3.3 - Medicine

Question 1

What are the two groups of Medications?

Answer 1

• Symptom Relief
• Disease Treatment

Question 2

What was the first Antibiotic Discovered?

Answer 2

Penicillin (1940s)

Question 3

What do Antibiotics do?

Answer 3

• Kill Infective Bacteria inside the Human Body without harming Body Cells.

Question 4

Why do Antibiotics not work on Viruses?

Answer 4

They are made specifically to interfere with Bacteria.

Question 5

Why is it difficult to develop drugs to kill Viruses?

Answer 5

• Viruses are usually found within body cells.
• It it hard to kill the virus without damaging to body’s tissues.

Question 6

What is Antibiotic Resistance?

Answer 6

Where Bacteria become resistance to Antibiotics.

Question 7

How can Antibiotic Resistance be Reduced?

Answer 7

• Ensure patients take the entire course of prescribed antibiotics.
• Ensure antibiotics are only prescribed when necessary.
• Stop giving so many antibiotics to farm animals.

Question 8

Where do Medicines Originate from?

Answer 8

Substances from Microorganisms and Plants.

Question 9

What is the Function of Aspirin?

Answer 9

A Painkiller used to Lower Fevers.

Question 10

Where was Aspirin originally Developed from?

Answer 10

A Chemical found in the Bark of Willow Trees.

Question 11

What is the Function of Digitalis?

Answer 11

Used to Treat Heart Problems e.g. Heart Failure.

Question 12

Where was Digitalis originally Developed from?

Answer 12

A Chemical found in Foxgloves.

Question 13

What 3 things have to be Considered when Testing Drugs?

Answer 13

• Efficacy
• Toxicity
• Dosage

Question 14

What is Efficacy?

Answer 14

How well a Drug works/How well it Produces the Effect it is being used for.

Question 15

What is Toxicity?

Answer 15

How Harmful a Drug is (Does it Damage Cells/Have Side Effects?).

Question 16

What is Dosage?

Answer 16

What Concentration of the Drug should be given.

Question 17

What are the First 2 Stages of Drug Testing?

Answer 17

1) Drug is Tested on Human Cells & Tissues grown in a Laboratory.
2 ) Drug is Tested on Live Animals (Mice/Rabbits).

Question 18

What happens during the Final Stage of Drug Testing (Clinical Testing)?

Answer 18

1 ) The Drug is given to Healthy Volunteers, Starting with a Low Dose.
2 ) The Dose given is slowly increased, checking for any Side Effects (To find the Maximum Dosage able to give w/o Side Effects).
3 ) The Drug is given to People Suffering from the Illness, and the Dose is again slowly increased. (To find the Optimum Dosage).

Question 19

What is the Optimum Dosage?

Answer 19

The Dosage where Efficacy is Maximised but Toxicity is Minimised.

Question 20

What is a Placebo?

Answer 20

A Tablet or Injection with no Active Drug in it.

Question 21

What is a Double Blind Trial?

Answer 21

• A Clinical Trial where half of the Volunteers are given the Real Drug and the other half are given the Placebo.
• Neither the Doctor or Volunteer know which Drugs have been taken by whom.

Question 22

What is the Purpose of Double Blind Trials?

Answer 22

To Avoid any Unconscious Bias.

Question 23

What happens once Drug Testing is Complete?

Answer 23

The Results are Written Up and Peer-Reviewed by other Scientists to check the Tests Involved were Fair.