Comprehension Aspect

Ex. 1. Match the expressions in the left-hand column with their definitions in the right-hand column. The expressions appear in the text you have just read.

serendipitous discovery	follow the requirements
implied potential	related to nervous disease
diarrheal disease	symptoms, signs
cardiovascular disease	repeated, recurrent checking
administer treatment	summed up, total, general information
feasibility	hidden, unrevealed opportunities
iterative testing	finding based on intuition, guided by intuition
assays for therapeutic efficacy	prescribe medications, perform, conduct medication
indications	related to heart and blood vessels illnesses
enroll/recruit volunteers	the basic indicators of a body condition
pooled data	tests for evaluation of the therapeutic power of a drug, medication
adhere to	realizability, ability for being put into effect
neuropathic	involve patients into clinical trials on their own free will
vital signs	related to digestive disorder

Ex. 2. Mark the following statements as True or False.

1. Drug discovery is a highly efficient process with a high coefficient of new therapeutic effects.

2. Before Paracelsus extracts produced from plants constituted the main part of traditionally used raw medications in Western medicine.

3. Ziconotide is a toxic substance extracted from plant species to treat nervous disease.

4. The main objectives of pre-clinical studies are to find out if the product to be tested is safe as much as possible.

5. Preclinical trials include tests in humans.

6. In recent years animal testing has expanded.

7. Murine, canine, porcine models are related to rats/mice, dogs and pigs respectively.

8. Patients are involved into clinical trial against their own free will.

9. The number of patients taking part in clinical trials is always the same.

10. Patients are not paid for participating in clinical trials.

Ex. 3. Consult the text above and complete the following sentences.

1. A source of antibiotics has been … .

2. An important source of … material for … discovery were plant… .

3. A different set of … is sometimes produced in the different anatomical parts of the plant.

4. Microbes are the main source of …drugs.

5. Sea is a potential … for new … … .

6. Each type of products may … different types of preclinical … .

7. The … send the data to the … … who then analyzes the … … using … … .

8. Drugs are …weapon in the … with a variety of … , in the conduct of … … .

Ex. 4. Arrange the sentences in the logical order using the part of text A under the heading Pre-clinical and Clinical Trials.

1. The total data are analyzed by statistical tests.

2. Clinical trials are intended to collect information on negative drug reactions and negative as well as positive consequences of other treatments to carry out further investigations on patients.

3. Testing in human can begin after the safety information has been available.

4. The most commonly performed clinical trials evaluate new drugs, medical devices, psychological therapies or other interventions.

5. During the clinical trial data on the patients’ health for a definite period of time are collected.

6. Pre-clinical development of drugs is a stage of research that begins before Clinical Trials.

7. Pre-clinical studies are aimed at determining the maximum possible safety of a drug or medical device to be tested in humans.

8. The choice of animal species is based on the similarity in anatomy and physiology with humans.

9. Drug discovery process suggests animal testing.

Ex. 5. Answer the following questions.

1. What do you know about the ways of discovering drug in the past and nowadays?

2. What does the process of drug discovery involve?

3. Name the sources of starting materials for drug discovery. Could you provide any examples?

4. Why does the correct identification of bioactive plant materials imply botanical knowledge?

5. What kind of information is collected during the pre-clinical development stage of research?

6. What are the most common models used for animal testing?

7. Could you comment on the following statement: the choice of species is based on those which will give the best correlation to human trials?

8. Rodents cannot act as models for antibiotic drug, can they? Why?

9. What procedures are conducted by investigators during clinical trials?

10. What do data collected on the patients’ health for a definite period of time after administering the treatment include?

Ex. 6. Make your own research and report on the role of drugs in modern medicine. Consider the following issues:

1. Drugs are powerful weapon in the struggle with a variety of diseases, in the conduct of preventive measures.

2. Creation of new highly effective drugs and their application.

3. The role of natural products in drug discovery.