drugs

Question 1

why is it important for trials to be double blind?

Answer 1

-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

Question 2

where is aspirin extracted from?

Answer 2

willow

Question 3

where is digitalis extracted from?

Answer 3

foxglove

Question 4

who discovered penicillin?

Answer 4

alexander fleming

Question 5

what drugs cure bacterial diseases?

Answer 5

antibiotics

Question 6

what are painkillers?

Answer 6

drugs that relieve pain and reduce symptoms

Question 7

how do antibiotics work?

Answer 7

they kill bacterial pathogens inside the body without killing human cells

Question 8

do all antibiotics work on all bacterial diseases?

Answer 8

no-each antibiotic is specific to each bacteria

Question 9

why don’t antibiotics work on viruses?

Answer 9

viruses reproduce using your own body cells so it is hard to develop a drug that destroy the virus without damaging the body cells

Question 10

what has the effect of antibiotics been?

Answer 10

reduced number of deaths from bacterial diseases

Question 11

describe antibiotic resistance

Answer 11

1. occurs when mutation leads to individual bacteria becoming resistant to an antibiotic
2. means when you treat the infection only the non-resistant strains will be killed

Question 12

why is antibiotic resistance a concern?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

how can we prevent antibiotic resistance?

Answer 13

-finish antibiotic courses
-don’t overprescribe, only if necessary

Question 14

what type of drug is aspirin?

Answer 14

painkiller

Question 15

what type of drug is digitalis?

Answer 15

heart drug

Question 16

where was penicillin discovered?

Answer 16

in penicillium mould

Question 17

3 main factors for developing drugs

Answer 17

-efficacy
-toxicity
-dosage

Question 18

2 sections of drug testing

Answer 18

preclinical and clinical

Question 19

1st step of drug testing

Answer 19

PRECLINICAL
-tested on human cells and tissues in a laboratory

Question 20

2nd step of drug testing

Answer 20

PRECLINICAL
-tested on live animals
-test for efficacy, toxicity and optimum dosage

Question 21

3rd step of drug testing

Answer 21

CLINICAL
-tested on healthy volunteers to check for harmful side effects (toxicity)
-low dose given then gradually increased

Question 22

4th step of drug testing

Answer 22

CLINICAL
-tested on people with the illness
-check for efficacy and the optimum dosage

Question 23

what is the optimum dosage?

Answer 23

the dose that is the most effective with the least side effects

Question 24

5th step of drug testing

Answer 24

CLINICAL
-patients split into two groups, one with drug, one with placebo to see actual difference

Question 25

what is a placebo?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

what is the placebo effect?

Answer 26

when the patient thinks the treatment will work so feels better

Question 27

what is the difference between a blind and double-blind trial?

Answer 27

blind-doctor knows, patients don’t
double blind-neither doctor/researcher nor patients know whether the patient has the placebo or drug

Question 28

6th step of drug testing

Answer 28

findings peer reviewed before being published

Question 29

peer review

Answer 29

where other scientists check the work is valid

Question 30

what are antibiotics?

Answer 30

medicines that help cure bacterial disease by killing infective bacteria in the body

Question 31

what is preclinical testing?

Answer 31

drug testing done in a laboratory using cells, tissues and live animals

Question 32

what is clinical testing?

Answer 32

drug testing done on healthy human volunteers