Antimicrobial agents are essential for the treatment of life-threatening infections and for managing the burden of minor infections in the community. In addition, they play a key role in organ and bone marrow transplantation, cancer chemotherapy, artificial joint and heart valve surgery. Unlike other classes of medicines, they are vulnerable to resistance from mutations in target microorganisms, and their adverse effects may extend to other patients (increased risk of cross-infection). As ...

Examining meningitis mainly from a bacterial perspective, but also including an overview of viral, fungal and chronic meningitis, this book describes the anatomy of the meninges and clinical signs and symptoms of this disease. Individual organisms that cause meningitis worldwide are dealt with in specific chapters, describing in detail how these pathogens interact with the human host at both a molecular and cellular level. The book provides a thorough understanding of bacterial virulence f...

Pharmaceutics: Basic Principles and Application to Pharmacy Practice is an engaging textbook that covers all aspects of pharmaceutics with emphasis on the basic science and its application to pharmacy practice. Based on curricular guidelines mandated by the American Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), this book incorporates laboratory skills by identifying portions of each principle that can be used in a clinical setting. In this way, instructors are able to demonstrate their adherence ...

Antibiotics are truly miracle drugs. As a class, they are one of the only ones that actually cure disease as opposed to most drugs that only help relieve symptoms or control disease. Since bacteria that cause serious disease in humans are becoming more and more resistant to the antibiotics we have today, and because they will ultimately become resistant to any antibiotic that we use for treatment or for anything else, we need a steady supply of new antibiotics active against any resistant ...

Intensive care is a rapidly changing area of medicine, and after four years from the 2nd edition the volume editors and authors have deemed necessary to update it. In the recent years, in fact, five new randomised controlled trials and five new meta-analyses demonstrate that selective decontamination of the digestive tract [SDD] is an antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent severe infections of not only lower airways but also of blood. Additionally, SDD has been shown to reduce inflammation i...

Provides both fundamentals and new and emerging applicationsAdvanced Drug Delivery brings readers fully up to date with the state of the science, presenting the basics, formulation strategies, and therapeutic applications of advanced drug delivery. The book demonstrates how core concepts of pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, and molecular biology can be combined and applied in order to spark novel ideas to design and develop advanced drug delivery systems for the treatmen...

Antibiotic resistance, once a term appreciated only by microbiologists, has become a common topic in the popular press. Stuart Levy, one of the contributors to this collection, bears some of the responsibility for increasing public awareness with the publication of his book "The Antibiotic Paradox" in 1992: Misuse of antibiotics resulting in increased bacterial resistance had previously been recognized in the infectious disease community. However, Dr. Levy's eloquent public warning about t...

A new companion study guide to the most respected text in pharmacy educationGoodman & Gilman’s Workbook for Pharmacologic Therapeutics delivers concise, high-yield summaries of the world-renowned coverage of the actions and uses of therapeutic agents in relation to physiology and pathophysiology found in Goodman & Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics.In order to maximize the learning and teaching experience, this uni...

Evidence-Based Validation of Herbal Medicines brings together current thinking and practice in the areas of characterization and validation of natural products. This book reviews all aspects of evaluation and development of medicines from plant sources, including their cultivation, collection, phytochemical and phyto-pharmacological evaluation, and therapeutic potential. Emphasis is placed on describing the full range of evidence-based analytical and bio-analytical techniques used to chara...

Infection of the lower respiratory tract is a major determinant of the course of cystic fibrosis. Although numerous efforts have been made to elucidate the specific mechanisms predisposing the respiratory mucosa of cystic fibrosis patients to infection, so far no clinically relevant procedures for completely effective prevention or control of infection have resulted. Hence, in dealing with infections in cystic fibrosis, we continue to rely mainly on antimicrobials. Antiinfective measures a...

Vaccination is one of the most efficient and cost effective methods of promoting human health and has been in clinical use for at least 200 years. Nevertheless, infectious diseases continue to constitute a constant threat to the well being of humanity. Common pathogens, once believed to be under control, acquire increased virulence and resistance to drugs, while exotic microorganisms emerged from hidden reservoirs to cause yet incurable diseases in humans. These changes, together with epid...

The advances in drug delivery systems over recent years have resulted in a large number of novel delivery systems with the potential to revolutionize the treatment and prevention of diseases. Bio-Targets and Drug Delivery Approaches is an easy-to-read book for students, researchers and pharmaceutical scientists providing a comprehensive introduction to the principles of advanced drug delivery and targeting their current applications and potential future developmen...