B3b- preventing and treating disease

Question 1

What is a double blind trial?

Answer 1

Patients and scientists do not know who receives the new drug or placebo until the end of the trial

Question 2

What is a placebo?

Answer 2

Can look identical to the new drug but contains no active ingredients.

Question 3

What does efficacy mean?

Answer 3

Make sure the drug works

Question 4

What does toxicity mean?

Answer 4

Check that the drug is not poisonous

Question 5

What does dose mean

Answer 5

The most suitable amount to take

Question 6

What are preclinical trials?

Answer 6

Testing of a drug in the laboratory using cells, tissues and live animals.

Question 7

List the stages of clinical trials on healthy volunteers and patients.

Answer 7

1- Healthy volunteers try a small dose of the drug and record any side effects
2- A small number of patients try the drug at a low dose to see if it works
3- The drug is trialled on a larger number of patients. Different doses are trialled to find the optimum dose.
4- A double blind trial will take place

Question 8

How is cancer caused?

Answer 8

Cancer is caused by changes in cells that lead to uncontrolled cell growth and division

Question 9

What are benign tumours?

Answer 9

Growths of abnormal cells which are contained in one area. They do not invade other parts of the body and they are not cancerous.

Question 10

What are malignant tumours?

Answer 10

These are cancerous. They invade neighboring tissues and spread to different parts of the body.

Question 11

monoclonal antibodies

Answer 11

Antibodies that are specific to one binding site on one protein