A fundamental principle of pharmacology is that all drugs have multipl

Question

A fundamental principle of pharmacology is that all drugs have multiple actions. Actions that are desirable in the treatment of disease are considered therapeutic, while those that are undesirable or pose risks to the patient are called “effects.” Adverse drug effects range from the trivial, e.g., nausea or dry mouth, to the serious, e.g., massive gastrointestinal bleeding or thromboembolism; and some drugs can be lethal. Therefore, an effective system for the detection of adverse drug effects is an important component of the health care system of any advanced nation. Much of the research conducted on new drugs aims at identifying the conditions of use that maximize beneficial effects and minimize the risk of adverse effects. The intent of drug labeling is to reflect this body of knowledge accurately so that physicians can properly prescribe the drug; or, if it is to be sold without prescription, so that consumers can properly use the drug.

The current system of drug investigation in the United States has proved very useful and accurate in identifying the common side effects associated with new prescription drugs. By the time a new drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, its side effects are usually well described in the package insert for physicians. The investigational process, however, cannot be counted on to detect all adverse effects because of the relatively small number of patients involved in premarketing studies and the relatively short duration of the studies. Animal toxicology studies are, of course, done prior to marketing in an attempt to identify any potential for toxicity, but negative results do not guarantee the safety of a drug in humans, as evidenced by such well known examples as the birth deformities due to thalidomide.

This recognition prompted the establishment in many countries of programs to which physicians report adverse drug effects. The United States and other countries also send reports to an international program operated by the World Health Organization. These programs, however, are voluntary reporting programs and are intended to serve a limited goal: alerting a government or private agency to adverse drug effects detected by physicians in the course of practice. Other approaches must be used to confirm suspected drug reactions and to estimate incidence rates. These other approaches include conducting retrospective control studies; for example, the studies associating endometrial cancer with estrogen use, and systematic monitoring of hospitalized patients to determine the incidence of acute common side effects, as typified by the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program.

Thus, the overall drug surveillance system of the United States is composed of a set of information bases, special studies, and monitoring programs, each contributing in its own way to our knowledge about marketed drugs. The system is decentralized among a number of governmental units and is not administered as a coordinated function. Still, it would be inappropriate at this time to attempt to unite all of the disparate elements into a comprehensive surveillance program. Instead, the challenge is to improve each segment of the system and to take advantage of new computer strategies to improve coordination and communication.   1 
 1. The author is primarily concerned with discussing

(A) methods for testing the effects of new drugs on humans
(B) the importance of having accurate information about the effects of drugs
(C) procedures for determining the long-term effects of new drugs
(D) attempts to curb the abuse of prescription drugs
(E) the difference between the therapeutic and nontherapeutic actions of drugs

2 
 2. The author implies that a drug with adverse side effects

(A) will not be approved for use by consumers without a doctor’s prescription
(B) must wait for approval until lengthy studies prove the effects are not permanent
(C) should be used only if its therapeutic value outweighs its adverse effects
(D) should be withdrawn from the marketplace pending a government investigation
(E) could be used in foreign countries even though it is not approved for use in the United States

3 
 3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

(A) Drugs with serious side effects are never approved for distribution.
(B) A centralized drug oversight function would improve public health.
(C) Most physicians are not aware that prescription drugs have side effects.
(D) Some rare adverse drug effects are not discovered during the limited testing.
(E) Consumers are seldom unable to understand directions for proper use of a drug.

4 
 4. The author introduces the example of thalidomide to show that some

(A) drugs do not have the same actions in humans that they do in animals
(B) drug testing procedures are ignored by careless laboratory workers
(C) drugs have no therapeutic value for humans
(D) drugs have adverse side effects as well as beneficial actions
(E) drugs are prescribed by physicians who have not read the manufacturer’s recommendations

5 
 5. The author of the passage regards current drug investigation procedures as

(A) important but generally ineffectual
(B) lackadaisical and generally in need of improvement
(C) necessary and generally effective
(D) comprehensive but generally unnecessary
(E) superfluous but generally harmless

6 
 6. The author is most probably leading up to a discussion of some suggestions about how to

(A) centralize authority for drug surveillance in the United States
(B) centralize authority for drug surveillance among international agencies
(C) coordinate better the sharing of information among the drug surveillance agencies
(D) eliminate the availability and sale of certain drugs now on the market
(E) improve drug testing procedures to detect dangerous effects before drugs are approved

RC Butler 2021  -  Practice Two RC Questions Everyday.   
Passage # 118 Date: 24-Mar-2021
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2021 .  Click here for Details  
 Source:  Master GMAT

DAVEexamPAL · Accepted Answer

Question 1 
 The author is primarily concerned with discussing 
This is a classical question for the Precise approach: we've read the entire passage, now let's think: what is it about? If the first paragraph establishes the claim that drugs sometimes have negative side effects and discusses the importance of having accurate information on these, the second us about the way these are currently monitored in the US, the third is about programs for monitoring them in other countries, and the fourth is about what steps should be taken to find out information about these in the future,  it is clear that the author is concerned with how important it is to have good information about the adverse effects of drugs.  Looking at the answers, this is exactly what B states

Another method is  using the answers  and asking ourselves:  if this is his concern, what sort of passage would we expect? 
(A) methods for testing the effects of new drugs on humans  - simple, we'd expect a list of many different methods of testing drugs on humans. But this is not what we have - rather, we have a review of different ways of collecting information in general, not specially testing 
(B) the importance of having accurate information about the effects of drugs -  we'd expect a focus on the ways to collect information about drugs - exactly what we have! 
(C) procedures for determining the long-term effects of new drugs  this would mean a focus on long-term effects, but this is not mentioned. we care about short term effects as well 
(D) attempts to curb the abuse of prescription drugs.  This is not discussed at all 
(E) the difference between the therapeutic and nontherapeutic actions of drugs.  if this were the topic, this would be discussed throughout the entire paper. yet it is only mentioned in one paragraph!

Question 2 
 2. The author implies that a drug with adverse side effects 
Since the topic mentioned here is very general and could refer to any part of the passage, we'll  go straight to the answers

(A) will not be approved for use by consumers without a doctor’s prescription -  the firs paragraph explicitly mentions the possibility that a drug is sold without a prescription - no!  
(B) must wait for approval until lengthy studies prove the effects are not permanent -   the author may wish this were the case, but he tells us it definitely isn't - not all drugs are studied, and the ones that are have a "short duration" - no!  
(C) should be used only if its therapeutic value outweighs its adverse effects -  this is not explicitly stated, but it  is implied  both by the fact that some adverse effects are quite trivial, and by the fact that knowledge of adverse effects is important for drug labelling; this means the physician of patient will have information about both the therapeutic and adverse effects, and should base their decision on the weighing of these against one another  
(D) should be withdrawn from the marketplace pending a government investigation  This is not stated, nor is it implied - some adverse effects are quite trivial, and they can safely be used 
(E) could be used in foreign countries even though it is not approved for use in the United States -  while this is possible, it is not discussed or implied

Question 3 
 3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

We definitely have to  use the answers  here:

(A) Drugs with serious side effects are never approved for distribution.  definitely not true, as the example of thalidomide shows 
(B) A centralized drug oversight function would improve public health.  not necessarily: the author says it would be "inappropriate" to do as the present 
(C) Most physicians are not aware that prescription drugs have side effects. the opposite is implied, by the fact that physicians are described as both reporting on adverse side effects, and using information about them in their regular prescribing 
(D) Some rare adverse drug effects are not discovered during the limited testing.  This is indeed implied, by the example of thalidomide  
(E) Consumers are seldom unable to understand directions for proper use of a drug.  As with (C), the reverse is true

Question 4 
 4. The author introduces the example of thalidomide to show that some 
this is a question which can be solved in the Precise fashion of using the information in the passage, since this refers to a specific place in the text. Thalidomide is mentioned in this context:
 Animal toxicology studies are, of course, done prior to marketing in an attempt to identify any potential for toxicity, but negative results do not guarantee the safety of a drug in humans,  as evidenced by  such well known examples as the birth deformities due to thalidomide.   the text tells us specifically that Thalidomide shows that what is true for animals isn't always true for humans -  answer A

Question 5 
 5. The author of the passage regards current drug investigation procedures as 
this topic is discussed all throughout the passage. Can we figure out what direction the answer will be? Say, what connotation? Well, going over the many different procedures which are mentioned, we can see none of the are described negatively. Rather, they are all described as working well ("its side effects are usually well described"), but needing to be combined together, as the last paragraph, which describes future steps, says they must all be combined.  ]Looking over the answers, the only one with a. positive connotation is (C) /color]

Question 6 
 6. The author is most probably leading up to a discussion of some suggestions about how to 
This question naturally sends us to the last paragraph, which is about future steps. The last sentence says:   the challenge is to improve each segment of the system and to take advantage of new computer strategies to improve coordination and communication.   this logically leads us to expect methods to achieve this - improving coordination and communication,  answer (C).

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A fundamental principle of pharmacology is that all drugs have multipl

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A fundamental principle of pharmacology is that all drugs have multipl

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