D.10.1

What are the effects of LSD?

Perception is magnified

destroys sense of judgement

can cause opposing emotions

dilation of pupils

increased heart rate

increased blood pressure and body temperature

sleeplessness, sweating and tremors

Flashbacks

D.10.1

What are the effects of Mescaline?

causes visual colour hallucinations

Lasts for about 12 hours

D.10.1

What are the effects of Psilocybin?

Magic mushrooms

affects relaxation in low doses

acts like LSD in high doses

D.10.1

What are the effects of THC?

mild hallucinogen

change in perception as dose is increased

decisions become hard

psychological dependance can occur

D.10.2

What are structural similarities and differences between LSD, mescaline and psilocybin?

all have a benzene ring

LSD and psilocybin both have an indole ring

mescaline has a primary amine

D.10.3

What are arguments for and against the legalization of Cannabis?

For - offers relief for certain diseases - increases appetite, relieves anxiety - glaucoma - releases pressure on the eyeball

Against - possible harmful effects - possibilty of users moving to harder drugs - could suppress immune system and affect the brain

D.9.1

Why is a compound library used in drug design?

developing drugs is time consuming and expensive

storing all information related to newly developed drugs saves time

D.9.2

Why is combinatorial and parallel chemistry used to synthesize new drugs?

This involves creating all possible combinations of a certain set of starting materials.

This can make very large libraries of related chemicals

D.9.3

How are computers used in drug design?

Molecular modelling software allows scientists to mimic or model molecular behaviour

D.9.4

How can the polarity of a molecule be modified to increase its solubility and how does this facilitate its distribution around the body?

Particular functional groups can be added to increase polarity

D.9.5

How are chiral auxillaries used to form the desired enantiomer?

Chiral auxillaries convert a non-chiral molecule into the desired enantiomer

when the new chemical is formed the auxillary is removed

D.8.1

Why is geometrical isomerism important in drug action?

different physical properties - polarity, BP, MP, solubility

different chemical properties  - cisplatin example - binds to guanine after losing 2 Cl ligands

D.8.2

Why is chirality important in drug action?

Produces optical isomers

D.8.3

What is the imporantance of the beta-lactam ring action in penicillin?

creates chemical stress and therefore reactivity - opens up the ring

open structure can bond to the enzyme transpeptidase which is responsible for the synthesis of bacterial cell walls

D.8.4

Why is heroin more potent than morphine?

hydroxyl groups in morphine are replaced with ester groups - less soluble

this means that the molecule is less polar and more soluble in the non-polar environment of the CNS and brain

D.1.1

What are the effects of medicines and drugs on the functioning of the body?

alters incoming sensory sensations

alters mood or emotions

alters physiological states including consciousness or activity level

D.1.2

What stages are involved in the development of new drugs?

tested on cell cultures and animals

establishment of range of ED

LD50 value is determined

many different animals are used before tested on humans

3 stages of clinical trials

D.1.3

What are the different methods of administering drugs?

Oral - pills

Rectal

Inhalation

Parenteral - intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous

D.1.4

What does the term therapeutic window mean?

This is a ratio of the ED50 and the LD50

indicates the relative margin of safety of the drug

High LD and low ED suggest a large therapeutic window

D.1.4

What does the term tolerance mean?

Over time and with regular use increasing amounts of a drug are required for the desired effect to occur

increases the risk of a fatal overdose

D.1.4

What does the term side effects mean?

Effects of the drug other than the desired effect

all drugs have side effects

D.1.2

How do antacids work?

They are normally bases which react with excess acid in the stomach

often combined with alginates - to prevent acid reflux

and 

anti-foamin agents like dimethicone to reduce surface tension of the gas produced

D.3.1

What are the different ways in which analgesics prevent pain?

mild analgesics block the synthesis of prostaglandins so that no pain signal can be sent to the brain

strong analgesics such as opiates work directly on the brain

they bind to opiate receptors in the brain to prevent the transmission of pain impulses

D.3.2

What are the uses for aspirin?

Anti-pyretic - reduces fever

mild analgesic

anti-inflammatory agent

anti-platelet agent

D.3.2

What are disadvantages of aspirin?

acid in nature - could cause stomach upset

there is a risk of developing a severe gastrointestinal bleed following the use of alcohol

some people are allergic

can easily cause accidental poisoning in infants

D.3.2

What are uses and advantages of acetaminophen?

Paracetemol

Analgesic, anit-pyretic,

not anti=inflammatory

doesn't upset the stomach

very rarely causes side effects

overdose can cause liver damage

D.3.4

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using morphine and its derivatives as a strong analgesic?

Provide relief for sever pain

can be used to relieve coughing and in the treatment of diarrhea (constipating effect)

exerts major effects on the CNS

can produce drowsiness and mental clouding

tolerance can be caused by any derivatives

addiction can occur

overdose causes death

D.4.1

What are the effects of depressants?

calm and relax the CNS

slow down brain activity and other organs

reduces rate of breathing

dulls emotional responses

moderate doses causes sedation

high doses can cause sleep or death

relieve depression

D.4.2

What are the social effects of the use and abuse of alcohol?

social costs due to sickness and death related to drinking

costs of hospital treatments

low prouductivity du to ill helath

crime related costs

D.4.2

What are the physiological effects of the use and abuse of alcohol?

psychological addiction

physical dependance - DTs

Tolerance

loss of judgement, impairment of perception and memory

increased reaction time

aggressive behaviour

cirrhosis

high blood pressure

D.4.3

What are the techniques used for the detection of ethanol in the breath, blood or urine?

Breathalyser test - in breath - ethanol reacts with dichromate which turns from orange to green 

Gas Liquid Chromatography - breath, urine and blood - components are seperated

Infra-red spectroscopy - depends on the length/strenght of bonds in the sample - detects C-H bonds

D.4.4

What are the synergistic effects of alcohol with other drugs?

a combination of two drugs is more harmful than either one on its own

alcohol enhances the performance of some drugs

with sedatives can cause very heavy sedation and sometimes even death

D.4.5

Other than ethanol what are commonly used depressants?

Valium

Mogadon

D.5.1

What are the physiological effects of stimulants?

increased heart rate

increased mental alertness - stimulates CNS

increased wakefullness

decreased appetite

D.5.2

What is the difference between amphetamines and adrenalin?

adrenalin is naturally occuring - amphetamines are artificial

Amphetamine mimics the effects of adrenalin

amphetamines affect the sympathetic nerves

D.5.3

What are the short and long term effects of nicotine consumption?

ST

increases heart rate and BP, contricts blood vessels, reduces urine output, puts stress on the heart

LT

increased risk of heart disease, inhibits the ability of the blood to carry oxygen, many other toxic chemicals, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, tolerance, dependance

D.5.4

What are the effects of caffeine?

stimulates the CNS
stimulates heart, kidneys, lungs and arteries

enhances alertness and concentration in moderate doses

weak diuertic

can cause sleeplessness

some tolerance but no physical addiction

minor psychological addiction

D.6.1

What is the historical development of penicillin?

scientists discovered that some fungi killed bacteria

Alexander made similar observations but gave up after finding it difficult to isolate and purify the active ingredient

Florey and Chain renewed the research

was sucessful when used for the first time on a human

became available clinically

D.6.2

How do penicillins work?

Interferes with the cross link formation of the bacterias cell wall.  This weakens the cell

this means that the cells can easily burst and die

penicillin doesn't harm human cells because they have no cell wal

D.6.2

What is the effect of modifying the side chain of penicillins?

Make it resistant to acid - so can be taken orally

can be made resistant to other substances such as penicillinase made by bacteria

changing the structure can produce broad and narrow spectrum antibiotics

D.6.3

Why is patient compliance important and what is the effect of everprescription of penecillin?

Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics - evolution and a super bug can be created

D.7.1

How are viruses different from bacteria?

smaller

can only reproduce in a living cell

have a protein coat and a central core of DNA

don't feed or grow

not cellular

D.7.2

How do antiviral drugs work?

most effectively controlled by innocculations

block the transfer of genetic information

can block enzyme activity in host cell

D.7.3

Why is solving the AIDS problem so difficult?

viruses can mutate and cross species easily

HIV attacks cells in the immune system

this leads to life threatening infections

antiviral agents are very expensive so it is difficult to contain the virus