Category: An-An

Poisoning from antifreeze which today is usually ethylene glycol — a clear, colorless, odorless liquid with a sweet taste — that can produce dramatic and dangerous toxicity. Ethylene glycol is found most commonly in automotive cooling systems, and hydraulic brake fluid. In an industrial setting it is also used as a solvent and in a…

A substance that can prevent the full expression of estrogen. Antiestrogens act by exerting antagonistic effects on target tissues (androgens and progestogens act in this way) or by competing with estrogens for access to receptor sites located on the cell surface. For example, the drug tamoxifen (brand name: Nolvadex) is an antiestrogen that is used in the treatment of breast cancer and…

1. As a noun, a drug taken to prevent or treat nausea and vomiting. As, for example, the antihistamine meclizine hydrochloride (Bonine).2. As an adjective, pertaining to the prevention or treatment of nausea and vomiting. Opening a window in a car can have an antiemetic effect.From anti- + emetic.

An inhibitor of the action of the enzyme elastase. Alpha-1 antitrypsin is an antielastase. Also called an elastase inhibitor.

A drug that counteracts a poison.

A relatively small (peptide) molecule that is released by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain after being made nearby (in the hypothalamus). ADH has an antidiuretic action that prevents the production of dilute urine (and so is antidiuretic). A syndrome of inappropriate secretion of ADH results in the inability to put out dilute urine,…

A substance that helps a person with diabetes control their level of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Antidiabetic agents include insulin and the oral hypoglycemic agents.

Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression. The available antidepressant drugs include the SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, MAOIs or monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, tetracyclic antidepressants, and others. Examples of SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors include: citalopram (Celexa, Cipramil) escitalopram oxalate (Cipralex, Lexapro) fluvoxamine maleate (Luvox) paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat, Aropax) fluoxetine (Prozac) sertraline (Zoloft, Lustral) Examples…

One of a class of medications used to treat depression. The tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are also used for some forms of anxiety, fibromyalgia, and the control of chronic pain. “Tricyclic” refers to the presence of three rings in the chemical structure of these drugs.

A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), one of the commonly prescribed drugs for treating depression. SSRIs affect the chemicals that nerves in the brain use to send messages to one another. These chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, are released by one nerve and taken up by other nerves. Neurotransmitters that are not taken up by other nerves are taken…