Pharmacological expertise and an inventive streak came together in 1964 when James Black invented the first practical beta-blocker. Working to the same principle, he followed this in 1972 with a vital new histamine blocker.Certain functions of the body are controlled by "messenger" molecules, which are released by some nerves and organs to provoke a response in other nerves and organs that have "receptor" cells for that messenger. One thing that confused scientists was that some messengers provoke diametrically opposed responses: for example, adrenalin causes some muscles to relax and others to contract.
Pharmacologists James Black (Scotland) unravelled this mystery while researching a treatment for angina. He had noticed that although existing adrenalin blockers succeeded in relaxing blood vessels, they had no effect on reducing heart rate - this made no sense, because it was well known that adrenalin stimulated increased heart rate and, therefore, blocking adrenalin should reduce it.
Researching further, he discovered that Raymond Ahlqvist (USA) has theorized in 1948 that there were two types of adrenalin receptor; alpha and beta. Black deduced that the existing adrenalin blocker must be alpha-blockers, and that the heart must rely in beta-receptors, so he set about developing a beta-blocker that could treat angina by nullifying the effect of adrenalin on the heart and thereby slowing it down.
The first beta-blocker was developed by a rival research team in 1958, but had such extreme side effects that it could not be used clinically. Black's team produced one safe beta-blocker, pronethalol, in 1962, and improved it to produce propranolol, the world's first clinically practical beta-blocker, in 1964. Continuing ti research the implication of inhibiting receptor cells, in 1972 Black identified another important receptor and subsequently developed an appropriate blocker. A contributory factor relating to stomach ulcers is overactive acid secretion, which is stimulated by the messenger histamine. Black discovered that , as with adrenalin, there were two types of histamine receptors, H1 and H2; by developing an H2 blocker, he provided medical science with an effective treatment for stomach ulcers.
Source - The Book Of Inventions by Ian Harrison
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