B5, B6, B7: Communicable diseases, preventing and treating diseases, non-communicable diseases

What do antibiotics do?

They kill bacteria from reproducing - damaged cell wall --> preventing binary fission. Don't harm normal body crlls

What can antibiotics kill?

a wide range of bacteria or a specific bacteria

What is antibiotic resistance?

Mutations of a bacteria make them drug resistant and as these survive they multiply

What do pain killers do?

They help alleviate the symptoms so you feel better but you still wait for your immune system to get rid of the pathogen.

Give examples of painkillers

paracetamol, aspirin, ibuprofen

What do drugs get tested for?

Toxicity - going to cause harm? Efficacy - cure/prevent the symptoms? Dosage - How much is needed

Name the steps in creating drugs

1. Identify possible drugs 2. Preclinical trials - testing on cells, tissues and animals 3. Phase 1 clinical trials - low dose - is it safe on humans 4. Phase 2 clinical trials - efficacy 5. Phase 3 clinical trials - dosage (6. Phase 4 - monitoring long term effects) 7. Approval by regulatory bodies 8. Start prescribing drugs

What happens with placebos and what do they overcome?

Patients given sugar pill/alternative that doesn't contain drug - After patients may think they feel better. Placebos are used to overcome the psychological effect

What are double blind trials and what does it prevent?

They are trials where neither the patient nor doctor know who has been given the placebo. Helps prevent doctor from being biased in their reporting of the effects of drugs.

What is peer review and what does it prevent?

It is where results of drug trials are scrutinised by experts before being published. This prevents false claims from being made.

What is the origin of digitalis?

Comes from the foxglove plant, digitalis genus

What is digitalis used to treat?

Used to treat heart conditions, manages symptoms of heart failure. Strengthens heart muscle contractions

What is the origin of penicillin?

Certain species of mould and the penicillin genus

What is penicillin used to treat?

Infections caused by bacteria/prevent growth of bacteria, it attaches and damages the cell wall of the bacteria

What is the origin of aspirin?

The willow tree - main ingredient is salicin

What is aspirin used to treat?

Aches, pains, cold and flu symptoms, bring down high temps

Why are monoclonal antibodies made and what can be added to them?

Because B-lymphocytes can't divide quickly and drugs, radioactive materials or fluorescent markers can be added.

How are monoclonal antibodies made?

1) Inject and animal with the antigen we want our antibody to bind with. 2) Extract blood from animal to collect the B-cells/B-lymphocytes. 3) Combine B-lymphocytes with fast-dividing tumour cells 4) This makes a hybridoma - can make lots of antibodies and divide quickly 5) Hybridomas now in petri dish - identical antibodies created, collected, purified

How are monoclonal antibodies used in diagnosis disease? Example

Binds to specific antigens found on pathogens/blood clots/cancer cells with markers attached. Allows doctors to detect problems before seriously affecting a patient's health. E.g. blood test - prostate cancer, detect p/a/h diseases

How are monoclonal antibodies used in measuring + monitoring? E.g.

In hospitals + labs to measure/monitor levels of hormones + other chemicals in blood. E.g. Screening donated blood - HIV infection, detecting drugs illegally used athletes

How are monoclonal antibodies used in research?

To locate/identify specific molecules in a cell/tissue. Attach a fluorescent marker/dye - when m.a. binds to desired molecules, scientists can see effe - build up of fluorescence.

How are monoclonal antibodies used in pregnancy tests?

If negative: urine will wash the unfixed beads along the test strip - will flow over the fixed antibodies - nothing happens Positive: HCG in urine will bind to antibodies with blue beads, when blue beads flow over test strip, HCG will bind with fixed antibodies --> beads stuck in place - appears blue

Name the types of antibodies in a pregnancy test

Mobile - carry the enzyme/dye and bind to antigen Stationary in test zone - bind to antigen if present

Stationary in control zone - bind to mobile antibodies to show test worked

How are m.a.s used in direct use?

Used to trigger immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells

How are m.a.s used in blocking receptors?

Used to block receptors on the surface of the cancer cells to prevent them from growing and dividing

How are m.a.s used in attaching chemicals?

M.a.s can have substance attached to them e.g. toxic drugs, radiotherapy/chemical to stop cells growing - don't harm healthy cells in body

Name the advantages of m.a.s

Only bind to the specific cell that needs treatment, specificty of m.a. --> used to treat a wide range of conditions, could become cheaper to develop than conventional drugs, used in many different ways.

Name the disadvantages of m.a.s

Very expensive to develop, not as widely used or successful as hoped, when initially created there were more side effects than expected, more difficult to produce the right m.a. and attach to drugs + other compounds than expected

What is health?

A state physical, mental and social well being

What is a disease?

Any condition that interferes with the proper functioning of the body and mind

What is a non-communicable disease?

disease not caused by pathogens, they cannot be passed from one organism to another

What is does risk factor mean?

Any thing that increases the chances of developing a disease.

Name communicable disease

HIV/AIDS, polio, rabies, chicken pox, respiratory infections

Name non-communicable disease

Diabetes,stroke, lung cancer, coronary heart disease, asthma

Name risk factors you cannot change

Genes you inherit and age

Name risk factors you can change

Lifestyle - smoking, lack of exercise Substances present in a person/environment - ionising radiation/carcinogens - linked to increased rate of disease

What is correlation + Example

The link in patterns between variables E.g. between non-communicable diseases and lifestyle factors..

What does a causal mechanism explain?

It explains how one factor influences another through a biological process

Name the steps of answering correlation/causation questions

1) Say there is/isn't a correlation - type? - positive/negative

2) If there's a correlation, may not mean causation

3) Other factors could be the cause

What types of cardiovascular diseases can smoking cause?

Coronary heart disease, lung cancer, lung diseases: bronchitis, COPD

What can smoking during pregnancy cause?

A fetus exposed to smoke has restricted oxygen which can lead to premature births, low birthweight babies and still births

What can diet be a risk factor of?

It affects your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and other diseases directly through obesity

What can exercise affect?

It affects the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease

What can obesity affect?

It is a strong risk factor for type 2 diabetes

What 3 things can alcohol do?

Can damage the liver + cause cirrhosis and liver cancer, can cause brain damage and death, taken in by a pregnant woman can affect the development of unborn baby

When do tumours form?

When DNA in the cells are damaged and the cells divide uncontrollably

What is mitosis?

It is a tightly controlled process when cells normally divide

Name factors that may make DNA damage more likely + E.g.s

Carcinogens - asbestos, tar (smoking) / Ionising radiation - UV-light, X-rays / Pathogens - HPV-> cervical cancer, agrobacterium tumefaciens-> crown galls in plants / Genetic Factors / Age

Describe benign tumours

Growth of abnormal cells normally contained in 1 are within a membrane, don't spread - not cancerous, usually easily be removed, may cause pressure/damage to organs e.g. brain tumour

Describe malignant tumours

Growth of abnormal cells not contained in 1 place - can spread + form secondary tumours - cancerous, can be very difficult to remove/treat, disrupts normal functioning of cells/tissues --> death

Name treatments for tumours

Operation to remove, chemotherapy - drugs, radiotherapy - radiation