The sixth edition of Brody's
Human Pharmacology has been appropriately subtitled Mechanism-Based
Therapeutics and has been designed to provide students in all health
professions with pharmacological information and its clinical relevance.
A major goal of this edition
has been to present information in the clearest and most concise manner, using
prototypical drugs to illustrate basic mechanisms and boxes and tables to
emphasize key points and relevant clinical information, with many new figures
within each section.
Sections were created with a
focus on therapeutics, and two new sections were added to this edition,
including one on drug therapy for pain management and another on the treatment
of inflammatory, allergic, and immunological disorders. In addition, several
new chapters have been added to this edition including
·
A chapter on
pharmacogenetics in the Therapeutic Principles Section, critical in this era of
personalized medicine
·
A chapter on the
cannabinoids in the Pain Management Section, particularly important in light of
the opioid crisis
·
A chapter focused on
drugs for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the
Central Nervous System Section, because these medications are being prescribed
to an increasing number of children
·
A chapter on drug
treatment for human immunodeficiency virus and related opportunistic infections
in the Chemotherapy Section, because millions of individuals are dying each
year from AIDS-related illnesses.
Chapters were formatted using a consistent style and include the following section titles:
Therapeutic Overview
Mechanisms of Action
Relationship of Mechanisms
of Action to Clinical Response Pharmacokinetics
Pharmacovigilance: Adverse
Effects and Drug Interactions
In addition, a chapter
section titled New Developments presents the latest advancements in the field
and may include discussions of drugs being investigated or developed as new
information is gained. Another new section titled Clinical Relevance for
Healthcare Professionals provides relevant information applicable to all
professionals in the healthcare field, as well as clinically important
information for specific professionals such as physical therapists, dentists,
and nurses.
Many of the figures have
been revised to more clearly illustrate the textual information and assist
students in learning. As the number of drugs in each drug class has increased,
an emphasis has been placed on major drug classes relevant to each chapter,
with generic and trade-named materials presented at the end of each chapter.
As with prior editions, the
multicolored figures explaining key concepts will be available on Student
Consult.
I sincerely hope that the content revisions and additions, consistent organization, and new figures are helpful to both students and teachers of pharmacology in all health professions.
