B6.3 Vaccination and medicines Flashcards
Where do new drugs come from?
Plant extracts
Laboratories
How does computer software help develop drugs?
Computer modelling and it produces a list of compounds that may target a condition
What is the order in which drugs are tested to make sure they are safe?
Tested on human tissue cells in lab (many drugs fail)
Tested on animals (has to be 2 species)
Tested on small group of healthy ( disease free) humans
Tested on small number of humans who have illness trying to be cured
Tested on large number of patients who have illness
Why are healthy volunteers used without the disease first?
They can fight the disease easier if it is harmful
What does the small amount of patients with the disease test?
Effectiveness of the disease
What does the large amount of patients tested show?
If any rare side effects occur
What is clinical trial?
When drugs are tested on humans
What is the placebo effect?
People feeling better because they expect to feel better as a result of taking medicine
What was used to overcome the placebo effect in clinical trials?
The double blind trial - doctors give the drug to some patients while others get exact replica with no active ingredients
