part 4: modern treatment of disease

Question 1

problem of staphylococcus

Answer 1

• bacteria that could cause food and blood poisoning
• highly-resistant: no magic bullets worked
• soldiers suffering from it in ww1
• fleming observed and became determined to find a treatment

Question 2

fleming’s discovery

Answer 2

• 1928 went on holiday and left plates of staphylococcus germs in his lab
• came home and noticed mould had grown on one of the dishes
• the bacteria around the mould had gone and were killed
• took a sample of mould and realised it was penicillium fungi
• researched further and discovered it killed bacteria
• published findings
• little people saw impact and lost interest

Question 3

florey and chain begin research

Answer 3

• 1930s researchers at uni of oxford
• they read about penicillin’s ability to kill germs
• tested from 1935 onwards on animals

Question 4

florey and chain test on humans

Answer 4

• by 1941 that had managed to purify penicillin and were ready for human trial
• first person: albert alexander who had cut cheek
• wound had become infected and was ill in hospital
• received penicillin and regained consciousness, started to recover
• however not enough penicillin to continue treating him
• became ill again and died
• but florey and chain proved that if enough penicillin could be produced, infection could be cured

Question 5

ww2

Answer 5

• when ww2 broke out, florey and chain travelled to america june 1941 and were given $3 million in funding by us gov
• they found a way to grow and mass produce purified penicillin
• us gov paid for enough penicillin to be produced that every american solider injured on D-Day could be given it
• by end of war britain and us working together: 250,000 soldiers treated
• 1945 american army using 2 million doses of penicillin a month to treat their soldiers

Question 6

impact of penicillin

Answer 6

• short term: mass-produced by allies in ww2 saving thousands of lives by treating infected wounds and diseases among soldiers
• massively reduced death rates from once fatal bacterial infections
• led to discovery and development of other antibiotics
• long term: changed how doctors treated infections
• helped control outbreaks
• encouraged medical research and funding into pharmaceuticals
• led to advancements in drug manufacturing and gov involvement in public health
• lead to mass production of drugs and growth of pharmaceutical industry which is a multi billion pound industry today

Question 7

factors that contributed to pencillin

Answer 7

• individual: fleming made initial discovery, florey actively sought out gov money to fund research, chain re-discovered fleming’s findings, worked on purifying mould
• war: INCREASED URGENCY FOR EFFECTIVE MEDICINE, america not interested in penicillin until entered war in 1941, german bombing stopped florey and chain being able to mass produce in britain led to mass production in america
• communication: fleming published findings in books, chain read about his initial research in his books, chain re-discovered fleming’s findings in medical journal, research teams carefully experimented and recorded findings
• science & tech: use of microscopes and freeze drying tech to grow
• gov: british gov funded work in 1939, 1942 american gov funded production of drug
• chance: original discovery when bacteria blew threw window onto petri dish

Question 8

DNA rosalind

Answer 8

• rosalind franklin expert in use of x-rays
• used to take images of DNA in 1950s
• work was crucial in enabling researchers to start to understand structure and composition of DNA

Question 9

DNA crick and watson

Answer 9

• 1953
• crick and watson discovered double helix structure of DNA
• proved it was present in every human cell
• wrote about findings in medical journal ‘nature’

Question 10

impact of DNA

Answer 10

• significant in helping researchers to understand causes of some diseases
• allowed a new field of medicine to evolve
• field focused on developing treatments based on structure and makeup of people’s DNA
• human genome project started in 1986
• identified exact purpose of each of the genes, compiling a complete map of human DNA that finished in 2001: required computers
• better understanding of the body so more treatment
• developments e.g gene therapy, genetic engineering, genetic screening

Question 11

20th cent new diseases and treatments

Answer 11

• 1951-55: free vaccines in uk introduced for polio, tetanus, TB
• 1951: mexican company develops norethisterone which is a human that prevents women from ovulating leading to contraceptive pill
• 1953: leroy stevens discovers stem cells
• 1953: crick and watson discover DNA
• 1973: geoff hounsfield invents CAT scanner which uses x-rays to build 3D image of body
• 1973: use IVF treatment, 1978 louise brown first test tube baby
• 1980: after a global vaccination campaign, smallpox declared eradicated
• 1984: two burn victims given skin grafts grown in a lab at harvard
• 1986: human genome project launches, money from govs as well as drug companies
• 1996: dolly sheep first cloned animal, used cloning technology

Question 12

pharmaceutical industry

Answer 12

• developed after germ theory, magic bullets and discovery of penicillin
• lead to more efficient research into drugs
• mass production of penicillin in 1940s
• developed vaccines, antibiotics, treatments
• tranquilisers, birth control pills, pills developed to treat depression, psychosis, hypertension

Question 13

antibiotics discovered

Answer 13

• tetracycline 1953
• mitomycin 1956

Question 14

mid 20th cent

Answer 14

• seemed medical research and scientific medicine had answer to every problem

Question 15

problem with developing industry

Answer 15

• as new drugs quickly & continuously developed, doctors bombarded with literature and free samples to encourage use
• pharmaceutical companies saw great potential to make money
• lead to shortcuts being taken

Question 16

thalidomide disaster

Answer 16

• one of darkest areas in pharmaceutical research history
• drug marketed as a mild sleeping pill safe for pregnant women
• licensed in july 1956 for prescription free over the counter sale in most european countries
• also reduced morning sickness so popular with those pregnant
• caused over 10,000 babies to be born worldwide with malformed limbs
• damage revealed in 1962

Question 17

impact of thalidomide

Answer 17

• every drug seen as beneficial before
• now suspicion and rigorous resting
• led to tougher testing and drug approval procedurs

Question 18

mainstream medicine

Answer 18

• treatment and care provided by a trained doctor or nurse
• relies on scientific methods to diagnose and treat patients

Question 19

alternative medicines

Answer 19

• treatments and methods not considered to be mainstream
• include some ideas and methods believed to be effective but lack evidence or testing applied to mainstream treatment

Question 20

acupuncture

Answer 20

• using needles inserted into specific parts of body to help with pain relief
• originated in ancient china 4000 years ago
• believed acupuncture points encourage biochemical changes in the body which stimulate body’s natural healing abilities
• became popular in west after 1971 when american journalist wrote about his experience

Question 21

hypnotherapy

Answer 21

• practised in europe since victorian
• older origin in asia
• relieves of anxiety, overcome phobias, allergies, physical conditions
• uses relaxation and focusing of thoughts
• more people accept important role the mind can play in dealing with medical problems

Question 22

herbal remedies

Answer 22

• used since medieval times
• every society through history has used herbal remedies
• people starting to search for natural cures to illness
• estimated 20% of herbal remedies in roman medical books would have been beneficial

Question 23

antibiotic resistance

Answer 23

• bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics
• e.g MRSA
• because patients don’t fully complete a course of antibiotics
• overuse of antibiotics
• overuse in farming
• concern as it means current antibiotics may not work and infections may be life threatening again

Question 24

modern pharmaceutical industry

Answer 24

• companies like roche specialise in cancer drugs and chemo
• companies like bayer continue to sell aspirin
• sell drugs like AZT which treat HIV
• also produce drugs like antibiotics

Question 25

alternative v mainstream medieval v modern

Answer 25

- alternative not mainstream or accepted modern - opposite to medieval which was dominated by medicine from apothecaries

Question 26

prevention v treatment

Answer 26

- trend towards positive health - means people focus on prevention of disease and illness rather than curing - more concerned with a healthy diet and regular exercise - accompanied by a rise in screening to check health and catch early signs of disease