Role of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry in the Health Profession.

Role of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry in the Health Profession.

There is a reciprocal relationship exist between pharmaceutical biochemistry and health profession. The basic aims of health profession are to get the understanding and maintenance of health and understanding and effective treatment of diseases. Biochemistry greatly effects on both aspects. Biochemical studies clarified many aspects of health and disease, and conversely, the study of various aspects of health and disease has opened up new areas of biochemistry. Following diagram is better explaining this two-way street.

Diagram 1

Example

Knowledge of protein structure and function is necessary to elucidate the single biochemical difference between normal hemoglobin and sickle cell hemoglobin. On the other hand, analysis of sickle cell hemoglobin helps us to understand the structure and function of both type of hemoglobin.

What is health?

According to WHO, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not only the absence of disease. From biochemical point of view, health is a state in which all intra and extracellular reactions of the body occur at rates, appropriate with the organism’s maximal survival in the physiologic state.

What is disease?

A disease may be abnormalities of biomolecules, chemical reactions, or of biochemical processes. The major factors that are responsible for causing diseases in animals and humans may be physical, chemical, biological, lack of oxygen, genetic, immunologic, nutritional, endocrine etc.

1. Physical agents including mechanical trauma, extremes of temperature, sudden changes in atmospheric pressure, radiation, electric shock.

2. Chemical agents, including drugs, certain toxic compounds, therapeutic drugs, etc.

3. Biologic agents including viruses, bacteria, fungi, higher forms of parasites.

4. Lack of oxygen including loss of blood supply, depletion of the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, poisoning of the oxidative enzymes.

5. Genetic disorders: Congenital, molecular.

6. Immunologic reactions: Anaphylaxis, autoimmune disease.

7. Nutritional imbalances: Deficiencies, excesses.

8. Endocrine imbalances: Hormonal deficiencies, excesses.

These factors affect on important biochemical reactions as well as on biomolecules. Biochemical studies help in diagnosis and treatment of most of these conditions e.g. some biochemical investigations of laboratory in relation to diabetes mellitus are:

1.   To assist in the diagnosis of specific diseases (diabetes mellitus).

2.   To reveal the fundamental causes of diseases (genetic disorder).

3.   To act as screening tests for the early diagnosis of certain diseases (blood sugar level).

4.   To suggest rational treatments of the diseases (sugar free diet).

5.   To assist in monitoring the progress (recovery, worsening, reduction, or relapse) of diseases

6.   To assist in assessing the response of diseases to therapy.