For example I take three different types of medication for migraines. One is a monthly injection, one is a dissolvable pill and another is just a regular pill I take. How do the researchers decide the best way for patients to take the pills?
Also I am terrible at chemistry so if anyone’s explanation includes that, please dumb it down as best as you can.
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Some drugs are better given in pills because they degrade in your stomach slower than if you were to inject the same amount of the drug into a vein. Think of drugs that need to have a long acting effect: you want a little bit of the drug in your body at all times, so a slow release from your stomach is better. Oral contraception for example is built to have as constant a level of hormones as possible.
Other drugs are best given in a vein because that brings them to the place you need them super fast. Like doctors giving people adrenaline shots on tv shows when people are “crashing”. Those drugs usually have a short but fast effect.
And then some drugs need to be given a certain way because the molecule can be harmful if given the wrong way, or just be very painful during the injection. Or they could just be deactivated by the stomach acid so they need to be given with an injection.
As for how researchers determine what’s best, it’s a whole process of experimenting and monitoring drugs levels in the patient and their effects over time. The first thing they check is that the drug isn’t harmful if given a certain way. Then they check that it triggers the appropriate response for the appropriate amount of time.
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