treating diseases

• what are antibiotics?

  Medications that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria but can't destroy viruses
• doctors shouldn't prescribe antibiotics:

  unless they are really needed

  for non serious infections

  for viral infections
• patients must complete their course of antibiotics so that all bacteria are killed and none survive to form resistant strains
• antiviral drugs are needed that will kill viruses without also damaging the body's tissues
• digitalis: a heart drug originating from foxgloves
• aspirin: a pain killer that originates from willow bark
• penicillin: discovered by Alexander Fleming from the penicillium mould
• new medical drugs have to be tested and trailed before use to check that they are safe, effective and to decide on dosage
• preclinical testing is done in labs using cells, tissues and live animals

  then clinical trials take place using healthy volunteers and patients

  they're given very low doses

  if its found to be safe then further clinical trials are carried out to find out the optimum dosage
• monoclonal antibodies are produced from a single cell that has divided to make many cloned copies of itself
• monoclonal antibodies are produced by combining mouse cells and a tumour cell to make a hybridoma cell
• monoclonal antibodies:

  -vaccinate mouse to stimulate the production of antibodies

  -collect spleen cells that form antibodies

  collect tumour cells (myeloma)

  -spleen and myeloma cells fuse to form hybridoma cells

  -grow hybridoma cells in tissue culture and cselect antibody-forming cells
• uses of monoclonal antibodies:

  -in pregnancy tests, to bind to the hormone HCG found in urine during early pregnancy

  -in labs to measure levels of hormones and other chemicals in blood or to detect pathogens

  -in research to locate or identify specific molecules in a cell or tissue by binding them with a fluorescent dye