fighting disease

• Medications are also known as drugs
• How much does the NHS spend annually on medications?

  Over seventeen billion pounds
• Medications can be divided into two groups: those that relieve symptoms and those that treat the disease
• Painkillers such as aspirin relieve sore throat symptoms but do not cure the underlying cause.
• What type of pathogen is most commonly responsible for sore throats?

  Viruses
• Antibiotics are effective against bacteria
• Antibiotics are effective against viruses because they target bacterial structures.

  False
• Why are antibiotics ineffective against viruses?

  Viruses differ from bacteria
• Viruses hide within our body's cells
• Antibiotics can target viruses without harming our own cells.

  False
• What type of test might a doctor perform before prescribing antibiotics?

  To identify the bacteria
• Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria become resistant to antibiotics
• Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern in medicine.
• How has the ability to treat both disease symptoms and their causes impacted medicine?

  Improved quality and length of life
• Drugs can be used to relieve symptoms and to help cure diseases
• Why have microorganisms and plants evolved to produce substances that can kill pathogens?

  Survival advantage
• Aspirin was originally developed from a chemical found in foxglove plants

  False
• Match the drug with its original source:

  Aspirin ↔️ Willow bark

  Digitalis ↔️ Foxglove

  Penicillin ↔️ Penicillium fungus
• Who discovered penicillin?

  Alexander Fleming
• Stages of drug testing

  1️⃣ Pre-clinical testing on human cells and tissues

  2️⃣ Testing on live animals

  3️⃣ Clinical testing on healthy volunteers

  4️⃣ Testing on patients with the targeted illness
• All drugs in the UK must be tested on two different types of live mammals
• What is the aim of clinical testing on healthy volunteers?

  Check for side effects
• What is the optimum dosage of a drug in clinical trials?

  Maximum efficacy, minimum toxicity
• In a blind clinical trial, volunteers do not know whether they are taking the drug or a placebo
• In a double-blind clinical trial, neither the volunteers nor the doctors know who is taking the real drug
• Why is it important to use a placebo in clinical trials?

  Avoid unconscious bias
• Steps to ensure valid results in clinical trials

  1️⃣ Use a blind or double-blind approach

  2️⃣ Compare results with a placebo group

  3️⃣ Analyze data to determine efficacy and toxicity

  4️⃣ Peer-review by other scientists
• Once our immune systems have been exposed to a certain pathogen, they develop immunity
• Immunity means we cannot catch the same disease again
• What is the main drawback of immunity acquired through catching a disease?

  It can be dangerous
• Vaccines expose our bodies to pathogens to create immunity
• Vaccines use weakened or inactivated pathogens
• Vaccines trigger the immune system to produce antibodies
• Vaccines can protect against both bacteria and viruses
• How many diseases are children typically vaccinated against by primary school?

  More than a dozen
• Vaccines have helped control diseases such as polio, smallpox, and measles
• Vaccines prevent large-scale disease outbreaks called epidemics
• What is herd immunity?

  Immunity in a group
• Herd immunity occurs when enough people in a population are immune to prevent spread
• Unvaccinated individuals in a population with herd immunity are unlikely to catch the disease