by Migdalis Perez CastilloPrensa Latina
Queen of frames of mind, happiness is the most supreme goal of modern humanity who, with the unanimous support of science, does not relax in its purpose of supporting it and sharing her throne.
An old and ever more attainable purpose, it found its allies in the pharmaceutical laboratories. Today, there is a prodigious therapeutic arsenal that are considered Pills of Happiness.
Precursor of these drugs and sold by the Lilly Dista laboratories in 1988.
Prozac is the first of a series of drugs to combat depression as well as for the treatment of bulimia, a relatively recent disease caused by the cult of slenderness. As a myth, the drug is not only psycho-stimulating nor euphoric: it is a drug that encourages the normal affective state of mind that, through the expectation created by it, has paved the way to other similar ones.
Among them are Seroxat created by the Smith Kline pharmaceutical company, popularly known as the pill against timidity and effective in the treatment of anxiety and agoraphobia, the most serious of the phobias. With less publicity but greater effectiveness the anti-depressive Vendral Retard appeared, from the Pfizer laboratories, that acts on a neuro-chemical level and causes fewer secondary effects.
Moving into the most intimate region of the humans, that of sexual relationships, the list of marvelous drugs is headed by the famous blue pill, Viagra. Created by the above mentioned pharmaceutical company, this drug inaugurated the era of new drugs for the well-being of man and, according to official statistics, is effective in 70 percent of the men affected by erectile dysfunction.
Ruled out for patients using vasodilating nitrates, those who have bleeding ulcers or heart diseases, Viagra flared up the sexual desires of millions of males throughout the world and saturated the environment with frenzy and expectation. Although specialists consider that it is very difficult to surpass it, other medicines aimed at the same disorder are now awakening euphoria among a few.
Called the pill of the weekend, the IC351 helps erection and can maintain the effect for 24 hours by blocking the action of the phosphodiesterase 5 enzyme and stimulates the flow of blood to the penis. Another drug against impotence, Vasomax, has no secondary effects for persons with cardiac problems and acts a few minutes after taking it. The list against sexual erectile dysfunction is completed now with Apomorphine, useful in the cases of psychological disorders and Muse, small suppositories that are placed in the urethra and that are compatible with cardiac medication.
Encouraged by western consumption, obesity is a disease that now affects a great number of people throughout the world and can be the cause of psychological disorders if it is not fought.
Conscious of the benefits that the medicines can have on this group, the Hoffman-La Roch laboratories created a revolutionary drug against weight excess, Xenical. In contrast to traditional drugs against this disorder, this medicine inhibits gastrointestinal lipase and reduces the absorption of fats by 30 % in the intestine (the fat that is not absorbed accumulates in the intestines and is excreted).
But, the most recent creation against fat tissue is Reductil, a drug that acts on the nervous system, reducing the sensation of appetite and - consequently - the accumulation of fat.
No less traumatic, the slow total or partial loss of hair is also a "good reason" for those steeped in depression and a loss of self-esteem.
Androgenetic alopecia, where hair is lost first from the forehead and later in the crown of the head before affecting all of the scalp, is the most frequent loss of hair in the males and affects approximately 50 percent of these in varying degrees. According to specialists, it is not a disease but a physiological state and certainly provokes anguish, anxiety, worry or tension that requires a medical solution.
For this reason, Propecia was placed in the market by the manufacturers, Merch Sharp & Dohme. This medicine not only halts the loss of hair but promises to make it grow back.
Its active principle, finesteride, acts as an inhibitor of an enzyme that regulates the production of dehydrotestosterone, a hormone that alters and weakens not only the hair follicles but also the quality of the hair. Its fame as a miraculous product, according to experts, is well deserved by its actions on the root of the problem while treating the causes.
Whether to raise the spirit, recover sexual potency, reduce overweight or recover lost hair - all stressing situations - these medicines appeared as a result of the untiring effort of mankind to achieve its well-being.
Science, in fact, always offers new surprises, not only against lethal diseases, but against apparently minor disorders, capable of dethroning these sentiments of Humanity by achieving what is yearned for.
