B6 Preventing and Treating Disease

Question 1

How can the spread of pathogens be reduced

Answer 1

Immunising a large proportion of a population with a vaccine. This is called herd immunity

Question 2

What is vacination

Answer 2

Vaccination involves introducing small quantities of dead or inactive forms of a pathogen into the body to stimulate the white blood cells to produce antibodies. If the same pathogen re-enters the body the white blood cells respond quickly to produce the correct antibodies, preventing infection.

Question 3

What are antigens

Answer 3

Unique proteins on the surface of a pathogen that cause the body to attack them by producing antibodies

Question 4

What do painkillers and drugs do

Answer 4

relieve your symptoms however they do not kill the pathogens or cure the disease any faster.

Question 5

What are antibiotics

Answer 5

Antibiotics, such as penicillin, are medicines that help to cure bacterial disease by killing infective bacteria inside the body without killing body cells. It is important that specific bacteria should be treated by specific antibiotics.

Question 6

What dont antibiotics destroy and why is this a problem

Answer 6

Viruses or viral pathogens (flu or cold) as they reproduce using your body cells so it is hard to develop drugs without destroying the bodys tissue.

Question 7

What medicine traditionally origionated from fox gloves

Answer 7

Heart drug digitalis

Question 8

Where does the painkiller aspirin origionate from

Answer 8

Willow. Used as a painkiller for fever

Question 9

How was penicillin discovered

Answer 9

Alexander flemming in his lab from the penicillium mould in a petri dish

Question 10

What are the three main stages in drug testing

Answer 10

Preclinical testing on human cells and tissues. Preclinical testing on live animals to test effiacy, toxicity and dosage. Clinical trial on humans using double blind and the placebo effect

Question 11

Describe the process in a clinical trial

Answer 11

Very low doses of the drug are given at the start of the clinical trial. If the drug is found to be safe, further clinical trials are carried out to find the optimum dose for the drug. In double blind trials, some patients are given a placebo.

Question 12

Describe the process in precliniacal trials

Answer 12

Human cells and tissues are tested in the lab however they are less effective because they cant test whole or multiple body system

Question 13

What are monoclonal antibodies

Answer 13

Monoclonal antibodies are produced from a single clone of cells. The antibodies are specific to one binding site on one protein antigen and so are able to target a specific chemical or specific cells in the body.

Question 14

How are monoclonal antibodies produced

Answer 14

The lymphocytes from a mouse are combined with a particular type of tumor cell to make a hybridoma cell. This can make the antibody

Question 15

What can hybridoma cells do

Answer 15

Can be cloned to produce many identical cells that all produce the same monoclonal antibody and these can be collected and purified

Question 16

Uses of monoclonal antibodies

Answer 16

Pregnancy tests, treat diseases, laboratories and research to find specific substances

Question 17

How are monoclonal antibodies used in pregnancy tests

Answer 17

A pregnancy test detects the HCG hormone in women’s urine if they are pregnant. The stick with blue beeds and the test strip has antibodies attatched. The hormone binds to these two if the woman is pregnant

Question 18

How can monoclonal antibodies be used to treat diseases

Answer 18

for cancer the monoclonal antibody can be bound to a radioactive substance, a toxic drug or a chemical which stops cells growing and dividing. It delivers the substance to the cancer cells without harming other cells in the body.

Question 19

How can monoclonal antibodies be used in the laboratories and research to find specific substances

Answer 19

To measure the levels of hormones and other chemicals in blood and detect pathogens in laboratories. To locate or identify specific molecules in a cell or tissue by binding to them with a fluorescent dye

Question 20

What are the problems of monoclonal antibodies

Answer 20

Cause more side affects than were origionally expected so they are not as widely used as scientists predicted

Question 21

Advantages of monoclonal antibodies

Answer 21

Side affects for cancer treatment are lower than chemotherapy and radiotherapy because they target specific cells and dont affect normall body cells

Question 22

Why are cures tested on healthy patients first

Answer 22

To prevent harmful side affects and a very low dose is given initially but this increases.