Therapeutics

'Gastroenterological disease' is a catch-all term that covers a host of conditions that affect tissues and organs from the mouth to the anus. It includes digestive disorders, GI tract motility issues, cancers of GI tract tissues, gastroenteritis, dyspepsia, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcers, infections, haemorrhoids, diverticular disease, polyps, and inflammatory bowel diseases amongst many others.

The general term 'cardiovascular diseases' (CVD) is used to describe a range of pathologies within the heart or blood vessels that affect blood flow through the heart and around the circulatory system.

This module covers those diseases and disorders of the lungs and airways that are leading causes of death and disability, and the drugs that are used to treat them. Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension.

This module will provide summaries of the most common illnesses, conditions and disorders of the nerves and central nervous system, and the drugs that are used to treat them.

Psychiatric diseases are generally thought of as disorders that disturb an individual's mental health, and include anxiety, personality, panic and eating disorders, bipolar disease, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and many more.

This module will address some common conditions that disrupt normal hormonal regulation and function, and the pharmaceutical interventions that can be used to resolve them. Endocrine diseases can arise from either an excess or a deficiency in hormonal activity, for example hyper- and hypo-thyroidism.

Examples of renal diseases are kidney stones, kidney infections (pyelonephritis), chronic kidney disease and renal failure, glomerulonephritis (including IgA nephropathy, Goodpasture syndrome, lupus nephritis), polycystic kidney disease and renal cancer.

There are about 200 different musculoskeletal conditions that affect the muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints.

Genitourinary diseases (or urogenital diseases) are those of the tissues or organs of the urinary (kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra) and reproductive tracts. They include reproductive and urinary tract infections, congenital abnormalities, cancers of the urological and reproductive systems, and sexual dysfunction.

Obstetric medicine focuses on pre-conception, pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. It is usually a combined specialty with gynaecology (OB/GYN).

Gynaecology is the field of medicine that focuses on women's reproductive health issues, including the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the female reproductive organs. It is usually combined with obstetrics (OB/GYN).

The eye is a complex sensory organ responsible for sight. Injury or disease to the ocular system can result in vision loss. A variety of ophthalmic preparations (topical, parenteral, and oral) are available for both therapeutic and diagnostic use. Medications play a key role in the management of chronic dry-eye, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, infection, inflammation, and macular degeneration.

Skin disorders vary greatly in symptoms and severity, ranging from minor to life-threatening. They can be temporary or permanent, painful or painless. Some have situational causes, some may be genetic, and yet others may have no definable cause.

This module focuses on those diseases/conditions of the ear, nose and oropharynx that respond well to pharmaceutical interventions, such as infections and inflammatory conditions.

Oncology is a massive and specialised branch of medicine, that concerns the diagnosis and treatment of tumours that originate in diverse tissues and organs. There are many types of drugs and other agents that are used to combat cancers, including radio- and chemo-therapies and immuno-therapies.

Clinical haematology is the branch of medicine that focuses on the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases (both benign and malignant) of red and white blood cells, platelets, and the coagulation system.

This module is under construction.

This is a huge field of medicine. Our module covers those infections that represent large burdens on health care systems, and for which there are effective drug therapies.

Clinical toxicology focuses on the adverse effects of chemical substances on humans, and the treatments that are available once exposure to toxins (produced naturally by an organism) or toxicants (including man-made substances) has been diagnosed.