There are prescription drugs for almost everything these days, vitamins, hormones, medicines,
inhibitors, killers, boosters, wow…
you guys this sounds like a bunch of gangs...
One of the best selling prescription drugs in the U.S. is adalimumab, prescribed for
inflammatory diseases like arthritis or Crohn's.
The thing is, 306 other medications interact with adalimumab, including 940 brand and generic
drugs some, like the vaccines for polio, smallpox, and MMR interact so seriously that the risks
outweigh the benefits!
No doctor could know all 1000 interactions… and that's just with one drug.
According to the FDA, almost half of U.S. population has used a prescription drug in
the last 30 days, 22 percent of us have used three drugs in that time, and nearly 11 percent
have used five or more.
Doctors need to keep a watchful eye on what medications each of us are taking, because
sometimes, when drugs mix inside our bodies the results are dangerous, or deadly.
According to the National Institutes of Health, DDIs or drug-drug interactions occur when
two drugs interact with the same product.
If two drugs attempt to alter the same specific hormone, gene, or molecular pathway for example…
their attempts to fix a problem could become a bigger issue.
According to a paper from Stanford, DDIs result from the drug working too slowly or too quickly.
So, either the enzyme responsible for metabolising drug B is inhibited by drug A, causing an
increased concentration in the body, OR drug A kicks up the production of the metabolizing
enzyme, diluting drug B. Both are bad, because then the drug's not doing it's job.
Potentially worse, the two drugs could interact in a way that produces an effect that neither
would on their own.
Interactions are often discovered in the testing of these drugs, and the understanding of what
pathways, enzymes and genes will be affected by, and affect, any drug.
Though, a new computer algorithm from Stanford, data-mines the millions of reports filed with
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reveal as yet unknown side-effects and DDIs by digging
through medical reports, and available patient histories!
DDIs are actually really common, and often people simply ignore or forget that something
in their life is actually a drug.
For example, a simple antihistamine which would normally reduce runny noses, sneezing
or allergic reactions; negatively interacts with alcohol, sedatives, high blood pressure
medications, antidepressants and more and more.
In fact, many people forget caffeine, alcohol and nicotine are drugs and thus have their
own DDIs.
When mixed with alcohol, the over-the-counter drug known as acetaminophen can cause serious
liver damage.
Thinking back to the different types of DDIs both alcohol and acetaminophen are metabolized
by the liver.
Alcohol causes acetaminophen to break down more quickly, creating a toxic, and damaging,
byproduct: N-acetyl-p-benzo-key-known Imeen or NAPQI.
Normally, the liver has a binding agent called glue-te-theye-ohn which saved it, but not
under DDI conditions!
That can cause acute liver failure and need of an immediate transplant.
Serious stuff.
And that's just one DDI!
When mixed with some prescription medications alcohol can cause internal bleeding, heart
damage and far more serious, problems.
Another thing people forget to consider is birth control.
Birth control is a prescription medication, one that many forget to divulge because it
becomes such a routine part of their lives; even more so for women who use the ring, the
patch, or another long-term methods.
A 1990 study in Clinical Pharmacokinetics found no strict evidence that oral contraceptives
can be affected by most drugs, but Planned Parenthood and physicians will recommend caution
when taking oral contraception and a specific antituberculous drug.
However, some analgesics like acetaminophen -- branded as Tylenol -- may be less effective
when on the pill… while some antidepressants and tranquilizers may be exaggerated.
In the end, not everyone will have the same DDI with the same dosage.
Which is why it's important to read the drug labels and be conscious of the drugs you're
taking, and be open and honest with your doctor.
If you're curious, look up Drugs.com, it's run by some pharmacists out of New Zealand
who wanted to make DDIs more transparent.
It's CRAZY fascinating.
As we get older, we tend to take more drugs, and a report from Harvard states that Americans
over 70 often take as many as seven.
So when it comes to DDIs, more research is definitely needed.