The little-known effect of drugs on humans is revealed
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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It turns out that many of the usual medicines are capable of affecting a person's personal qualities. After the end of the course of treatment, the patient may become nervous, angry and even reckless.
Medicines to one degree or another "interfere" with brain activity. For example, the usual paracetamol , drugs for asthma and high cholesterol can increase aggressiveness and aggravate neuroses. In some people, these side effects are almost not manifested, while in others they can become pronounced.
Dr. Mishkovsky, representing Ohio University, noticed the negative consequences of taking paracetamol, namely, a decrease in the activity of certain brain regions. In this case, one of the affected areas is responsible for the emotional and empathic sphere. It is noteworthy that paracetamol successfully relieves "psychogenic" pain, but at the same time deprives the patient of compassion, lowers the ability to be happy for others.
Anti-asthma medicines, according to scientists, cause the syndrome of lack of attention and hyperactivity . At the same time, the risk of developing the problem is present in about every second patient taking these drugs. The mechanism of occurrence of the violation is still a mystery to specialists.
Antidepressants can save many people from depression and suicide. However, they can also adversely change a person's personality. So, it was experimentally proved that the antidepressant Paroxetine leaves an imprint on the degree of neuroticism - after treatment with the drug, emotional instability, anxiety increase, and low self-esteem is formed.
Professor Golomb, from the University of California, studied the effect of statins, drugs used to treat high cholesterol levels . Long-term use of these drugs was often accompanied by the appearance of uncontrollable bouts of anger and aggression. However, these symptoms disappeared almost immediately after the end of the course of treatment.
Unfortunately, many patients do not pay attention to changes in themselves, and, moreover, do not track the connection between such changes and taking medications. Dr. Golomb cited the example of a patient who stopped statin therapy several times and then started it again until he realized that the negative changes were due to the treatment. True, sometimes this understanding occurs with a delay - people lose families, friends, etc.
Scientists point to the need for further experimentation. This issue must be investigated carefully, because the effects of many medicines are multifaceted and unpredictable, and often represent a complex unsolved riddle. It is also impossible to refuse such drugs, since in the overwhelming majority of cases they improve the quality of life of patients and often prevent death.
Details of the problem are described on the BBC website