FunMed Week 7

Question 1

1. To what class of drugs does ibuprofen belong to? (1 mark)

Answer 1

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (½ mark for abbreviation only)

Question 2

1. Ibuprofen itself is not very soluble in water, what does this adversely affect? (2 marks)

Answer 2

Being not very soluble means that it is slowly absorbed from the gut (1 mark).

So it takes longer to reach a therapeutic level in the body (1 mark).

Question 3

1. Using the diagram below describe the relative efficacy and potency for the four drugs. (4 marks)

Answer 3

Efficacy:

Drugs A, B and D have the same efficacy (1 mark)

Drug C has a 50% lower efficacy than A, B and D (1 mark)

Potency:

Drug A has the greatest potency (1 mark), more than B, C and D (1 mark)

Question 4

1. How long is the length of the usual patent for a new drug in the UK? (1 mark)

Answer 4

Usually 20 years (1 mark), although in some cases this can be extended for an additional 5 years.

Question 5

1. List FOUR pieces of information which are found on a medical license. (2 marks)

Answer 5

The licence for a medicine includes information such as: (any for ½ mark each)

• What health condition it should be used to treat
• What dose should be used
• What form it takes - such as a tablet or liquid
• Who can use the medicine - for example, only people above a certain age
• How long treatment with that medicine should last
• Warnings about known safety issues - such as side effects and interactions with other medicines
• How the medicine should be stored
• When the medicine expires

Question 6

what is the placebo effect?

Answer 6

1. Anything that seems to be real medical treatment but isn’t. No API. Sometimes people show a response to placebo. Possible that if person expects drug to
2. Placebos are often used in clinical trials to help understand the real effect of a new treatment – both positive benefits and also possible side effects.

Question 7

1. Difference between generic and branded drugs?

Answer 7

Companies take out exclusive rights called patents on each new drug they discover.

A patent on a drug = only that company can market it under their brand name once it’s been granted a licence.

Once the patent expires, other manufacturers can market generic versions

1. Generics and branded drugs have the same API: same therapeutic effect. Same risk / benefit.

Question 8

what are exicpients?

Answer 8

BUT the so-called ‘excipients’ - such as sugar, flavouring, and colouring

Question 9

what are narrow therapeutic index drugs?

Answer 9

1. Some medicines need to patient stick to certain brand to ensure treatment efficacy: e.g. antiepileptic drugs
   
   1. Absorption speed can have impact on medication in body
   2. These drugs = narrow therapeutic index (NTI) drugs