The biochemical pharmacologist uses drugs as probes to discover new information about biosynthetic pathways and their kinetics, and investigates how drugs can correct the biochemical abnormalities that are responsible for human illness. It is molecular biology applied to pharmacologic and toxicologic questions. The methods of molecular pharmacology include precise mathematical, physical, chemical or molecular biological techniques to understand how cells respond to hormones or pharmacological agents, and how chemical structure correlates with biological activity.
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of premature death in western societies.
Cardiovascular pharmacology concerns the effects of drugs on the heart, the vascular system, and those parts of the nervous and endocrine systems that participate in regulating cardiovascular function. Researchers observe the effects of drugs on arterial pressure, blood flow in specific vascular beds, release of physiological and pathobiological mediators, and on neural activity arising from central nervous system structures. The study of drugs that modify the functions of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and the nerves that communicate with all parts of the body. Neuropharmacologists study drug actions from a number of different viewpoints. Alternatively, they may study drugs already in use to determine more precisely the neurophysiological or neurobiochemical changes that they produce.