Editing Medication (section)

===Prescription drug history===

[[Antibiotic]]s first arrived on the medical scene in 1932 thanks to [[Gerhard Domagk]];<ref>{{cite magazine|url= http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/83/8325/8325prontosil.html|magazine= Chemical & Engineering News|title= Top Pharmaceuticals: Prontosil|first= William|last= Stork|volume= 83|issue= 25|date= 20 June 2005|access-date= 30 May 2014|archive-date= 13 October 2008|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081013182359/http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/83/8325/8325prontosil.html|url-status= live}}</ref> and were coined the "wonder drugs". The introduction of the [[Sulfonamide (medicine)|sulfa drugs]] led to the mortality rate from [[pneumonia]] in the U.S. to drop from 0.2% each year to 0.05% ({{em|i.e.}}, {{frac|4}} as much) by 1939.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Dowling HF |title=Frustration and foundation. Management of pneumonia before antibiotics |journal=JAMA |volume=220 |issue=10 |pages=1341–5 |date=June 1972  |pmid=4553966 |doi= 10.1001/jama.1972.03200100053011 }}</ref> Antibiotics inhibit the growth or the metabolic activities of bacteria and other microorganisms by a chemical substance of microbial origin. [[Penicillin]], introduced a few years later, provided a broader spectrum of activity compared to sulfa drugs and reduced side effects. [[Streptomycin]], found in 1942, proved to be the first drug effective against the cause of [[tuberculosis]] and also came to be the best known of a long series of important antibiotics. A second generation of antibiotics was introduced in the 1940s: [[Chlortetracycline|aureomycin]] and [[chloramphenicol]]. Aureomycin was the best known of the second generation.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

[[Lithium (medication)|Lithium]] was discovered in the 19th century for nervous disorders and its possible mood-stabilizing or prophylactic effect; it was cheap and easily produced. As lithium fell out of favor in France, [[valpromide]] came into play. This antibiotic was the origin of the drug that eventually created the mood stabilizer category. Valpromide had distinct psychotrophic effects that were of benefit in both the treatment of acute manic states and in the maintenance treatment of manic depression illness. [[Psychoactive drug|Psychotropics]] can either be [[sedative]] or [[stimulant]]; sedatives aim at damping down the extremes of behavior. Stimulants aim at restoring normality by increasing tone. Soon arose the notion of a tranquilizer which was quite different from any sedative or stimulant. The term tranquilizer took over the notions of sedatives and became the dominant term in the West through the 1980s. In Japan, during this time, the term tranquilizer produced the notion of a psyche-stabilizer and the term mood stabilizer vanished.<ref name="ToneAndrea">Tone, Andrea and Elizabeth Watkins, ''Medicating Modern America: Prescription Drugs in History''. New York and London, New York University, 2007. Print.</ref>

[[Conjugated estrogens|Premarin]] (conjugated estrogens, introduced in 1942) and [[Conjugated estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate|Prempro]] (a combination estrogen-progestin pill, introduced in 1995) dominated the [[hormone replacement therapy]] (HRT) during the 1990s. HRT is not a life-saving drug, nor does it cure any disease. HRT has been prescribed to improve one's quality of life. Doctors prescribe estrogen for their older female patients both to treat short-term menopausal symptoms and to prevent long-term diseases. In the 1960s and early 1970s, more and more physicians began to prescribe estrogen for their female patients. Between 1991 and 1999, Premarin was listed as the most popular prescription and best-selling drug in America.<ref name="ToneAndrea" />

The first oral contraceptive, [[Mestranol/noretynodrel|Enovid]], was approved by FDA in 1960. Oral contraceptives inhibit ovulation and so prevent conception. Enovid was known to be much more effective than alternatives including the condom and the diaphragm. As early as 1960, oral contraceptives were available in several different strengths by every manufacturer. In the 1980s and 1990s, an increasing number of options arose including, most recently, a new [[drug delivery|delivery system]] for the oral contraceptive via a [[transdermal patch]]. In 1982, a new version of [[Combined oral contraceptive pill|"the pill"]] was introduced, known as the [[Birth control pill formulations|biphasic pill]]. By 1985, a new [[Birth control pill formulations|triphasic pill]] was approved. Physicians began to think of "the pill" as an excellent means of birth control for young women.<ref name="ToneAndrea" />

Stimulants such as [[Methylphenidate|Ritalin]] (methylphenidate) came to be pervasive tools for behavior management and modification in young children. Ritalin was first marketed in 1955 for [[narcolepsy]]; its potential users were middle-aged and the elderly. It was not until some time in the 1980s along with hyperactivity in children that Ritalin came onto the market. Medical use of methylphenidate is predominantly for symptoms of [[attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]] (ADHD). Consumption of methylphenidate in the U.S. out-paced all other countries between 1991 and 1999. Significant growth in consumption was also evident in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Norway. Currently, 85% of the world's methylphenidate is consumed in America.<ref name="ToneAndrea" />

The first minor tranquilizer was [[meprobamate]]. Only fourteen months after it was made available, meprobamate had become the country's largest-selling prescription drug. By 1957, meprobamate had become the fastest-growing drug in history. The popularity of meprobamate paved the way for [[Chlordiazepoxide|Librium]] and [[Diazepam|Valium]], two minor tranquilizers that belonged to a new chemical class of drugs called the [[benzodiazepine]]s. These were drugs that worked chiefly as [[Anxiolytic|anti-anxiety agents]] and [[muscle relaxant]]s. The first benzodiazepine was Librium. Three months after it was approved, Librium had become the most prescribed tranquilizer in the nation. Three years later, Valium hit the shelves and was ten times more effective as a muscle relaxant and anti-convulsant. Valium was the most versatile of the minor tranquilizers. Later came the widespread adoption of major tranquilizers such as [[chlorpromazine]] and the drug [[reserpine]]. In 1970, sales began to decline for Valium and Librium, but sales of new and improved tranquilizers, such as [[Alprazolam|Xanax]], introduced in 1981 for the newly created diagnosis of panic disorder, soared.<ref name="ToneAndrea" />

[[Lovastatin|Mevacor]] (lovastatin) is the first and most influential [[statin]] in the American market. The 1991 launch of [[Pravastatin|Pravachol]] (pravastatin), the second available in the United States, and the release of [[Simvastatin|Zocor]] (simvastatin) made Mevacor no longer the only statin on the market.
In 1998, [[Sildenafil|Viagra]] was released as a treatment for erectile dysfunction.<ref name="ToneAndrea" />