Defence against disease Flashcards
(30 cards)
how do viruses make us ill?
by going into our cells and causing cell damage
how do bacteria make us ill?
by producing toxins that are like small poisons that make us ill
what is in the first line of defence?
NON-SPECIFIC
the body’s natural barriers to infection, including skin, tears and mucus
what is in the second line of defence?
NON-SPECIFIC
phagocytosis
what is in the third line of defence?
SPECIFIC
lymphocytes produce:
- antibodies that bind to antigens so that the pathogens are clumped together for…
- antitoxins to neutralise toxins
what is in a vaccine?
small quantities of inactive, dead or weakened forms of a pathpgen
how do vaccines work?
by stimulating the production of antibodies from the white blood cells specific to that pathogen without causing too much harm => if same pathogen re-enters then it knows what antibodies to make to ramps up production
what is a hybridoma?
a ell made by fusing begign tumour cell with specific lymphocyte
how are MABs made?
infecting mouse with pathogen constaing specific antigen, which will cause iit to make lymphocytes for it, then extract them, then mix with tumour cell => creates hybridoma in which the MABs can be extracted from
what are some uses for MABs?
- pregnancy/COVID tests
- measure hormone levels in blood
- to treat cancer
what are problems with MABs?
can cause extremely bad side effects, can cause an immune response, or can be seen as unethical due to animal harm
how long can it take from discovery to the full scale role out of a new drug?
up to 12 yrs
what are pre-clinical trials done on and what for?
done on cells and animals to check for efficacy and safety
what are clinical trials done on and what for?
on healthy volunteers then patients to check for efficacy side effects and optimum dosage
what does the efficacy of a drug mean?
how well it works
what does the safety of a drug mean?
how safe it is; how adverse may the side effects be
what does the dosage of the drug mean?
the quantity of drug needed for it to work effectively without causing really bad side effects
what does a double blind trail mean?
neither the administrator nor the patient knows if they’re are getting the real drug or placebo
why do a double blind trial?
to remove unconscious bias
what is a peer review and why do it?
allowing work to be scrutinised by other parties to check for errors or false claims
where were drugs traditionally extracted from?
plants and other microorganisms
why does digitalis originate from?
plant foxglove
aspirin
bark from a willow tree
penicillin
penicillium mould by Alexander Fleming
