Glossary

Acetylcholine: One of several neurotransmitters found in the brain and nervous system

ACE: Angiotensin Converting Enzyme - an enzyme involved in blood pressure regulation

Adjuvant: A substance added to a vaccine that does not itself stimulate the immune system, but which intensifies the immune response to the main vaccine component

Agonist: A medicine that acts on cell receptors and which can mimic the action of a natural hormone, neurotransmitter or other bioactive substance

Analogue: A medicine that shares the same main structure as another medicine, but which differs from it by one or more small modifications

Angiogenesis: The formation of new blood vessels, often after damage or injury

Antagonist: A medicine that acts on cell receptors and blocks the action of a natural hormone, neurotransmitter or other bioactive substance

Antibody: A large protein belonging to one of five major classes produced by lymphocytes of the immune system which binds selectively to an antigen, for example an infectious agent, to neutralise it

Artery: Blood vessel carrying oxygenated blood from the heart to the organs of the body

Cardiovascular: Describes the heart, blood vessels and circulatory system

Cerebrovascular: Term denoting the blood vessels carrying blood to the brain

Cholesterol: The most abundant steroid in animal tissues. Found in blood plasma, where it is a major contributor to the development of plaque

Chronic: Long-lasting or persistent (disease)

Cognition/cognitive: Mental processes such as perception, remembering, judging and reasoning; having to do with thinking

Cytokine: General term for proteins that transmit stimulatory or inhibitory messages between cells. They include interferon, interleukin, and colony stimulating factors

Cytotoxic: A medicine that kills cells - especially used in cancer therapy

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid - the long string of nucleotide `letters' that make up the `building blocks' of genes

Dopamine: One of several neurotransmitters found in the brain and nervous system

Diuretic: A medicine that increases the amount of urine excreted

Enzyme: A protein in cells and tissues that catalyses a metabolic or other chemical reaction

Exacerbation: A worsening, or flare-up, of an existing condition

Formulation: The form of a medicine - e.g. injection, tablet, spray, lotion, etc

GABA: Gamma-amino butyric acid, one of several neurotransmitters found in the brain and nervous system

Gastrointestinal: Referring to the stomach and/or intestines; the digestive tract

Genome: The complete complement of genes unique to a given species

Heparin: An anticoagulant naturally produced in the body, especially the lung and liver

Hormone: A chemical messenger produced and secreted by cells or tissues. It may act locally or through circulation in the blood

Hypertension: High blood pressure

Indication: A situation for which a medicine is recommended to he used

Inhibitor: A substance that attaches to a receptor site to inhibit the action of an enzyme

Insulin: A hormone produced by the beta cells of the pancreas that is essential for the utilisation of glucose. Widely used to treat diabetes

Interferon: One of a family of cytokines that have antiviral and immune modulating actions

Interleukin: One of a family of about 12 cytokines involved in signalling between cells of the immune system

In vitro: Tests carried out at the cellular level in the laboratory

Lesion: Damage or injury to body tissue or organ

Metabolic/metabolise: The processes by which substances are changed in the body

Metastasis/metastatic: The process by which cancerous cells spread from a tumour into surrounding tissue and (via the blood) to other body organs

Monoclonal antibody: A highly specific antibody (see above) derived from a single group of identical cells which recognises only one kind of antigen

MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a diagnostic system for the scanning body tissues

Neuropathic pain: Pain that arises from damage to the nerves or brain rather than body tissues

Neurotransmitter: One of several substances in the brain and nervous system that carry impulses from nerve to nerve

Noradrenaline: One of several neurotransmitters found in the brain and nervous system

Pathogen: A disease-causing agent; most usually a bacterium, virus or fungus

Placebo: An inactive substance used in a clinical trial as a comparison with a test medicine

Platelet: Small structures found in the blood which clump together during blood clotting

Prostaglandin: A type of lipid (fat) with one or more biological actions such as causing muscle contraction or pain, or affecting blood pressure. Prostaglandins are often involved in inflammation

Protease: An enzyme found in many tissues and micro-organisms that can cut up proteins into smaller components

Receptor: An important structural protein on cell surfaces that binds specific factors such as hormones, antigens, or neurotransmitters, triggering some cellular event

Recombinant: Describes compounds created through genetic engineering

Remission: A period in which signs of a chronic disease disappear, although the disease itself may not be cured

Serotonin: One of several neurotransmitters found in the brain and nervous system

Statins: A group of compounds able to reduce the circulating levels of cholesterol

Systemic infection: One affecting the body as a whole - not a localised infection

Therapeutic vaccine: A vaccine that is designed to treat a condition, rather than prevent it

Topical: A form of a medicine (e.g. a cream) intended for spreading on the skin

Triglyceride: A type of neutral lipid found in vegetable oil and animal fats that contains three (often different) fatty acids bound to glycerol. Triglycerides are found in blood and are stored in fat cells as a source of energy

Vector: A carrier, often a virus or other organism, by which a genetically engineered medicine is conveyed to its target, where it unloads its genetic information

Vein: A blood vessel that returns de-oxygenated blood to the heart from an organ