B1.3 The Use and Abuse of Drugs Flashcards
(30 cards)
Why are drugs addictive?
They cause chemical changes in the body.
What happens when drug addicts do not use the drug?
They suffer withdrawal symptoms.
Give 2 examples of really addictive drugs.
Heroine and cocaine.
What are performance enhancing drugs?
Drugs that can improve a person’s performance in sport.
What do anabolic steroids do?
Increase muscle growth (making the athlete stronger).
What do stimulants do?
Increase heart rate (allowing glucose and oxygen to be transported to the muscles faster).
True or false? All performance enhancing drugs are illegal
False, some may be prescribed legally but all are banned by by sporting bodies.
Reasons against performance enhancing drugs.
An unfair advantage can be gained, serious health risk and not everyone can afford them.
Reasons for performance enhancing drugs.
Athletes have the right to make their own decisions and drug free sport isn’t fair as some people aren’t caught.
What do statins do?
Reduce the risk of heart and circulatory diseases.
True or false? Drugs developed by scientists do not have to be tested before use.
False, scientists are developing new drugs all the time and they have to be extensively tested before use.
Why do drugs have to be tested?
To make sure they work, are safe and to find out the best dosage.
What does the lab stage in drug testing consist of?
New medicinal drugs are first tested in the laboratory in human cells and tissues. Then they are tested on animals.
What happens after lab testing of drugs?
After lab testing, drugs are tested in clinical trials on healthy volunteers at low doses. They are then tested on ill volunteers.
Why are drugs tested on ill volunteers?
To find the optimum dosage of a drug.
What is a placebo?
A substance that is similar to the drug being tested, but it doesn’t do anything.
In what stage of the drug testing process are placebos used?
In the clinical trials.
Why are placebos used?
To make sure the drug actually works and the affect isn’t just psychological. People who take the placebo are used as a control group.
What is a double blind trial?
Neither the doctor nor the volunteers know whether they are taking the actual drug or the placebo.
What was thalidomide originally made for?
Use as a sleeping pill.
What was thalidomide found to also do?
Relieve morning sickness in pregnant women.
What was a problem with thalidomide being used to treat morning sickness?
It had not been tested on pregnant animals or foetuses, so it caused abnormal limb development in many babies and even death.
What is thalidomide now used to treat?
Leprosy and some cancers.
What happened as a result of the thalidomide disaster?
New drugs that were developed from that point onward were more extensively tested for different effects.
