What is a benign tumour?
- a tumour that grows until there is no more room.
- the cells stay where they are
- normally is not dangerous
What is a malignant tumour?
- a tumour that grows and can spread to other sites in the body.
- dangerous and can be fatal
What stages of testing do new drugs go through?
- computer models to stimulate a human’s response to a drug (not as accurate as a live organism)
- human tissue (can not be used on drugs that effect whole/multiple body systems e.g.blood pressure drugs must be tested on a whole animal/one that has an intact circulatory system).
- animals (law requires two different live mammals to be tested).
How does a clinical trail work?
- two groups of patient
- one is given the new drug, the other a placebo.
- this is done so scientists can see the actual difference the drug makes-it allows the placebo effect.
- scientists sometimes test drugs against the best existing treatment in lieu of a placebo. This shows how the new drug compares to what we already have.
What is a placebo?
-a fake/’sugar’ pill that looks like the real drug but doesn’t do anything.
What is the placebo effect?
-expecting the treatment to work and therefore feeling better, even though the treatment isn’t doing anything.
What is the being of blind and double blind trials?
- blind- the patient doesn’t know whether they get the drug or the placebo (all clinical trials are blind)
- double blind-neither the patient nor the scientists knows until the results are gathered (clinical trails are often double blind)
How are drugs harmful?
-many drugs are dangerous if misused
-addiction (a physical need for the drug)
-withdrawal symptoms
-tolerance developed with some drugs (the body gets used to having it, so you need a higher dose to give the same effect).
Rehabilitation can help the addicted, it provides help and support to try and overcome an addiction.
What are the 5 typed of drugs?
- depressants
- stimulants
- pain killers
- performance enhancers
- hallucinogens
What do depressants do?
- decrease brain activity
- therefore slowing responses of the nervous system
- and therefore causing slow reactions and poor judgement of speed and distance.
- e.g. alcohol, solvents, temazepam
What do stimulants do?
- increase brain activity
- therefore you feel more awake and alert.
- often used to treat depression
- e.g. nicotine, ecstasy, caffeine
What are drugs?
Substances that alter the way the body works.
What do painkillers do?
- reduce the number of ‘painful’ stimuli at the nerve endings near a injury.
- e.g. aspirin, paracetamol
What do performance enhancers do?
- help build muscle and allow athletes to train harder.
- banned by most sports organisations.
- e.g. anabolic steroids
What do hallucinogens do?
- distort what’s seen and heard by altering the pathways that the brain sends messages along.
- e.g. LSD
What drugs are included in illegal drug classes?
- CLASS A-e.g. heroin, LSD, ecstasy and cocaine
- CLASS B-e.g. cannabis and amphetamines
- CLASS C-e.g. anabolic steroids and tranquillisers
Who gets the longest sentence where drugs are involved?
Those who supply the drugs to others.
