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Catapres

A blood pressure tablet that works from inside the brain, quieting the nerve traffic that keeps vessels tight.

cataract

A condition in which the lens of the eye becomes cloudy.

clonidine

An old blood pressure drug also used for ADHD, tics, hot flashes and opioid withdrawal, all through the same calming action on nerve traffic.

clonidine hydrochloride

A drug that turns the sympathetic nervous system down at its source in the brain, which is why its uses reach far beyond blood pressure.

amylase

Amylase is an enzyme that breaks starch down into smaller sugars and is produced mainly by the salivary glands and pancreas.

biometry

Biometry refers to statistical analysis of health data in research, and separately, in ophthalmology and obstetrics, to direct physical measurement of body structures.

intraocular

/ IN-truh-AH-kyoo-ler /

Intraocular means located, occurring, or placed within the eyeball.

lactate dehydrogenase

Lactate dehydrogenase is an enzyme active in nearly all body tissues, and its blood level rises with cell injury from a wide range of causes.

metabolism

Two opposing sets of reactions run at once, one tearing molecules apart for energy and the other spending that energy building new ones.

pemetrexed disodium

The disodium salt of a synthetic pyrimidine-based antifolate.

psilocybine

An older spelling that persists in drug indexes and research listings, kept alive by cataloging rather than by any difference in chemistry.

red cedar

Not a cedar at all but a juniper, and the name is shared with an unrelated timber tree whose dust causes asthma.

thalidomide

A sedative withdrawn after causing catastrophic birth defects, later brought back under strict control for myeloma and leprosy reactions.

WS

WS is an inherited disorder that produces signs of accelerated aging beginning in early adulthood, arising from a gene mutation affecting DNA repair.