1. Thalidomide
What is it?
Thalidomide is a drug that was
prescribed during the late 1950s
and early 1960s. It was developed
as a sleeping pill, but it was also
thought to be useful for easing
morning sickness in pregnant
women.
Unfortunately, it had not been
tested for use in this way.
The Thalidomide
disaster was part of
the reason drugs are so
strictly trialled and
regulated today.
Why do I need to know about it?
By 1960, thalidomide was found to damage the
development of unborn babies, especially if it
had been taken in the first four to eight weeks of
pregnancy.
The drug led to the arms or legs of the babies
being very short or incompletely formed.
More than 10,000 babies were affected around
the world. As a result of this
disaster, thalidomide was banned.
Is it used now?
Thalidomide is now used as a treatment
for leprosy and bone cancer. Its use is
heavily regulated, however, to prevent a
repeat of the problems it caused in the
last century.
What regulations do you think there are
regarding the use of thalidomide today?
2. Statins
People taking statins can’t eat
grapefruits as grapefruits
contain an enzyme which
stops the liver breaking down
the statins properly!
What is it?
Statins, such as Simvastatin are
drugs which people take to lower
their cholesterol.
Statins act on your liver to reduce
the amount of LDL in the blood
(litter droppers!)
Do you think it’s
right that some
people take statins
instead of altering
their diet?
Why do I need to know about it?
• Coronary Heart Disease is the single biggest killer in
the UK, so drugs which prevent it are very important, and
big business!
• There is currently a debate about whether everyone
should be offered the drug, or just people with very high
cholesterol. Currently different doctors have different
criteria for prescribing the drug.
• Current thinking is that the lower someone’s cholesterol
is, the better.
• Statins have very few side effects, although about
1/100,000 people develop a serious kidney condition called
rhabdomyolysis (try saying that in a hurry!)
Some issues...
Statins cost the NHS over a billion pounds a
year.
This sounds like a lot, but if it prevents
enough heart attacks and strokes, the NHS
could make its money back as hospital stays
are really expensive!
Scientists can do a ‘cost-benefit analysis’ to
work this out, but it can take many years to
do this research.
3. Natural Drugs
What does that mean?
Currently, we are encouraged
to believe that natural things
are better for us. Can you
think of any examples of
natural things which are very
harmful?
•Drugs are substances that
cause changes to the body.
•Some drugs can help the
body, but others can harm it.
•Some drugs can be extracted
from natural sources and their
existence has been known about
for a long time.
An example
Willow bark was used by the ancient
Greeks to help cure fevers and pains.
It was later discovered that the
active ingredient was salicylic acid.
This was modified by chemists into
the substance we call aspirin, which
is less irritating to the stomach than
salicylic acid.
Why do I need to know about it?
•St. John’s Wort is such a powerful natural drug that it
can affect the way that conventional drugs work.
•Some natural drugs can be just as useful as conventional
drug. Many doctors recommend Cod Liver Oil as a
treatment for joint disease, this is because there is good
evidence to suggest that it works!
•Other treatments have less of science behind them.
Homeopathy has been around for hundreds of years, the
theory is to treat diseases with an incredibly dilute
version of the disease and relies on the concept that
water has a memory. This is obviously controversial and
many scientists believe that homeopathy is a waste of
time and money!
4. Alcohol
What is it?
Alcohol is a legal drug, it has
effects on the nervous system.
People might feel more awake
when they drink alcohol but it’s
actually a depressant! It slows
down the nervous system and can
make people more relaxed.
Why do I need to know about it?
Too much alcohol can lead to lack of self
control, unconsciousness and even coma.
Long term effects of alcohol include:
• liver damage (cirrhosis), which can lead to liver
cancer or the need for a liver transplant
• brain damage, causing permanent memory loss
and even hallucinations.
• dependency: people can become dependent on
alcohol which has a massive effect on their lives.
Alcohol-related death rates by sex,
United Kingdom, 1991-2008
People who have damaged
their liver with alcohol can
only have a transplant if
they have not drunk
alcohol for a year. Do
you think this is right?
Legal Issues
Only people over 18 are allowed to by
alcohol, in some states in America, you have
to be 21!
Can you think of any reasons for the
increase in alcohol-related deaths in the
UK?
5. The Drug Industry
What are they?
Drug companies are massive
corporations which research and
develop drugs.
Drug make billions of pounds in
profits every year, but as you
know, testing and trialling of drugs
is incredibly expensive.
The ‘gifts’ that drug
companies can give
doctors are now closely
regulated. Why do you
think this is?
Why do I need to know about it?
Drug companies are incredibly powerful
organisations.
Some new drugs cost the NHS thousands of
pounds per dose. If one drug company discovers a
new drug and licenses it, then they can charge as
much as they like for it because people can’t get
it anywhere else.
Eventually the drug will be allowed to be produced
by other companies and the price will come
down, but really new treatments for diseases can
be incredibly expensive.
Any issues?
Some people believe that drug companies
should do more to help prevent the AIDS
crisis in Africa by making their drugs more
affordable.
Many drug companies sponsor charities as
they have a pretty bad reputation.
It’s up to you to make up your own mind
whether you think they are bad or not!