Biology - Preventing and treating disease Flashcards
How do vaccines work?
Dead or inactive pathogens are used to stimulate white blood cells which produce antibodies.
If that pathogen reenters the body, wbcs respond more quickly preventing the person from becoming ill
What is herd immunity?
If enough people are immune to a disease it can reduce the spread
What are antibiotics?
Medicines that cure bacterial disease by killing ineffective bacteria. Specific antibiotics treat specific bacterial infections
What are resistant strains of bacteria?
Strains that aren’t able to be treated with antibiotics
Do antibiotics work against viruses? Why?
No. Viruses enter cells and replicate there, causing damage. Antibiotics can’t get to them
Do painkillers kill pathogens?
Nope. They treat the symptoms not kill the pathogen
How do resistant strains of bacteria develop?
Mutations mean one cell is resistant. Antibiotics then kill the non-resistant ones and only the resistant ones survive and reproduce
How can people reduce the rate of the development of resistant bacteria?
- Not prescribing antibiotics inappropriately
- Complete the course of antibiotics
- The use of antibiotics on farm animals should be restricted
What are digitalis, aspirin and penicillin from?
Foxgloves, willow trees and mould
What are new drugs tested for?
Toxicity- side effects, safety
Efficacy- Whether it works
Dosage- Frequency, quantity
What is used in preclinical trials?
Cells, tissues, live animals
What is used in clinical trials?
Healthy volunteers and patients
What is a placebo?
A substance that looks like the real drug but doesn’t do anything
Why are placebos used in drug tests?
To make sure the drug works not just thinking that it works
What is a double blind trial?
Neither the doctors nor patients know who is receiving the placebo
What must happen to results of trials before they’re published?
Peer review
How are monoclonal antibodies produced?
- Stimulating mouse lymphocytes to make a particular antibody
- The lymphocytes are combined with tumour cells to make hybridoma cells
- Hybridoma cells are cloned and used to create more antibodies
Give an example of how monoclonal antibodies are used
Pregnancy tests, covid tests, cancer treatment, pathogen tests, hormone tests
Why are monoclonal antibodies not widely used yet?
They have unseen side effects
