B1 3 Medicine and Drugs Flashcards
What do doctors make sure before the drug can be sold?
It has to be:
• Effective - does its purpose
• Safe - contains no toxicity/ no unacceptable side effects.
• Stable - can be used under appropriate conditions
• Successfully taken in and out of the body.
What is a drug?
A drug is a substance that alters the body’s chemistry.
What are the steps followed in the development of drugs?
- In the laboratory using cells, tissues and live animals
- The first stage of clinical trials involves healthy volunteers - testing for safety.
- Very low doses of the drug are given at the start of the clinical trial.
- If the drug is found to be safe, a second stage of clinical trials, which involves patients, are carried out to see if it treats the condition effectively.
- The third stage of clinical trials is carried out to find the optimum dose for the drug.
- The drug’s safety is monitored as long as the drug is in use.
- In some double blind trials, some patients are given a placebo - neither the doctors nor the patients know who has received the drug until the trial is complete.
Why are double blind trials carried out?
To prevent psychological thoughts; not being biased.
What is a placebo?
A look alike of a certain drug but doesn’t actually contain the drug.
What would doctors use instead of a placebo?
A drug which is already in use so that the patient’s illness can still be treated.
What are statins used for?
To help lower the risk of heart and circulatory diseases.
What was thalidomide originally developed as?
A sleeping pill
What was thalidomide found effective in?
Relieving morning sickness in pregnant women.
When testing thalidomide what wasn’t it tested on?
Pregnant women
What was the result of using thalidomide for morning sickness on pregnant women?
Babies were born with severe limb abnormalities and the drug was banned. Therefore, drug testing has become more rigorous.
Recently, what has thalidomide been successful at treating?
Leprosy and other diseases
What are recreational drugs?
Drugs used for pleasure.
Give 2 examples of legal recreational drugs.
Alcohol and nicotine
Give 2 examples of illegal recreational drugs?
Ecstasy and heroin.