Virtually all of us, at one time or another in our lives, have relied on drug therapy for treatment of illnesses ranging from minor to life threatening. Many wonder just what these agents are doing to us, good, bad or indifferent. Perhaps we feel that we do not have the knowledge to be able to evaluate the impact of drugs on us. This book provides a practical approach to understanding the reasons, rationale and scientific basis for successful drug therapy. The approach is a general one, with concepts applying to many drug classes. The target readership is the average layperson having only a limited science background. Pre-professional health science students, practical nurses, home health aides, government employees, drug salesmen, lawyers, legislators and anyone whose employment requires a general understanding of drug therapy would find this text both informative and useful.
The book follows a logical progression, beginning with the ancient origins of drugs and herbal materials and progresses to contemporary pharmacotherapy. The early chapters explore how drugs are discovered, tested, evaluated in humans and then marketed. This is followed by a general consideration of how drugs affect bodily functions and in turn how the body's functions modify drug effects. The nature and reasons for adverse effects of drugs (e.g. side effects, drug allergies, drug toxicity and drug interactions) are presented. A common sense approach is used to aid in understanding the ins and outs of over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, herbal medicines and nutriceuticals. A final chapter offers predictions on what changes and advancements we might expect in the decades ahead.

WHAT THIS BOOK OFFERS
- Targets a wide readership with only a limited scientific background; beginning health profession students, practical nurses, home health aides, drug salesmen, government workers, legislators and lawyers.
- Logically progresses from early origins of herbal remedies to development of the modern drug industry and clinical drug trials in humans.
- Simplifies concepts of drug actions and effects in humans and explains the nature of side effects and drug interactions.
- Explores the practical uses of over-the-counter drugs, herbals, vitamins and nutriceuticals.
- Analyses current successes and limitations of contemporary drug therapy and offers predictions for the future.

Dr. Ingenito was born in 1932 in Harrison, NJ where he attended public schools. His undergraduate degree is in pharmacy, a profession he worked in for several years before his postgraduate studies in pharmacology. He earned the Ph.D. in this discipline in 1965 from the New Jersey College of Medicine. He held faculty positions in pharmacology for over 35 years at the Albany (NY) Medical College and the East Carolina University (ECU) School of Medicine (Greenville, NC) and he published over 60 scientific papers and numerous educational materials in his field. He retired in 2001 from ECU as Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology, is married, has 4 children and 7 grandchildren and currently resides in Greenville NC.