3.3 - Medicine Flashcards
What are the two groups of Medications?
- Symptom Relief
- Disease Treatment
What was the first Antibiotic Discovered?
Penicillin (1940s)
What do Antibiotics do?
- Kill Infective Bacteria inside the Human Body without harming Body Cells.
Why do Antibiotics not work on Viruses?
They are made specifically to interfere with Bacteria.
Why is it difficult to develop drugs to kill Viruses?
- Viruses are usually found within body cells.
- It it hard to kill the virus without damaging to body’s tissues.
What is Antibiotic Resistance?
Where Bacteria become resistance to Antibiotics.
How can Antibiotic Resistance be Reduced?
- Ensure patients take the entire course of prescribed antibiotics.
- Ensure antibiotics are only prescribed when necessary.
- Stop giving so many antibiotics to farm animals.
Where do Medicines Originate from?
Substances from Microorganisms and Plants.
What is the Function of Aspirin?
A Painkiller used to Lower Fevers.
Where was Aspirin originally Developed from?
A Chemical found in the Bark of Willow Trees.
What is the Function of Digitalis?
Used to Treat Heart Problems e.g. Heart Failure.
Where was Digitalis originally Developed from?
A Chemical found in Foxgloves.
What 3 things have to be Considered when Testing Drugs?
- Efficacy
- Toxicity
- Dosage
What is Efficacy?
How well a Drug works/How well it Produces the Effect it is being used for.
What is Toxicity?
How Harmful a Drug is (Does it Damage Cells/Have Side Effects?).
What is Dosage?
What Concentration of the Drug should be given.
What are the First 2 Stages of Drug Testing?
1) Drug is Tested on Human Cells & Tissues grown in a Laboratory.
2 ) Drug is Tested on Live Animals (Mice/Rabbits).
What happens during the Final Stage of Drug Testing (Clinical Testing)?
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).
What is the Optimum Dosage?
The Dosage where Efficacy is Maximised but Toxicity is Minimised.
What is a Placebo?
A Tablet or Injection with no Active Drug in it.
What is a Double Blind Trial?
- 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.
What is the Purpose of Double Blind Trials?
To Avoid any Unconscious Bias.
What happens once Drug Testing is Complete?
The Results are Written Up and Peer-Reviewed by other Scientists to check the Tests Involved were Fair.
