It seems like the more potent a drug/medication is, the more risks are involved with it, where as drugs with very little risk don’t help nearly as much.
In: Biology
Many systems in the body are regulated with various neurotransmitters, proteins, ions, and the like. They work like glorified keys in locks, where some are master keys that work in many locks, others with very unique keys that only work in one place.
The goal of any pharmaceutical therapy is to find a drug that acts on only the locks that are problematic, while affecting the fewest other systems. Unfortunately as before, there is a tonne of interplay between the systems.
Aspirin (ASA) thins the blood (because [reasons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin)). Have a headache or a heart attack? Take Aspirin, ASA thins the blood, allowing it to flow into constricted areas to reduce the pain or help deliver more oxygen. Have a bleeding stroke or bleeding disorder? Take aspirin and the thinner blood will…bleed even more easily. It’s not so much that aspirin is a ‘cure headache key’, it’s a ‘thin the blood’ key (among other effects).
To the original question – why isn’t there a perfect drug for a specific ailment? Because many body systems have overlap between their systems. The same thing regulating your blood pH balance can be responsible for digestive acid production and some other liver function. Affecting any one stage will carry on further down the line. Frankly, the fact that our bodies work at all is nothing short of astounding. Tens of thousands of chemical processes in delicate balance with slight perturbations causing disease and death.
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