preventing and treating disease Flashcards
(23 cards)
what does vaccination invlove
a small quantity of dead or inactive forms of a pathogen are introduced to the body, the white blood cells are stimulated to make white blood cells
why does vaccination protect someone from a disease
if the same pathogen re enters the body the white blood cells respond quicklu to produce the correct anti bodies, preventing infection
what are examples of an antibiotic
penicillin
what are antibiotics
medicines that help cure bacterial disease by killing infective bacteria inside the body
what are advantages of antibiotics
they have greatly reduced death from infectious bacterial infections
what are the concerns around the use of antibiotics
the emergence of strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics
why is it difficult to develop drugs that kill viruses
the drug typically damage the body tissues also
traditionall where were drugs extracted from
plants and microorganisms
where does the heart drug digitalis originate from
foxgloves
where does the painkiller aspirin originate from
willow
who discovered penicillin
alwxander fleming
where does penicillin originate from
penicillim mould
how are most new drugs synthesised
by chemists in the pharmaceutical industry
why dk new medical drugs have to be tested and trialled before being used
to check if they are safe and effective
what are new drugs tested for
toxicity, efficacy and dose
what does preclinical testing involve
testing is done in a lab using cells tissues and live animals
what does clinical testing involve
they use healthy volunteers, followed by patients. low doses of drug giveb at the start for safety, if found to be sage further trials are done in optimum dose
what is a double blind trial
a trial in which a group are given a placebo and another are given the drug, neither doctor nor patient know who has been given what
why are drugs tested using a placebo
to prove what drug is wffective and avoid the bias
why are drugs tested on animals
to find out if the drug is toxic
what does the term does mean
the concentration of the drug to be used and how often the drug should be given
what does the term toxicity mean
side effects making the person ill
what does the term efficacy mean
whether the drug works to treat the illness
