It is strange that nitroglycerin, the raw material for dynamite that killed people in wars, can save lives. Moreover, ironically, Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, suffered from angina pectoris, a severe pain in the heart, in his later years and regularly used nitroglycerin. Furthermore, in 1998, about 100 years after Nobel's death, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to the three scientists who discovered why nitroglycerin was effective against angina pectoris. .
Nitroglycerin is a clear, viscous liquid chemical explosive created in the mid-19th century. It was a dangerous compound that could easily explode on impact or friction, making it difficult to handle. In 1867, the Swedish chemist Nobel made a huge fortune by developing dynamite that could be safely transported by impregnating diatomaceous earth with nitroglycerin.He established this as a fund and made a will to award prizes to people who contributed to humanity. left behind.
It was a British scholar who used nitroglycerin to treat angina pectoris, and it was hinted that the symptoms caused by dropping one or two drops of this liquid on the tongue were similar to those caused by sniffing amyl nitrite, which lowers blood pressure. It became. After actually using it on patients with angina pectoris to confirm its effectiveness, several scholars conducted research and found that nitroglycerin acts directly on vascular smooth muscle and dilates coronary vessels.
However, for a long time, it was unclear why nitroglycerin dilates blood vessels, but recently it has been discovered that nitric oxide, which is broken down in the body, has an effect by widening narrowed blood vessels. elucidated by scholars. Nitroglycerin is currently being marketed by many companies as an effective drug for angina pectoris and myocardial infarction.
Unlike other drugs, it is used in a slightly different way, such as sublingual tablets, sublingual sprays, and patches. Sublingual tablets are placed under the tongue for gradual absorption, while sublingual sprays are sprayed under the tongue. Apply the patch to either the chest, upper abdomen, back, upper arm, or thigh. This is because it is ineffective unless it is absorbed through the skin, and if swallowed with water like regular medicine, it will be broken down by the liver and become ineffective.
When the drug was reported to be effective for angina pectoris, a number of academics refuted the drug, saying it had no effect, but it was later discovered that they had been swallowing it. It took some time to discover that it was effective when absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the tongue. Nitroglycerin has created numerous dramas. More than 130 years after it was discovered to be useful in the treatment of angina pectoris, it is still an important drug known as "nitro."
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