutaneous injection. Although the drug is highly addictive, its pain relief function far outweighs its disadvantages. Without it, patients with physical injuries or chronic illnesses will survive painfully under difficult medical conditions. At the same time, for those patients with incurable diseases, morphine helps to cope with the pain and physical torture.

Aspirin entered the stage of history in a very early period.
A medicine—willow bark was first mentioned in ancient Egyptian papyrus, and its key ingredient is aspirin.
Today, the use of aspirin goes far beyond simply pain management. Aspirin has antipyretic and analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, and anti-platelet aggregation effects, which can be used to relieve mild and moderate pain, improve rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, and even prevent myocardial infarction. Scientists found that it has research value in many fields such as anti-cancer, lowering blood sugar, anti-aging, and Alzheimer's disease.

The discovery of insulin has enormous scientific significance. Diabetic patients can control blood sugar to relieve or treat diabetes by injecting insulin.
Insulin is a protein hormone secreted by islet β cells in the pancreas stimulated by endogenous or exogenous substances such as glucose, lactose, ribose, arginine, and glucagon. It is the only hormone in the body that lowers blood sugar, and promotes the synthesis of glycogen, fat, and protein.

Smallpox vacciner
The inventor is Edward Jenner, a British surgeon. In 1976, administration of smallpox vaccine was implemented globally. In May 1980, WHO announced the eradication of smallpox. With the disappearance of smallpox around the world, the vaccination has stopped, but the latest research discovered that smallpox vaccine may be effective in preventing the spread of AIDS. If the research result is confirmed, the work of AIDS prevention and control will usher in a new stage.

Chlorpromazine, also known as "Humianling", was the first medicine to treat psychosis in history. Its discovery and use represent an important turning point in psychiatry and the "pharmacological revolution".

The absorption of medical ether can effectively inhibit the central nervous system, make consciousness, pain, and reflex disappear successively, and relax the muscles to facilitate surgery.
On October 16, 1846, the first ether inhalation anesthesia operation was publicly displayed at Massachusetts General Hospital, marking the birth of medical anesthesia and the beginning of a new era of medical surgery. The development of ether led to more modern and effective treatments.

Methotrexate (MTX) is an anti-folate cellular immunosuppressant, which mainly inhibits purine synthesis by blocking dihydrofolate reductase, thereby inhibiting the synthesis of thymine, reducing the chemotaxis of neutrophils, and the release of inflammatory cytokines. In 1971, the FDA officially approved MTX to treat psoriasis.

Cortisone is a glucocorticoid secreted by the adrenal cortex discovered by American scientists Hench and Kendall, which has the function of regulating the biosynthesis and metabolism of sugar, fat, and protein.

Protease inhibitorr
AIDS is a clinical syndrome in which human immunodeficiency virus infection leads to human immune function defects and being prone to opportunistic infections and tumors. In the past 20 years or so, AIDS killed more than 20 million people, and there are currently about 40 million people living with HIV worldwide.
Since the first AIDS case discovered in 1981, scientists from all over the world have devoted themselves to finding anti-AIDS drugs. With the in-depth research on HIV virology and molecular biology, Kramer reported for the first time in 1986 that HIV protease (PR) could be a potential drug target. HIV protease inhibitors (https://www.creative-biolabs.com/tas2r60-membrane-protein-introduction.html) inhibit or block the biological activity of HIV protease, leading to the termination of HIV virus replication. Although HIV protease inhibitor is not the first AIDS drug, after combining it with other drugs, doctors found for the first time that it could reduce the level of HIV and the patient's condition did not get worse. Its wide application greatly improves the survival rate of HIV-infected patients and prolongs their survival period.