Posted: September 8th, 2022

Paul Ehrlich’s Magic Drug

In the last century, Paul Ehrlich dreamed of a “magic drug” that could eliminate pathogens while preserving the body cells’ health.

Write an essay explaining the specific actions of antibiotics to destroy bacteria.

Guidelines:
Use APA guidelines for proper citations.
Essay’s minimum words: 500

Paul Ehrlich’s Magic Drug
German Nobel laureate Paul Ehrlich discovered the magic drug and initiated the discovery of a magic drug that would revolutionize medical interventions. The discovery of antibiotics was crucial in explaining the work of the immune system (Martin et al., 2020). Antibiotics perform the duties of an immune system of attacking foreign bodies. The work of antibiotics is to destroy the pathogens by destroying the structure of bacteria or undermining the ability to multiply or reproduce (Martin et al., 2020). Bacteria survive in an organism by multiplying to continue affecting more organs and subdue the organism. Scientists have discovered bactericidal whose purpose is to kill bacteria outright. Some of the bactericidal drugs include penicillin and cephalosporin (Martin et al., 2020). Paul Ehrlich’s concept has revolutionized the treatment and prevention of diseases for both children and adults.
The process of killing bacteria in the body involves undermining critical processes of the bacteria. Some of the processes include stopping the reproduction process of bacteria or stopping the mechanisms that build their walls (Piano et al., 2019). Interfering with the integrity of their cell walls makes them weak and unable to affect the body. Destroying the cell walls or disrupting the structure kills the bacteria or affects the process of growth. Medications that slow down the growth process of bacteria are called bacteriostatic (Piano et al., 2019). Slowing down the growth will help the immune system to respond effectively to fight the infections.
Antibiotics are developed to counter bacteria in different ways. The three methods include attacking the cell membranes surrounding the cell wall, affecting the materials that make the nucleic acids (Piano et al., 2019). Nucleic acids are critical in the development of DNA and RNA that are vital for the survival of a bacteria cell. Scientists have developed other drugs to counter proteins that are essential in making ribosomes. Affecting the critical components of a bacteria prevents the multiplication process and stops the pathogens from affecting the body (Martin et al., 2020). Patients should take drugs for a period prescribed by a practitioner. Some drugs will take several days to subdue all the pathogens in the body. The role of the magic drugs that counter pathogens is to assist the immune system to avoid overwhelming bacteria that weaken the body.
Magic drugs can have a narrow or broad spectrum depending on their design. Narrow spectrum drugs are active against specific strains of bacteria. Physicians prescribe narrow-spectrum bacteria when the diagnosis is specific about the disease a patient is suffering from (Martin et al., 2020). In case a physician is not sure about the specific illness-causing diverse symptoms, a broad-spectrum drug is necessary. The two classes of drugs are vital in undermining the bacteria in the body.
Paul Ehrlich’s discovery has been advanced from a post-infection intervention to a pre-infection mechanism. Physicians can prescribe medications to prevent infections. The focus is to utilize the mechanism of Paul Ehrlich to prevent infections (Martin et al., 2020). For instance, pediatricians can prescribe penicillin to prevent acute rheumatic fever. Children who have been bitten by dogs may be given medication to prevent an infection from occurring. The mechanisms are effective in preventing the pathogens from surviving in the body of a human being. Preventive medication counters the growth and multiplication of bacteria cells (Piano et al., 2019). The discovery of magic drugs by Paul Ehrlich has been advanced to help physicians prevent or treat different conditions. The concept has been used to address chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and HIV/AIDs.

References
Martin II, J. K., Sheehan, J. P., Bratton, B. P., Moore, G. M., Mateus, A., Li, S. H. J., … & Gitai, Z. (2020). A dual-mechanism antibiotic kills gram-negative bacteria and avoids drug resistance. Cell, 181(7), 1518-1532.
Piano, S., Singh, V., Caraceni, P., Maiwall, R., Alessandria, C., Fernandez, J., … & Zaccherini, G. (2019). Epidemiology and effects of bacterial infections in patients with cirrhosis worldwide. Gastroenterology, 156(5), 1368-1380.

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