B6 - Preventing and treating diseases

immune system:

• skin, barrier
• hair and mucas, trap particles
• cilia,move mucas to back of throat
• stomach, hydrochloric acid, kills pathogens
• White Blood Cells (more in B5 resource)

Painkillers, reduce symtoms, but don't tackle the cause

Antibiotics, kill bacteria, but the bacteria can mutate and become resistant

Asparin - Painkiller --> willow

Digitalis - for heart conditions --> foxgloves

To find new drugs - new discoveries, new tech, upgrading existing drugs (stop side effects)

Testing drugs:

1. Potential substance found

2. Active ingredient identifies

3. Pre-clinical, test on computer models, animal tissue

4. Small group of healthy volunteers (side effects)

5. Small group patients with disease, double blind (see if it works)

6. Large group, placebo (fakes in place) and double blind, dosage worked out

7. approval for use

Penicilin - Fleming, petri dish with bacteria, bit with mould had no bacteria, mould killed bacteria

Drugd should be: safe, effective, stable, manufactured on a large scale, easily absorbed and removed from body.

Vaccination: has dead /weakened/inactive toxins produced by pathogens.

Through a sterilised needle, put into blood stream.

Vaccine acts as antigen. WBC sees threat, produces antibodies.

Memory cell rememberss anti-body needed. Produce specific antibodies quicker.

Monoclonal antibodies:

• produced by B lymphocytes, hich come from stem cells in bone marrow.
• antibodies make B cells to attach to antigens
• used for targeting cancer antigens, prgnancy tests (hCG hormone) and detecting illness (prostate cancer)

Advantages:

• Cancer treatment with less side effects
• detecting pregnancy

Disadvanteges:

• cause fever, vomitting, low blood pressure