...Immunology of Pediatric (HIV) Unit 1 Assignment 1 (GE257) Ashley Pernell September 21, 2015 HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus where the body has a hard time fighting off infections and disease. If left untreated it can lead to AIDS. The human body cannot get rid of HIV. That means that once you have HIV, you have it for life. Most children who are born to mothers who have HIV do not become infected with this virus. In the case that they do become infected, their response to treatment varies depending upon the timing and potentially the route of their infection. (Tobin & Aldrovandi, 2013) The majority of pediatric HIV infection occurs via mother-to-child transmission at three points: in utero, intrapartum, or through breast milk. Most children born to women with high levels of HIV and low numbers of CD4+ T-cells do not become infected. Even when primary HIV infection occurs during pregnancy, 80% of children escape infection. (Tobin & Aldrovandi, 2013) Utero transmission is mother to baby transmission of HIV during pregnancy. This transmission may occur if there is damage to the placenta and blood from the mother contact the fetus. During the third trimester of pregnancy, maternal immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies are transplacentally transferred. The antibodies are associated with infant safeguard against a variety of microbes. Most utero transmission infections occur a few weeks before the delivery. The HIV in these infants is different from infants...
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...IMMUNOLOGY INNATE (NONSPECIFIC) DEFENSES - mechanical and chemical Skin + Mucous Membranes – Prevent/slow entry 1. Skin Closely-packed keratinized cells w/tight junctions + desmosomes; sloughing of outer layer 2. Mucous membranes - Line openings to the exterior (respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive tracts) Mucus = sticky entrapment Tight junctions in epithelial tissue 3. Underlying connective tissue (dermis, lamina propria) Viscous to slow movement 4. Hair Protect from abrasion (scalp); filter air (nasal) 5. Acidity Skin – sebum; Stomach – HCl (pH 2); vaginal and urinary secretions 6. Lysozyme – Destroys cell walls of some bacteria Sweat, tears, saliva, nasal secretions 7. Other antimicrobials – defensins, dermacidin, IgA 8. Expel microorganisms Sweat, tears, urine flow, vaginal secretions, saliva Coughing, sneezing, vomiting, defecation Cilia of upper respiratory tract - propels mucus away from lungs Internal Defenses – Prevent spread 1. Phagocytosis - Macrophages, Neutrophils, Microglial cells (CNS), Kupffer cells (liver) 2. Natural killer cells (in blood + lymph) Cell lysis of cells without proper self cell markers (tumor cells, virus-infected cells) 3. Antimicrobial proteins a. Interferon - Proteins made by viral-infected cells Virus - needs host cell machinery to replicate; takes over host to make more viruses Prevents virus from multiplying in other infected cells (Can also activate macrophages and NK...
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...Roger Bernier is with the CDC and prevention, the National Immunication Program in Atlanta, GA. Karen Midthun is with the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA in Washington, DC. They are both credible sources and wrote a scholarly article. The article discusses the proposal of an independent vaccine safety board. This board would assess the safety of licensed vaccines. This board and its interaction with the CDC and the FDA would result in sound decisions. Minton, K. (2003). Smallpox vaccine safety. Nature Reviews Immunology. 3(7), p.514. Minton discusses the smallpox vaccine in this article and how it can have serious side effects because it consists of a live virus. Important decisions should be made about the benefits and risks of the vaccine and CDC guidelines state there has to be informed consent before administering the vaccine. Kirsty Minton, the author of the article, is a senior editor for the Nature Reviews Immunology at Nature Publishing Group. The article was objective and informative. I enjoyed reading this article and it will be a good reference for my senior research project. Nabel, G. J. (2013). Designing tomorrow’s vaccines. The New England Journal of Medicine. 368, 551-560. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1204186 Vaccines have been successful in preventing human infectious diseases and preserving public health. The traditional vaccines have alleviated suffering and death from microbial threats. This article discusses how vaccines are the most cost-effective...
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...Outline and evaluate research into the relationship between the immune system and Stress-related illness. (12marks) It is suggested that stress can result in immunosuppression which can lead to stress-related illnesses such as Coronary Heart Disease and high blood pressure. Kiecolt and Glaser conducted an experiment to see the effects of stress on the immune system. This was achieved by taking blood samples of 75 medical students one month before and during their examination period. They then compared the two blood samples and found decreased leucocyte activity in the sample taken during high levels of stress (during their exams). This shows that stress reduces the activity of the immune system, making them more susceptible to becoming ill. Advantages of the study are that blood tests are objective measurements, so there was no social desirability or experimenter bias when analysing the results. The participants were also compared to themselves which removes participant variables on how they perceive stressors. The experiment was a field experiment so there was no manipulating of the independant variable to deliberately cause stress to the participants which makes it ethical. It also means the research has ecological validity and can be applied to the wider world. However, a field experiment may have extraneous variables which impact the results. For example, the student lifestyle of having little sleep and poor accomidation may have been an alternative source of stress. Another...
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...Brenden Riesgo Riesgo 1 Mr. Lee Language Arts 4/27/15 “Vaccinate, Vaccinate!” I support that vaccinations should be mandatory because they can save children’s lives, they don’t include high amounts of harmful ingredients, major health organizations say that vaccines are safe, reactions to vaccines are rare, and that vaccines can protect the communities. To begin with, vaccines save children by 2.5 million per year. 285 children are saved from diseases for every hour due to vaccines. The CDC has said that 732,000 children were saved from death and that 322 million diseases were prevented from the years of 1994 and 2014. In addition, the ingredients in vaccines are safe in the amount used. Thimerosal, formaldehyde, and aluminum are used in safe amounts in vaccines. Most infant formulas have more aluminum than used in vaccines. Outside activities can expose you to more bacteria than vaccinations can. With the exception of inactivated flu vaccines, thimerosal has been reduced or completely removed in vaccines for children under six. The FDA test vaccines for more than 10 years until Riesgo 2 The vaccinations are licensed. Similarly, adverse reactions to vaccinations are extremely rare. The most common rare allergic effect of a vaccine is anaphylaxis. The reaction happens one per million vaccinations. The MRR vaccination does not cause autism and that the TDap vaccination...
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...Fear of the Unknown Taking any kind of a risk is a gamble. They have the potential to lead to a harmful or dangerous outcome, yet can still provide the opportunity for an outcome that can perceived as positive. The essay, “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer is his account of Chris McCandless’ search for himself through taking a risk and inhabiting the Alaskan wilderness. Through his lack of survival skills, it is evident that McCandless is a person who likes to take part of risky and dangerous behaviors. “Immune to Reality” by Daniel Gilbert is an analytical essay that revolves around the existence of the psychological immune system. This defense system proves to work as a mechanism that can create positive views out of a negative experience thus producing happiness to an individual. Through Gilbert’s analysis he discovers that people are usually not in favor of taking risks out of fear of feeling regret. However he proves how the psychological immune system can turn a negative consequence of taking a risk into a more pleasant and bearable one. The essay “Another Look Back, And A Look Ahead” by Edward Tenner is an insightful discussion about how people often miscalculate the way technologies will work in the future and to what extent they are useful. People may find themselves getting an unexpected outcome of some new technology which can lead to dangerous risks in the future. People take risks because they want to attain happiness however in the process of this, sometimes people’s...
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...Outline and evaluate psychological research into stress and the immune system (12 marks) Stress causes the release of ACTH from the pituitary gland which signals the adrenal glands to release anti-inflammatory hormones. This weakens the immune system leaving the body vulnerable to infection and illness. Raised levels of cortisol suppresses the TH1 immune response. Kiecolt-Glaser et al conducted a natural experiment into acute stress, the aim was to see if the stress of exams had an effect on the immune system. Blood samples were taken from medical students before and during the exam period, T-Cell activity was measured in the blood samples. The findings showed that T-Cell activity was significantly higher before exams which suggests that acute stress caused reduced immune system functioning. Showing that stress is linked to a weakening of the body’s immune system. A weakness of this study is that it lacks population validity, as it was carried out on medical students. This means that the findings may not be replicated in of individuals and caution should be taken when generalising the findings to the whole population because medical students might not be representative of everyone. Cohen carried out a study into chronic stress, looking at whether conflict in interpersonal relationships reduced immune system functioning. It was found that couples whose interactions are negative and hostile for longer than a month were at risk of developing illness when exposed to an infection...
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...Modern medicine provides people with the ability to protect themselves from the world’s most fatal diseases. Merely a century ago, it was not uncommon for a child to die as a result of diseases such as polio, pertussis, and tuberculosis. Today, it is highly unlikely for a person to contract these diseases, let alone die from them. However, refusal of vaccinations has been increasing throughout the years due to the anti-vaccination movement. This movement declares mandatory vaccines unconstitutional and vaccinations overall as the cause of autism. Unfortunately, the anti-vaccination movement is becoming increasingly popular due to individuals’ unfounded fears and imagined consequences associated with the idea of purposely inserting a disease into one’s body. However, despite one’s beliefs, vaccines are essential not only to a person’s well-being, but to the health of those around them. Mandatory vaccinations do not cause autism; rather, they save lives while upholding values of the Constitution. Vaccinations are a form of medicine administered to provide a person with immunity to a disease. They utilize a variety of substances including a weakened version of the virus, or a strand of a protein from the bacteria and introduce it into the immune system. In turn, this insertion causes the production of antibodies, which help to fight the actual infection by attacking the virus upon its reentry into the body (“Vaccine” 1-2). Previously, vaccines revolved around observations that humans...
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...Vaccines are made to stimulate the production of antibodies in one's body. This helps provide immunity when a person comes in contact with the disease. Few people believe most of the negative rumors or thoughts that come with the vaccines. This could be because of the many benefits that vaccines give. As the years go by, vaccines have improved greatly to the point where most diseases have been if not completely; almost eradicated. This just goes to show how important they are to our society. Vaccines aren't very safe if you have a weakened immune system or is even pregnant, especially since some vaccines contain live viruses that have been weaken, certain bacteria, or chemicals. But this does not stop the fact that even infants can receive...
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...The immune system is your body's defense. It is comprised of organs, cells and other substances that work together to help the body fight any outside or abnormal organisms. This could include germs that could lead to infection or the abnormal cells that make up a cancer. The immune system attacks and destroys the invaders that are not normally in the body. Immunotherapy is when the body uses certain parts of the immune system to fight cancer. This can be achieved in two ways; by making the immune system work harder and smarter, and/or by giving the patient synthetic immune system proteins. Immunotherapy can also be called biotherapy or biologic therapy. Immunotherapy can be used to specifically attack cancer cells or to help boost the body’s...
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...Rheumatoid Arthritis is a progressive autoimmune disease. The cause is not known. It is an incurable disease. This disease has flareups and remissions stages. Different factors can cause the flare ups such as stress or environmental factors. The affected joints do not have to be symmetrical. Lots of different joints all over the body can be affected. Mostly the smaller joints, such as the knees, feet, hands which has warmth, erythema and swelling. An autoimmune disease means the body is attacking itself. If the body doesn’t recognize itself the immune system starts to attack the lining of the joints or what is called the Synovial membrane when the immune system is in overactive state. When the body attacks itself it damages the connective tissue. This inflammatory disease that can affect any Ethnicity, Race, Men, Women, and children alike. RA can occur at any age the latest age being up to sixy-five. Women are more than men to get Rheumatoid Arthritis, possibly because women have more hormones than men do. The disease can affect any small joints but it affects mostly the hands and the feet,Although RA can affect tissues and organs in some cases. According to Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and Centre for Translational Inflammation Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK “Chronic inflammatory changes thicken the synovial membrane. The joint capsule swells, the synovial membrane becomes inflamed, and the...
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...Even though there is a big controversy, I think that vaccines are beneficial for everyone, even though there are cons the pros outweighs the cons. Most of the cons happen to a small percentage of people. My claims that state the benefits are, the amount of ingredients, the rarity of reactions to vaccines, and the diseases that vaccines have helped and even eradicated. The ingredients are safe in the amount that they are used such as thimerosal, formaldehyde, and aluminum, they can be harmful in large doses but they are not used in harmful quantities in vaccines. These ingredients are used in vaccines such as the hepatitis-c vaccine, polio vaccine, and Pneumococcal vaccine. These vaccines have benefit millions of people and it is ignorant if...
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...You're an excited new mother waiting to bring your baby home. The doctor walks in , and says, "Do you want to get the first vaccines?" As a mother you wants best for your child, but do you really know what that is? Although there are people that don't believe you should have your child vaccinated, there are many people that think you should because immunizations save your child's life, protect other children, and can save you money. First of all I wouldn't want my child to be the reason other children are getting sick. There are many children that have diseases such as Lukemia that cause weak immune systems, and being exposed to non vaccinated children could really harm them. The whooping cough kills 10 to 20 babies a year. Yes, saving other childrens lives are important, but think of your own child's life. Without getting the vaccinations, your child has a higher risk to getting a chronic disease themselves, such as Polo. Vaccines are safer to get than not to get them. It is very rare for someone to have an allergic reaction to the vaccines. All of the vaccines are tested and FDA approved. (Food And Drug Adminstration) Because of the vaccines there are diseases that no longer exist, such as small pox, and measels has dramatically declined since vaccination has came out. If you decide not to vaccinate your child, your personal life and medical bills will be an exchange; For example the child would not be to go to school. You would have to home school them. They would have...
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...Have you ever seen people walking around with white patches all over there body? Do you ever wonder what condition or disease that person may have? Do we at times just these people and look down on them just because they look different? What is our reaction when we see a person walking on the street that has white patches all over them? Are we quick to judge, or do we simply look at it as they have a health problem and there's nothing wrong with that? Do some of us even know what those white patches on the skin may mean? Those white patches that we at times see in some people are a condition known as Vitiligo. Vitiligo is medically known for being an auto-immune disease. An auto-immune disease simply means that the person's own immune system attacks its own tissues and in some cases their organs. When a person has vitiligo, their melanocytes are destroyed or killed off and they start to get pigmentations (white patches) on different parts of their bodies. The parts of the body that may get pigmentations are: the hands, feet, face, the inside of the mouth, genitals, rectum, and in some cases the persons hair may turn white because of the vitiligo. In other cases of vitiligo, the mucous membranes (tissues that line the inside of the mouth and nose) and the retina (inner layer of the eyeball) can be affected. The cause of vitiligo is still unknown, but some scientists and doctors have developed a few theories about its origin. Some scientists and doctors...
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...Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. Rhematiod arthritis can also cause inflammation of the tissue around the joints, as well as other organs in the body. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses which occur when the body tissues are mistakenly attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is a complex organization of cells and antibodies designed normally to "seek and destroy" invaders of the body, particularly infections. Patients with these diseases have antibodies in their blood which target their own body tissues, where they can be associated with inflammation. Because it can affect multiple other organs of the body, rheumatoid arthritis is referred to as a systemic illness and is sometimes called rheumatoid disease. While rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic illness, meaning it can last for years, patients may experience long periods without symptoms. Typically, however, rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive illness that has the potential to cause joint destruction and functional disability. A joint is where two bones meet to allow movement of body parts. Arthritis means join inflammation. The join inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis causes swelling, pain ,stiffness, and redness in the joints. The inflammation of rheumatoid disease can also occur in tissues around the joints, such as the tendons, ligaments, and muscles. In some patienst with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic inflammation leads to the destruction of the...
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