Top Careers & You

Human Anatomy
Common Drugs and Vaccines

COMMON DRUGS AND VACCINES

Anaesthetics are drugs administrated during surgical operations of all kinds to prevent the patient feeling pain. General anaesthetics cause complete loss of consciousness and are used in major operations, such as appendectomy and tonsillectomy. They include laughing gas (nitrous oxide), chloroform, ether and sodium pentothal. Local anaesthetics deaden the nerves in one part of the body only. Dentists use them, for example, when drilling or extracting teeth. Local anaesthetics include lignocaine and procaine. Analgesics are substances which prevent or relieve pain, but the person taking them retains consciousness. They include simple drugs like aspirin (acetylsalicyclic acid) and bromides and powerful ones like morphine and heroin. Antibiotics are drugs that have the power to destroy body gems quickly and to prevent germs from growing. They are compounds that are produced by bacteria and moulds, tiny plant organisms (microorganism). Antibiotics are thus probably the biggest lifesavers today. They combat pneumonia, typhoid, syphilis, scarlet fever, and many other serious illnesses. Penicillin, streptomycin, chloromycetin, and terramycin are among the most important. Antihistamines relieve the symptoms of asthma, hay fever, and other allergies. They counter excess production in the body of substances called histamines which cause sneezing and a streaming nose. Antipyretics are drugs used medically to lower the body temperatures. Hormones are used as drugs when the body has a hormone deficiency that causes disease. Insulin is probably the best-known hormone drug. It is given to sufferers of diabetes, who have an insulin deficiency. The insulin injected is obtained from the pancreas of sheep, cattle, and pigs. Adrenalin, cortisone and ACTH are other important hormone drugs. Narcotics deaden the whole nervous system and prevent a person feeling pain. They may make one sleep or go into a coma. Opium and the drugs derived from it- codeine, heroin and morphine are the most widely used narcotics. Sedatives are soothing drugs that generally send a person to sleep. Common sedatives are barbiturates and bromides. Narcotics and anaesthetics have sedative effects too. Tranquillizers are taken to calm the nerves and prevent worry. They do not, like sedatives, dull the nervous system, or slow down mental or physical activity. Some important common drugs Class of drug Penicillin Application Antibiotic Example Syphills, infections poisoning) Zedovudine Lamivudine Streptomycin Antiviral Antiviral Antibiotic HIV Hepatitis B Tuberculosis staphylococcal (food Narrow diseases) Notes spectrum antibiotic

(treats only a narrow range of

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com

Top Careers & You

Erythromycin Antibiotic Respiratory infections Ciprofloxacin Antibiotic Urinary tract infections, common pneumonia, tract

Human Anatomy
Common Drugs and Vaccines

Broad spectrum antibiotic

myoplasmal infections Amoxicillin Tetracycline Chloroquine Aspirin Antibiotic Antibiotic Antibiotic Analgesic antipyretic Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) Analgesic antipyretic Fever, pain Wide range of infections Cholera Malaria Fever, pain One of the most widely used medications in the world Broad spectrum

Vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. Vaccines were first used by Edward Jenner (England) in the 1770s to inoculate small pox using the cow microbe. Vaccines have resulted in the eradication of small pox, one of the most contagious and deadly diseases known to man. Other diseases like polio, measles, mumps, typhoid etc have been significantly reduced. Currently, polio is prevalent in only four countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and India. Mechanism of action A vaccine is usually made from a weakened or dead from of the microbe that it is intended to fight. It stimulates the bodys immune system to recognize the microbe as foreign and destroy it and remember it. When the same microbe re appears later, the immune system easily recognizes and destroys it. When the body recognizes the virulent microbe attack, it neutralises the target microbe before it can enter body cells destroys infected cells before the microbe can spread to other cells and multiply

Types of vaccines Killed Vaccines: These are vaccines that contain micro organism that have killed using chemicals or heat. E.g. influenza, cholera, bubonic plague, polio, hepatitis A. Attenuated vaccines: These contain live attenuated (numerous) micro organisms. These are usually live viruses that have been cultivated under conditions which disable their virulent properties, or use closely related by less dangerous micro organisms. These vaccines provide more durable immune response and are preferred type for healthy adults. E.g. yellow fever, measles, rubella, mumps typhoid. Toxoid vaccines: inactivated toxic compounds that cause illness. E.g. tetanus, diphtheria. Subunit vaccines: These use protein subunits instead of the entire micro organism as a vaccine. E. g. Hepatitis B vaccine (which uses only surface proteins), Human Papillioma Virus (HPV) vaccine (which uses subunits of influenza virus).

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com

Top Careers & You

Effectiveness of vaccines Vaccines do not guarantee complete protection from a disease This could be due to o Hosts immune system may not respond adequately

Human Anatomy
Common Drugs and Vaccines

o Host may have lowered immunity (such as due to diabetes, HIV, steroid use etc) o Host may not have a B cell capable of producing antibodies to that particular antigen The efficacy of a vaccine depends on a number of factors, namely o The disease itself o The strain of vaccine o The schedule of vaccination o Individual host factors o Genetic and ethnic predisposition Most vaccines use adjuvant to boost immune response. Adjuvants are compounds added to the vaccine that increase the immune response, without having any specific antigenic effect by themselves. Aluminium salts like aluminium phosphate and aluminium hydroxide are the most common adjuvants used. Vaccine Anthrax vaccine Bacillus Calmette Disease Anthrax Tuberculosis Type Protein subunit Live bacteria Notes

Guerin (BCG) DTP Diphtheria Pertussis (Whooping cough) Tetanus Gardasil (Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)) Polio vaccine Polio Killed/inactivated Polio is prevented only in humans. Currently polio has been eradicated from ail countries except Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cervical cancer Protein subunit

Nigeria and India MMR Measles Mumps Rubella Meningococcal vaccine Rabies vaccine Yellow fever vaccine Meningococcus Rabies Yellow fever Attenuated Attenuated

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com