prevention and treatment of disease Flashcards
what are antibiotics?
chemicals that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria and target bacterial cells without damaging body cells
what are the risks of antibiotics?
- side effects
- severe allergic reactions
- antibiotic resistance
what is antibiotic resistance?
when bacteria have a genetic mutation causing them to be resistant to the antibiotic, these dont get killed and so reproduce leading the the population becoming resistant to the antibiotic
what are the benefits of antibiotics?
- death rate from infectious bacterial disease has fallen dramatically
- target bacterial cells without damaging body cells
what is the problem with antibiotic resistance?
‘super bugs’ become more common and as theyre resistant to most antibiotics it’s becoming harder to treat possibly life threatening bacterial infections
how do you prevent antibiotic resistance?
- reducing the use of antibiotics (not prescribed for minor infections)
- developing new antibiotics
- modifying old antibiotics
give 2 examples of future medicine
- personalised medicine
- synthetic biology
what is personalised medicine?
- involves using a persons genotype to choose the best treatment
- DNA sequencing and clinical information can provide treatment plans
- including medicine and changing lifestyle choices
what is synthetic biology?
involves using genetically modified bacteria or animals and nanotechnology to produce drugs that might be rare, expensive or difficult to make
how are plants used as a source of medicine? (example)
daffodils are grown to produce a drug used to treat Alzheimers disease
how are microorganisms used as a source of medicine? (examples)
- pencillin is obtained from fungus
- some cancer drugs are made using soil bacteria
define an autoimmune disease
when an organisms immune system isnt able to recognise antigens present on its own cells so the organism sees these antigens as foreign and launches immune response against its own tissues
describe the key features and treatment of lupus
- affects skin, joints and internal organs
- symptoms: rashes, joint pain, swelling and fatigue (range from mild to life threatening)
- treatment: anti inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressants, pain relief, hydroxychloroquine
describe the key features and treatments of rheumatoid arthritis
- affects hands, feet and wrists most commonly
- symptoms: pain, swelling, stiffness of joints (in flare ups), damage to joints, cartilage or nearby bones
- treatment: anti inflammatory, steroids, immunosuppressants, pain killers, surgery, physio and occupational therapy
describe natural active immunity
- natural exposure to the antigens on pathogens, an immune response making memory cells
- most diseases only develop once
- long term immunity
