What are the Therapeutic Classes of

Drugs?
Meta-title: What are the therapeutic classes of drugs?
Meta-description: In this article we will be defining what therapeutic drugs is as well as
discuss some of the classes of therapeutic drugs such as abortifacient, anti-bacterial and
corticosteroids, anti-adrenergic blockers, and so on.

Introduction
Therapeutic is a branch of medicine that deals with the treatment of diseases using remedial
agents and therapeutic drugs are those chemically induced drugs that are extensively
studied, experimented and tested to be reliable to treat the disease it is aimed to work for.

Like all things in the world there are two sides of therapeutic drugs as well, pros and cons.
While the drugs work like a charm when treating the disease they are supposed to treat,
nevertheless, they come with side effects that can harm our body. So it is generally advised
to ask a doctor for a prescription before taking any medicine however knowledgeable you
think you might be but being sure of your hunch is a safe route and you can never be too
aware.

Now that we have got some information on what therapeutic drugs are, we will delve a little
deeper on the classes of therapeutic drugs.

Classes of Therapeutic Drugs

Therapeutic drugs are divided into the following classes based on the diseases they are
used to treat.

Abortifacient
Deliberate attempts made to end pregnancy by removing the embryo or the fetus from the
womb is called abortion. Abortifacient is a drug that helps to cause abortion. It is a
combination of two latin words abortus meaning miscarriage and faciens meaning "to make",
thus it literally means "to cause miscarriage".
Abortifacient is a broad term used to categorise any drug that has abortion inducing
characteristics. It is often used in medically induced abortion.

Anti-adrenergic Blockers
Anti-adrenergic blockers are drugs that basically blocks the activity of the hormones that
are secreted by the adrenaline glands called catechoalmines. Adrenaline glands are located
on the top of the kidney. There are two major types of anti-adrenergic blockers.
- Alpha anti-adrenergic
- Beta anti-adrenergic
Beta anti-adrenergic are used to treat heart failure and cardiac indications while alpha anti-
adrenergic are used to treat hypertension or high blood pressure.

Anti-bacterial Corticosteroids
Corticosteroids are an effective class of steroid hormones that helps to reduce
inflammation and constriction of blood vessels in the skin. Antibacterial corticosteroids are
a type of topical steroids that are a combination of creams used to therapeutically treat skin
infections primarily caused by bacteria.

Sedatives
A class of therapeutic drug that is used to slow down the activity of the brain is called
sedatives. It induces a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA to
enhance its effect on the brain. GABA is responsible for slowing down the activity of the
brain. Sedatives are produced under heavy regulation because of its highly addictive nature
and are only given to prescribed patients. It is generally used to treat anxiety and sleep
disorders.

Anti-diabetic Drugs
Therapeutic drugs that are developed to treat diabetes are called anti-diabetic drugs.
Diabetes is a chronic disease which means that it lasts a long time. It is a condition in which
the body either does not produce insulin or cannot use the insulin that has been produced.
This causes the sugar levels in the blood to either be low or high. It can be of 2 types:
- Type-I Diabetes
- Type-II Diabetes
For Type-I diabetes generally Amylin is prescribed as an anti-diabetic drug but its
prescription is not recommended in some countries, for Type-II, biguanides such as
Metformin are usually prescribed.

Antiviral Drug
A class of therapeutic drugs that are used to treat infections and diseases caused by viruses
is called an antiviral drug. Majority of the antiviral drugs are made targeting a specific virus
but a drug to target a wide range of viruses can also be produced. It is generally prescribed
for HIV, herpes viruses, hepatitis B and C viruses, and influenza A and B viruses. The big
idea behind antiviral drugs is to identify the alien protein or parts of protein in the body. After
identification and extraction of the alien protein, a variety of potential candidate drugs are
tested on it following intensive screening tests for effectiveness.

Analgesic
A class of therapeutic drugs that are used to relieve pain are called analgesic drugs. It is
also called painkillers or pain relievers. Unlike anaesthesia it does not directly numb the
nerves. They are of two major groups:
- Anti-inflammatory: It is used to curb the pain caused by inflammation.
- Opioid analgesics: It alters the way the brain perceives pain, thus reducing its effect.
Analgesics are usually used after surgery. Some are available off the counter while some
might require prescription. It is also used during headaches, menstrual cramps and muscle
soreness.

Anticoagulant
A class of therapeutic drugs that helps in the prevention of blood clots are anticoagulant
drugs. A blood clotting is helpful during an external bleeding as it helps to prevent the loss of
blood but if blood starts to clot in wrong places where it absolutely must not, such as heart,
lungs or brain, then it will create a serious problem leading to strokes and heart attacks
which are both fatal. Anticoagulant interrupts the clotting of the blood in these cases thus
preventing a fatal situation.

Conclusion
In this article we loosely defined what therapeutic drugs are and how useful they can be. We
also touched on the caution that needs to be taken while dealing with these drugs and
closely delved deeper into understanding and explaining the different classes of the
therapeutic drugs.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the use of therapeutic drugs?
Therapeutic is a branch of medicine that deals with the treatment of diseases as such
drugs that are produced in the right quantity and composition to treat such diseases
after extensive research, study and tests are called therapeutic drugs. Hence,
therapeutic drugs are used to treat diseases.
2. What is an example of a therapeutic drug?
The examples of therapeutic drugs can be found all around us in our daily lives.
Every one of us has used it at some point in our lives. For example, to treat
headaches we take paracetamol, an over the counter painkiller, it is an example of a
therapeutic drug. We apply creams such as ring-guard to treat ring-worms, which is
also an example of a therapeutic drug.
3. What are anti-adrenergic blockers used for?
Anti-adrenergic blockers are used to treat high blood pressure and heart failures.
4. What drugs are anti-adrenergic?
List of drugs that are anti-adrenergic are as follows:
● Intuniv
● Catapres
● Lucemyra
● Kapvay
1. Can hormonal birth control be called abortifacient?
Based on recent studies and research hormonal birth control cannot be accurately
called an abortifacient since how its working principle differs from how abortifacient
is supposed to work.