4 Medicinal Chemistry for the Next Decade

Publisher Summary This chapter suggests diseases for which drugs are required, a particular point of view has to be assumed and a decision made as to whether one is looking at the whole world situation or at the diseases of the Caucasian races. Looking at the world situation, it is clear that what is needed is food, since malnutrition and its attendant diseases probably claims more victims than other maladies, but this raises the question of increase of world population and methods of containing it, since at present there seems no easy solution to the food problem and it certainly is not yet proven that Malthus was completely wrong. For example, the cow does not compete successfully with the Indian peasant; no great advances are to be expected. Since these problems can only immediately be met by improvements in agriculture as well as in contraception, it is difficult to imagine any pharmacological therapeutic approach which would be helpful, except perhaps a contraceptive food. The chapter reviews that our country has the paradoxical situation that where contraception is needed most, the population growth outstrips the food supply, and in our highly civilized communities, with major disorders of gluttony and its attendant fatness, contraception is a matter more of social convenience than necessity.