Testing Medicinal Drugs Flashcards
Name the 3 stages of testing new drugs
- Human and Cell Tissue Testing
- Animal Testing
- Clinical Trials (human testing)
What is the purpose of human cell and tissue testing?
To check the drug works
To check the drug is not toxic
What is the purpose of animal testing?
To check the drug works
To check the drug is not toxic
To find the best dosage
What is the purpose of clinical trials
To check the drug works
To check the drug is not toxic
To find the best dosage
What is a clinical trial?
Where drugs are tested on humans before being given to the general public
Describe the steps involved in a clinical trial.
- Test the drug on healthy volunteers.
- Slowly increase the dose until the optimum dose is found.
- If results are good, use on sick patients.
What is meant by the optimum dose for a drug?
The amount of a drug that is the most effective the fewest side effects.
What is a placebo?
A dummy drug (sugar pill) that is used to see if a drug really works.
Clinical trials are double blind. What is meant by this?
The patient and Doctor do not know if the patient has been given the real drug or a placebo.
Thalidomide was originally developed to be a…
sleeping pill
Thalidomide was developed to be a sleeping pill but was used to treat…
morning sickness in pregnant mothers.
What were the effects of thalidomide on pregnant mothers?
Their babies were born with leg and arm problems.
What happened to thalidomide after Doctors realised it caused problems in unborn babies?
It was banned
More safety procedures were introduced.
Thalidomide has recently been used to treat…
leprosy
