modern

• Crick and Watson - discovered structure of DNA
• Alexander Fleming - first to use penicillin, left

  notes about what he discovered
• Florey and Chain - developed use of penicillin
• Hereditary disease - an illness passed from parent

  to child
• Magic bullet - a chemical which kills disease, but

  does not affect rest of body
• Antibiotic - a treatment which destroys or stops

  growth of bacteria in the body
• Penicillin - the first antibiotic
• Genetics - information about a person stored on

  DNA in every cell.
• Ideas about CAUSE of disease

  Scientific understanding of the cause of disease

  replaced ideas of Four Humours, miasma.

  Doctors use evidence based knowledge to diagnose

  patients.

  Technology developed to diagnose:

  blood tests;

  x-rays;

  ultrasound scans;

  endoscopes (camera which can see inside the body).
• Ideas about CAUSE of disease

  Genetics:

  Scientists realised that microbes could not cause all disease – some were hereditary

  1900 - a German scientist first came up with the theory of genetics, but microscopes weren't powerful enough to prove the idea.

  1953 -Watson and Crick discovered the shape of DNA. This meant they could find the part of the DNA which caused hereditary disease.

  Using this information, doctors can know if someone is likely to suffer from a hereditary illness, and take steps to prevent the impact
• Ideas about CAUSE of disease

  Lifestyle:

  During C20th we have better understood the impact of lifestyle choices on health.

  Smoking:

  It is the biggest cause of preventable disease in the world now

  A poor diet with too much sugar or fat can cause heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

  Other lifestyle choices which can cause disease include:

  excessive alcohol,

  drug use,

  unprotected sex

  tanning.
• Approaches to TREATMENT and PREVENTION

  Technology / Chemical cures:

  Magic bullet = attacks disease, not body

  Salvason 606 – first developed to attack syphilis

  Penicillin

  Technology - helped to identify and combat diseases

  NHS:

  1911 - National Insurance Act only covered working men.

  1948 – to provide free healthcare for all from cradle to grave.

  Hospital, GP, dentist, ambulance, health visitor

  Ongoing debate about cost / quality of service
• Approaches to TREATMENT and PREVENTION

  Pevention:

  Government has assumed responsibility for public health

  Compulsory vaccinations

  Laws to provide healthy environment (eg Clean Air Act 1956)

  Communication about health risks of lifestyle choice (eg antismoking campaigns)
• Case Study: Penicillin

  1871 - Joseph Lister used penicillin to treat a patient, but left

  no record of his discovery.

  1928 - Alexander Fleming noticed that in his lab, some mould

  was killing bacteria in a dirty petri dish. He didn’t study further but published his findings.

  Florey and Chain were studying antibiotics. They read Fleming’s work, 1940 tested successfully on mice but couldn’t produce large quantities.

  When US joined WWII 1941, Florey and Chain got backing from big American drug companies to mass produce.
• Case Study: Lung Cancer

  Second most common cancer in UK. 85% of cases = smokers/exsmokers

  In C19th only 1% of cancers were lung cancer;

  1918 - 10%; 1927 - 14% (smoking was more popular due to advertising).

  Lung cancer hard to diagnose accurately by x-ray

  Now diagnosed by CT scan – more accurate.

  When diagnosed treatment can be:

  -remove infected part of lung

  -Transplant lung from healthy patient

  -Radiotherapy: attack the cancer with radiation

  -Chemotherapy: attack the cancer with chemicals.
• Case Study: Lung Cancer


  Government saw smoking was a problem in 1950s, but made money from tobacco tax.

  Government action:

  -Advertising ban

  -Ban on smoking in public

  -Anti-smoking campaigns

  -Raising taxes
• Examples of Change

  -Use of science to diagnose / understand disease

  -NHS healthcare free for all

  -Government taking responsibility for public health

  -Huge increase in the amount of treatments / surgery which can be given

  -Lifestyle factors have become an important cause of disease / death
• Examples of Continuity

  Still unable to treat some illnesses such as cancer and viruses.