Drugs Flashcards
What is a drug?
Substances that alter the chemical reactions in the body
What are the three main stages of drug testing?
- Drugs are tested using computer models and human cells grown in the laboratory
- Drugs that pass the first test are then tested on animals
- Drugs that pass the second test are the used in clinical trials
What is a double blind trial?
The doctors and patients do not know who has been given the drug and who has been given the placebo until the trial is over.
What is the placebo effect?
When people believe that the drug they have been given will help them and although no actual drug was administered, their is an improvement in their condition.
What was Thalidomide used for?
- At first it was used as a sleeping pill
- It turned out that it was a useful way to ease morning sickness for pregnant women
What did Thalidomide cause?
Birth defects in children
What were the birth defects caused by Thalidomide?
The arms and/or legs of the babies being very short or incompletely formed.
What was the result of Thalidomide?
- Thalidomide became a banned substance
- Drug testing became more rigorous than before
When did the Thalidomide crisis occur?
Between the 1950s and the 1960s.
What is a recreational drug?
Drugs that are used for fun.
Legal drugs such as nicotine and alcohol
Illegal drugs such as cannabis and heroin
What is a performance enhancing drug?
Can improve a person’s performance in sport
What type of drug is alcohol? What are the short and long term effects of alcohol?
- It is a depressant (slows down signals in the nerves and brain)
Short term effects: Lack of self-control, unconsciousness, may fall into a coma
Long term effects: Addiction, damage to the liver and brain and is often the cause of weight gain.
Where is nicotine found? What are the long term effects of nicotine?
- Found in tobacco
Long term effects: heart disease, lungs disease, disease of the blood vessels and can cause mouth cancer, throat cancer and lung cancer.
