Drug Classifications

Prevent the synthesis of angiotensin II, a potent vasoconstrictor; used to treat hypertension, heart failure, and kidney disease.

Promote the accumulation of acetylcholine, resulting in prolonged cholinergic effects. Used to treat myasthenia gravis, glaucoma, Alzheimer's disease, and Lewy Body Dementia.

Produce effects similar to the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (see chapter 13)

Inhibit the adrenergic system, preventing stimulation of the adrenergic receptors (antihypertensives)

Block stimulation of mineralcorticoid receptors by aldosterone, thus reducing high blood pressure by preventing sodium reabsorption.

Gentamicin, tobramycin, and related antibiotics; particularly effective against gram-negative microorganisms; noted for potentially dangerous toxicity.

Used to reduce elevated postprandial hyperglycemia (pramlinitide) in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus

Narcotic and nonnarcotic; relieve pain without producing loss of consciousness or reflex activity.

These steroid hormones produce masculinizing effects.

Local or general anesthesia; cause a loss of sensation with or without loss of consciousness.

Also known as ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers); act by binding to angiotensin II receptor sites, preventing angiotensin II (a very potent vasoconstrictor) from binding to receptor sites in vascular smooth muscle, brain, heart, kidneys, and adrenal gland, thus blocking the blood pressure-elevating and sodium-retaining effects of angiotensin II.

Reduce the acidity of gastric contents

Used to prevent or treat attacks of angina pectoris; most common is nitroglycerin.

Used to treat anxiety symptoms or disorders; also known as minor tranquilizers or anxiolytics, although the term tranquilizer is avoided today to prevent the misperception that the patient is being tranquilized.

Used to treat infections caused by pathogenic microbes; the term is often used interchangeably with antimicrobial agents.

Block the action of acetylcholine in the parasympathetic nervous sstem; also know as cholinergic blocking agents, antispasmodics, and parasympatholytic agents. Used to treat issues with involuntary movements of smooth muscle tissue.

Do NOT dissolve existing blood clots, but do prevent the formation, enlargement, or extension of blood clots.

Suppress abnormal neuronal activity in the CNS, preventing seizures.

Relieve depression.

Include insulin and amylinomimetic agent (pramlintide) used to treat type 1 diabetes mellitus. The secretogogues and those following are used to treat type 2 DM. Secretogogues (sulonylureas, melitinides), biguanide (metformin), thiazolidinediones (pioglitazone, rosiglitazone), alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (acarbose, miglitol), amylinomimetic agents (pramlintide), and incretin-based therapy (exenatide, stigagliptin) used in the treatment of type 2 DM.

Relieve or control the symptoms of acute or chronic diarrhea.

Used to correct cardiac dysrhythmias (any heart rate or rhythm other than normal sinus rhythm.

Used to prevent or treat nausea and vomiting

Used to treat fungal infections

Used to reduce intraocular pressure.

Used to treat active gout attacks or to prevent future attacks.

Used to treat allergy symptoms; may also be used to treat motion sickness, insomnia, and other nonallergic reactions.

Used to treat elevated blood pressure (hypertension)

Used to reduce serum cholesterol and/or triglycerides; most common are statins.

Chemicals that eliminate living organisms pathogenic to the patient; also called antibiotics or antiinfectives.

Also called chemotherapy agents; used alone or in combination with other treatment modalities such as radiation, surgery or biologic response modifiers to treat cancer.

Used in the treatment of Parkinson's syndrome and other dyskinesias.

Prevent platelet clumping (aggregation), thereby preventing an essential step in formation of a blood clot; most common are aspirin and clopidogrel.

Used to treat severe mental illnesses; also known as major tranquilizers or neuroleptics, although the term tranquilizer is avoided today to prevent the misperception that the patient is being tranquilized.

Used to reduce fevers associated with a variety of conditions; most common are aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen.

anticholinergic agents

Used to treat the symptoms of hyperthyroidism; also known as thyroid hormone antagonists.

Used to prevent or treat an infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Used to suppress a cough by acting on the couch center of the brain.

These drugs, such as histamine (H2) antagonists, decrease the volume and increase the pH of gastric secretions.

Used to treat infections caused by pathogenic viruses

Inhibit the activity of sympathetic transmitters, norepinephrine, and epinephrine; used to treat angina, dysrhythmias, hypertension, and glaucoma.

Stimulate receptors within the tracheobronchial tree to relax and dilate the airway passages, allowing a greater volume of air to be exchanged and improving oxygenation.

Also called calcium ion antagonists, slow channel blockers, or calcium ion influx inhibitors; inhibit the movement of calcium ions across the cell membrane; used to decrease dysrhythmias, slow rate of contraction of the heart, and cause vasodilation.

Antibiotics (iipenem, ertapenem, meropenem, dosipenem) with a broad spectrum of activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria; they act by inhibiting cell wall synthesis.

Interfere with the production of aqueous humor, thereby reducing intraocular pressure associated with glaucoma.

Improve immune function by stimulating the activity of various immune cells

Also known as parasympathomimetics; produce effects similar to those of acetylcholine. Functions to enhance or inhibit the effects mediated by acetylcholine in the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system, or both.

Cholinesterase enymes destroy acetylcholine, stopping its action. Cholinesterase inhibitors block destruction of acetylcholine, thus prolonging its action. Examples of cholinesterase inhibitors are demecarium and echothiophate.

This drug, sucralfate, forums a complex that adheres to the crater of an ulcer, protecting the ulcer from aggravation from gastric secretions.

Stimulate progenitor cells in bone marrow to increase the numbers of leukocytes, thereby improving immune function.

These hormones are secreted by the adrenal cortex of the adrenal gland.

Anticholingergic agents that paralyze accommodation of the iris of the eye.

Agents that cause direct cell death; often used for cancer chemotherapy.

Reduce swelling in the nasal passages caused by a common cold or allergic rhinitis, usually by vasoconstriction.

Combination products containing digestive enzymes used to treat various digestive disorders and to supplement deficiencies of natural digestive enzymes.

A class of drugs, also known as cardiac glycosides, that increase the force of contraction and slow the heart rate, thereby improving cardiac output; digoxin is the prototype.

Act to increase the flow of urine.

Used to induce vomiting

Steroids that cause feminizing effects.

Liquefy mucus by stimulating the natural lubricant fluids from the bronchial glands, allowing the liquified mucus to be expectorated for coughed up out of the trachea and bronchi.

Ciprofloxacin and related agents; widely used broad spectrum antibiotics.

Used to increase stomach contractions, relax the pyloric valve, and increase peristalsis in the gastrointestinal tract; result in a decrease in gastric transit time and more rapid emptying of the intestinal tract; protoype is metoclopramide.

Also known as adrenocorticosteroids; are used to regulate carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism.

Hormones produced by the testes in the male and ovaries in the female.

Plant products usually sold as food supplements; may have pharmacologic effects that are not evaluated or regulated by the FDA.

Decrease the volume and increase the pH of gastric secretions both during the day and the night.

Also known as the statins; antilipemic agents that inhibit hydroxymethyl-glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase enzyme, the enzyme that stimulates the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonic acid, a precursor in the biosynthesis of cholesterol, thus reducing the potential for atherosclerosis.

Used to decrease the production or increase the excretion of uric acid excretion, thus lowering serum uric acid levels to prevent gout. (e.g. allopurinol)

Used to produce sleep

Used to reduce basal glucose concentrations and elevated postprandial glucose concentrations; used to treat diabetes mellitus.

Hormone required for glucose transport into the cells for energy.

Used to prevent physiologic lactation

Act by a variety of mechanisms to treat constipation

Derivatives of heparin; anticoagulants for the prophylactic treatment of pulmonary thromboembolism and deep vein thrombosis.

Erythromycin, azithromycin, and related antibiotics

Agents (phenelzine, tranylcypromine, isocarboxazid, selegiline) that block monoamine oxidase, thereby preventing the degradation and prolonging the action of norepinephrine and serotonin

Steroids that cause the kidneys to retain sodium and water

Cause constriction of the iris

Reduce the thickness and stickiness of pulmonary secretions by acting directly on the mucous plugs to dissolve them

Relieve muscle spasms

Cause dilation of the iris

Aprepitant is the first NK1 antagonist available; blocks the effects of substance P on NK1 receptors. Used to prevent acute and delayed chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting caused by highly emetogenic antineoplastic agents.

Skeletal muscle relaxants used to produce muscle relaxation during anesthesia; reduce the use and side effects of general anesthetics; used to ease endotracheal intubation and prevent laryngospasm.

Metabolize to nitric oxide, a potent vasodilator used to treat angina

Prostaglandin inhibitors that are analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory in action

Centrally acting analgesic agents related to morphine

Used for birth control; administered orally

Used in type 2 diabetes mellitus to improve glucose metabolism and lower blood glucose levels

Steroids regluating endometrial and myometrial function; used alone or in combination with estrogen for oral contraception

Saquinavir, ritonavir, indinavir, and related drugs; block the maturation of human immunodeficiency virus; used to treat HIV infections

Group of related chemicals that are a subclass of NSAIDs effective as analgesics, antipyretics, and antiinflammatory agents

Given to an individual to produce relaxation and rest; do not necessarily produce sleep

Antidepressants that act by specifically blocking the reuptake of serotonin, thus prolonging its action

Used to block serotonin; prevent emesis induced by chemotherapy, radation therapy, and surgery

Block the synthesis of cholesterol

Draw water into the stool, thereby softening it

Interfere with the stoage and relase of norepinephrine and epinephrine

Mimic the action of dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine

A specific group of drugs (alteplase, anistreplase, streptokinase, urokinase, tenecteplase) given to dissolve existing blood clots

Used to counteract or block the action of excessive formation of thyroid hormones (e.g. propylthiouracil, methimazole)

Used when thyroid hormones are not being produced or are not produced in sufficient quantities to meet the body's physiologic needs

Inhibit the reuptake or norepinephrine and serotonin (include doxepin, amitripltyline, and imipramine)

Act on the tubules of the kidneys to enhance the excretion of uric acid

Produce a local anesthetic effect on the mucosa of the ureters and bladder to relieve burning, pain urgency, and frequency associated with urinary tract infections (UTIs)

Substances excreted and concentrated in the urine in sufficient amounts to have an antiseptic effect on the urine and the urinary tract

Used primarily to prevent preterm labor and delivery; includes terbutaline

Increase the frequency or strength of uterine contractions; includes oxytocin

Suspensions of either live, attenuated, or killed bacteria or viruses administered to induce immunity against infection of specific bacteria or viruses

Relax the arteriolar smooth muscle causing a dilation of the blood vessels (e.g., calcium channel blockers, alpha-1 adrenergic blockers, and hydralazine)