drugs Flashcards
why is it important for trials to be double blind?
- avoid bias
- patients may be more likely to say the real drug has side effects
- researchers/doctor may pay closer attention to those with real drug
where is aspirin extracted from?
willow
where is digitalis extracted from?
foxglove
who discovered penicillin?
alexander fleming
what drugs cure bacterial diseases?
antibiotics
what are painkillers?
drugs that relieve pain and reduce symptoms
how do antibiotics work?
they kill bacterial pathogens inside the body without killing human cells
do all antibiotics work on all bacterial diseases?
no-each antibiotic is specific to each bacteria
why don’t antibiotics work on viruses?
viruses reproduce using your own body cells so it is hard to develop a drug that destroy the virus without damaging the body cells
what has the effect of antibiotics been?
reduced number of deaths from bacterial diseases
describe antibiotic resistance
- occurs when mutation leads to individual bacteria becoming resistant to an antibiotic
- means when you treat the infection only the non-resistant strains will be killed
why is antibiotic resistance a concern?
the bacteria survive, reproduce and pass on their alleles leading to more resistant bacteria, meaning that the diseases can’t be cured as the antibiotics don’t work
how can we prevent antibiotic resistance?
-finish antibiotic courses
-don’t overprescribe, only if necessary
what type of drug is aspirin?
painkiller
what type of drug is digitalis?
heart drug
where was penicillin discovered?
in penicillium mould
3 main factors for developing drugs
- efficacy
- toxicity
- dosage
2 sections of drug testing
preclinical and clinical
1st step of drug testing
PRECLINICAL
- tested on human cells and tissues in a laboratory
2nd step of drug testing
PRECLINICAL
- tested on live animals
- test for efficacy, toxicity and optimum dosage
3rd step of drug testing
CLINICAL
- tested on healthy volunteers to check for harmful side effects (toxicity)
- low dose given
4th step of drug testing
CLINICAL
- tested on people with the illness
- check for efficacy and the optimum dosage
- any more side effects
what is the optimum dosage?
the dose that is the most effective with the least side effects
5th step of drug testing
CLINICAL
- patients split into two groups, one with drug, one with placebo to see actual difference
what is a placebo?
a fake drug that looks the same as the real one, it is indistinguishable from the real drug but with no effect on the patient
- tablet with no drug / no effect
what is the placebo effect?
when the patient thinks the treatment will work so feels better
what is the difference between a blind and double-blind trial?
blind-doctor knows, patients don’t
double blind-neither doctor/researcher nor patients know whether the patient has the placebo or drug
6th step of drug testing
findings peer reviewed before being published
peer review
where other scientists check the work is valid
what are antibiotics?
medicines that help cure bacterial disease by killing infective bacteria in the body
what is preclinical testing?
drug testing done in a laboratory using cells, tissues and live animals
what is clinical testing?
drug testing done on healthy human volunteers
