Modern treatment of disease Flashcards
How did war help Alexander Fleming discover Penicillin ?
War provided the motivation for Fleming. During the first world war, he observed many soldiers die from wounds infected from bacteria ( despite antiseptics being used). When he came back from the battlefields, Fleming worked on finding a way to deal with these bacteria
How did chance help Fleming go discovering Penicillin?
In 1928, he went on holiday, Fleming left a pile of petri dishes containing bacteria on his laboratory bench. On his return,Fleming noticed mould on one of the dishes and that around the mould. the bacteria disappeared.
How did individual brilliance help Fleming to discover Penicillin ?
Fleming carrie out experiments, using microscopes, to observe the
impact of penicillin mould. Be discovered that it killed many germs without harming living cells. He used penicillin successfully to treat another scientist’s eye infection.
How did Communication help Fleming to discover Penicillin?
Fleming stopped his research because penicillin did not seem to work in deeper infections, and it took so line to create enough penicillin to use in his experiments. However, he published his research in a medical journal in 1929. His work was read by Florey and Chain who developed Fleming’s idea into an effective medical treatment.
What other factors led to development of penicillin and antibiotics for everyone ?
- Individuals
- US government
- War
- Science and technology
- British government
How did the factor (individuals) help the development of penicillin and antibiotics for everyone ?
Howard Florey and Ernst Chain were working together at Oxford university in the 1930s. They tested penicillin on mice and discovered it helped mice recover from infections. In 1941, they tested penicillin on a police man who had blood poising. It worked and the policeman began to recover but then the penicillin ran out and the man died.
How did the factor (US Government) help the development of penicillin and antibiotics for everyone ?
Florey and Chain had proved penicillin worked and that it was not harmful to the patient. The problem was that they needed a lot of funds to mass produce penicillin. Florey travelled to America and persuaded the government to invest in penicillin
How did the factor (War) help the development of penicillin and antibiotics for everyone ?
The US government realised the potential of penicillin for treating wounded soldiers in the second world war war. US companies received loads from the American government to buy the expensive equipment to produce penicillin on a large scale
How did the factor (science and technology) help the development of penicillin and antibiotics for everyone ?
After the war, pharmaceutical companies paid for researcher to discover and trail other antibiotics. Teams of scientists and new technological equipment led to antibiotics being made available for the whole population
How did the factor (the British government) help the development of penicillin and antibiotics for everyone ?
In Britain, after 1948, the government-funded NHS provided antibiotics free of charge. These antibiotics saved millions of lives
What is the acronym to remember how Fleming became Famous ?
FAMOUS:
F - Fleming
A - Antibiotic
M - Microscopes
O - Other people
U - USA
S - Soldiers
How did FLEMING help Fleming become famous ?
Discovering that penicillin mount kills bacteria in 1928
How did antibiotics help Fleming get famous ?
Penicillin becomes the first effective antibiotic
How did microscopes help Fleming become famous ?
Microscopes helped Fleming see that pencilling mould killed many germs
How did other people help Fleming become famous ?
Florey and chain developed Fleming’s idea into a medical treatment
How did the USA help Fleming become famous ?
The USA funded the equipment needed to mass produce penicillin
How i’d soldiers help Fleming become famous ?
Penicillin was widely used to treat soldiers during the second world
war
What role has the pharmaceutical industry played in the development of new treatments ?
- Developed the equipment and method needed to mass produce penicillin
- Paid for research to discover and trail new antibiotics
-Invested in the development of other treatments. For example, in the 1970s, scientists found that aspirin helped to thin the blood and could to prevent blood clots. More recent research has shown that is can reduce the risk of a heart attack.
How has our understanding of disease improved in the last 100 years ?
- In 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the structure of human DNA and how it passes from parents to children. This was a major breakthrough, showing that many illnesses have genetic causes (for example, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and many forms of cancer)
- In the 1990s, the Human Genome project bagan working out how each part of human DNA affects the body. This was allowed scientists to find ways of treating specific genetic illnesses
What new diseases and threats have emerged in the last 100 years?
- Unsafe drugs
- Antibiotic resistance
- New diseases
How has unsafe drugs caused threat in the last 100 years ?
In the late 1950s, thalidomide was introduced as a ‘safe’ sleeping tablet and was given to women to reduce morning sickness. However, this drug has not been fully tested and led to children being born with deformed limbs. The impact led to more testing of drugs today.
How has antibiotic resistance caused threat in the last 100 years ?
MRSA is resistant to antibiotics. This shows how overuse of antibiotics has made them less effective
How has new diseases caused threat in the last 100 years ?
More than 40 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses. However, in the 1990s, new treatments such as HAART (highly active- retroviral therapy) were introduced and these have helped improve survival rates.
What alternative treatments have emerged in the last 100 years ?
- Acupuncture (which has been used in China for 4000 years) is used to treat disease and as a painkiller during surgery
- Herbal remedies (many of which have been used in medicine for centuries) are made from plants and animal substances and are available to buy
