medicine through time 1900- present

• hereditary disease: disease that is caused by genetic factors passed down from ancestors to descendants
• when was DNA discovered and by who: 1953 by Watson and Crick
• How did Rosalind Franklin contribute to determining the structure of DNA? Used x-ray defraction to determine the shape
• what does DNA carry

  genetic information
• What was the Human Genome Project? launched in 1990, the aim was to decode and map the entire human genome and to look into the DNA of people suffering from hereditary diseases
• When were blood pressure monitors invented?

  1880s
• when were xrays invented

  1890s
• When were endoscopes developed? 1900s

  
  

  a camera and thin flexible tube which is used to see inside the human body
• when were blood samples first used: 1930s

  
  

  used to test for different conditions also used which stopped invasive methods
• When were ultrasounds first used? 1940

  
  

  used soundwaves to build up a picture of the inside of the body
• when were blood sugar monitors made: 1960s

  
  

  allowed people with diabetes to check blood sugar levels
• When were MRI scans invented? 1970s

  
  

  advanced form of xrays
• when was the creation of the NHS

  1948
• what did the NHS do: made healthcare free

  
  

  introduced healthy living campaigns such as Smokefree and Change4Life
• What is a magic bullet? A chemical cure that attacks germs without causing harm
• what was the first big breakthrough of a magic bullet: salvarsan 606, cured syphilis
• what bright red dye killed bacteria in mice

  Prontosil
• What did Prontosil do?

  bacteriostatic antibiotic
• Alexander Fleming: found a petri dish that had bacteria from a disease had grown mould

  
  

  the mould stopped bacteria from growing

  
  

  he published his findings to the Medical Research Club however they showed no interest
• Florey and Chain

  performed first clinical trials of penicillin
• lung cancer mainly affects people aged over 40
• In 1950, the British Medical Research Council published a study which showed the rise of lung cancer was directly linked to cigarette smoking
• lung cancer deaths peaked in 1973 with nearly 26,000 deaths
• lung cancer is hard to detect in the because:

  when detected the cancer is usually already very advanced

  patients mistake their symptoms for other diseases

  no national screening for lung cancer
• people who smoke or have smoked are 85% of lung cancer cases
• xrays are used to diagnose lung cancer however they are not advanced enough. they could mistake cancer for lung abcesses
• In the 20th century, patients suspected of having lung cancer undergo various tests, including CT (dye injection) and PET CT (radioactive injection) scans , and bronchoscopy to collect cell samples for testing. Based on the results of these tests, doctors can determine the type and stage of cancer and develop a treatment plan.
• possible treatments for lung cancer:

  
  

  operation to remove tumour or infected part of lung

  
  

  radiotherapy - concentrated waves of radiation aimed at a tumour to shrink it

  
  

  chemotherapy - injected with drugs to shrink tumour or prevent growth
• national vaccination campaign against diphtheria in 1942
• during ww2 the government put a national campaign to immunise all children against diphtheria because the air raid shelters were cramped
• in the early 1950s there were 8000 cases of polio reported yearly
• diphtheria compaign funded by central government instead of local government
• infection rates of diptheria fell during 1950s
• rubella vaccine was developed in 1970, there are now less than 5 cases per year
• the clean air acts were introduced in 1956 and 1968 to provide a healthy environment for the population
• campaigns :

  Change4Life

  DrinkAware

  Smokefree