topic 5

Question 1

how does smoking increase the risks of cardiovascular diseases

Answer 1

• nicotine increases blood pressure
• high blood pressure increases the risk of a heart attack and stroke
• increases risk of blood clots leading to a heart attack or stroke

Question 2

too many or too little nutrients

Answer 2

malnutrition can cause scurvy

Question 3

obesity

Answer 3

not getting enough exercise, having a diet high in fat and sugar

Question 4

liver disease (cirrhosis)

Answer 4

drinking too much alcohol

alcohol is broken down by enzymes in the liver, some of the products are toxic

Question 5

how do antibiotics work

Answer 5

they inhibit processes in bacterial cells, not in the host organism

Question 6

preclinical testing

Answer 6

1. drugs are tested on human cells and tissues in the lab

2. test the drug on live animals to test that the drug works, find out how toxic it is and find the best dosage

Question 7

clinical testing

Answer 7

1. the drug is tested on healthy volunteers to make sure it doesn’t have any harmful side effects when the body is working normally
2. then, the drug can be tested on people suffering with the illness, the optimum dose is then found
3. patients are randomly put into two groups. one is given the new drug and the other is given a placebo. this is to allow the placebo effect to occur.
4. clinical trials are often double-blind, the doctor and the patient both don’t know who is getting the placebo or the drug until the results have been gathered. this is to avoid subconscious bias from the doctors when analysing the results