MEDICINAL COURSEWORK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MEDICINAL COURSEWORK - Essay Example It is against this background that it is necessary that third party disease fighting defenses be introduced. Through chemistry and medicine, the commonest form of third party or external disease fighting defense that has been given to the human body has been by the use of drugs or what is commonly known as medicine. Depending on the disease that a person is battling, different drugs are introduced. One typical drug that has been very keen in body disease defenses is Omeprazole, having the been useful in the treatment of a host of diseases including dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease (PUD), Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease among others (Hassan-Alin et al, 2001). With a market name of Losec, Omeprazole comes in several forms including tablets and capsules. In this essay, a very detailed chemistry analysis is made of the drug with an aim of trying to understand the medicinal value of the drug, background to the diseases that the drug treats, functionality of the drug, as well as an evaluation of how the drug performs its chemical roles in the human body. Disease Omeprazole is used to treat Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease Omeprazole has been found to be suitable in the treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, otherwise known as GORD or GERD (Lagerstrom and Persson, 1984). Gastro-oesophageal reflux is more of a medical condition, which involves the abnormal relaxation of the lower part of the oesophageal sphincter in such as way that easily allows the back flow or reflux of the stomach’s acidic content into the gullet (Andersson, 1991). It will be noted that the stomach’s acidic content has its special role that it plays in the stomach and has special compartments within the stomach specially designed to contain it (Hassan-Alin et l, 2000). For this reason, if the acidic content flows into undesignated places like the gullet, it causes uncomfortable reactions to patients involved. In most cases, it is the muscular ring found beneath the oesophagus that gets malfunctioning, resulting in the abnormal relaxation. Smoking and drinking, as well as heavy eating are all associated with the disease (Cederberg, Heggelund and Lundborg, 1991) and it comes with symptoms such as burning sensation in upper abdomen, sour taste of acid reflux in the mouth, excess belching and difficulty in breathing for some patients (Edvardsson, Heggelund and Lundborg, 1990). Fig. 1: A Person suffering from heartburns Source: Henderson, 2012 Peptic ulcers Peptic ulcer is a bacterial disease that involves damages to areas of the mucosa, commonly referred to as the inner lining of the stomach (Andersson et al, 1993). It would be noted that ulcers are generally wounds or open damages that affects various parts of the human body. Once such ulcers occur in the upper part of the intestine, also known as the duodenum or the mucosa of the stomach, peptic ulcer is said to have resulted. Peptic ulcers are commonly associated with the Heli cobacter pylori, which causes the ulcer in the identified spots of the stomach. As far as peptic ulcers are concerned, it is important that people know their state of risk to the disease so that they can moderate most of their intake contents including smoke, alcohol, some food and some medicine. This is because these intake contents have the potential of worsening risk of contracting the disease (Miners, Veronese and Birkett, 1994). Hitherto, it is advised that