Showing posts with label unit 4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unit 4. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Muddiest Point!!

Okay, soo lets try this posting time...its like my 25th, so im gonna go crazy if it doesnt post, cause you have to re-write it every time. :( okay so something that i dont understand is the cross of codominace problems. Help me please!! Thanks!!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Loeys-Dietz Syndrome



Loeys-Dietz is inherited. The mutated syndrome is dominant. Meaning, only one parent needs to pass on the gene in order for its offspring to develop this syndrome.

The signs and symptoms include abnormal organization of blood vessels. Many affected children have physical/facial features that is the first abnormality that is recognized. Symptoms include the following
  • early fusion of the skull bones
  • widely spread eyes
  • cleft palete
Loeys-Dietz syndrome may be diagnosed by injecting a dye into the blood vessels that is visable by x-ray.

The only treatment for Loeys-Dietz syndrome is surgical repair of the aortic aneurysm.

The prevalence is unknown. There have not been any ethnic, racial group, or gender preferences reported.

Life expectancy for Loeys-Syndrome is 23 years old.


BETA THALASSEMIA!!





Beta thalassemia is a blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the iron-containing protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to cells throughout of the body. In people with beta thalassemia, low levels of hemoglobin lead to the lack of oxygen in many parts of the body. Affected individuals also have a shortage of red blood cells, which can cause pale skin, weakness, fatigue, and more seriosoud, complications. People with beta thalassemia are at an increased risk of developing abnormal blood clots. Beta thalassamia is classified into tw o types depending on the severity of symptoms: thalassemia minor and thalassemia major. Of these two types, beta thalassemia major is much more severe. The signs and symptoms of thalassemia major appear within the first 2 years of life. Children develop life-threating aneamia. They dont gain weight and grow at the expected rate, and may devlop yellowing of the skin and whiting of the eyes. For children with thalassemia minor, the symptoms may appear in early childhood or alittle later in life. Affected people have mild to moderate anemia and may also have slo growth and bone abnormalities. Beta thalassemia is a fairly common blood disorder worldwide. Thousands of infants with beta thalassemia are born each year. Beta thalassemia occurs most frequently in people from Mediterranean countries.










Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy (Genetic Disorder)



Duchenne's muscular dystrophy is a x-linked recessive disease. It is a fast progressive form that is caused by a mutated gene and occurs mostly in boys. The probability of passing this disease to females and males are different. Since a male has x and y chromosomes, if that child's x chromosome has DMD gene mutation, then the child will inherit Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. (DMD encodes the muscle protein, dystrophin.) On the other hand, a female has two x chromosomes, so if they only have one gene mutation, they are considered a "carrier", but if they have two mutated gene, they will have the disease. Recently, 20% of women who are carriers had symptoms such as, muscle weaknesses, or cardiac abnormalities. Women who are carriers have 50% chance of passing on, and 25% chance of getting babies affected with DMD. Gonadel mosaicism is when a person has 2+ cell populations that differ in genetic makeup of eggs and sperms, and the change in the dystrophin gene is a new genetic change.

The symptoms usually start at ages 1-6. Sitting and standing may become difficult. The loss of pelvic and leg muscles cause replacement of fat in those parts of the body. Muscle decline also happens in the arms, neck, and upper body as well, but it's not as severe as the lower half. Because of this, as they grow, their bones may be deformed or have cardiomyopathy (breathing disorders/ enlarged heart).

There are many diagnosis and prevention for Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. One is taking samples of muscle tissues, or muscle biopsy, to look for abnormal levels of dystrophin protein in muscles. Without muscle biopsy, looking at the body's genetic instructions on a blood sample to look for DMD is another good way of diagnosing. (Creatine kinase is highly concentrated in muscle cells, but the breaking of muscle cells go into the bloodstream, so if they are found there, that could answer whether the person has the disease.) Finding deletion/duplication in gene sequencing may also detect the changes in DMD gene. Family history, blood tests, and muscle biopsy can determine the whether you have the disease or not.

Treatment of Duchenne's muscular dystrophy is aimed at the symptoms. If cardiomyopathy is severe, cardiac transplantation is used, but in most cases, doctors use anti-congestive medications. Medications such as prednisone, a steroid, to improve the strength of the individual. But this medication has many side effects, such as, high blood pressure, weight gain, and delayed growth. Cyclosporine is a medication that has improved clinical function in children, but the use of it is very concerning because of cyclosporine-induced myopathy. Oxandrolone, another medication still being studied, has fewer side effects. To prevent hardening of joints and deformity, physical therapy is essential during the process of medical treatments as well.

Duchenne's muscular dystrophies affect 1 in 3500-5000 newborn males. There are between 400-600 boys in the U.S. born with Duchenn's muscular dystrophy every year. There are also girls affected by this disease, but it is very uncommon. There were shocking amount of cases of this disease in the northern region of England. There isn't a direct answer to this mystery, but all we know is that gene mutations have caused it. But generally, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy can be found all over the globe.

Life expectancy for this specific disease is pretty young because the symptoms, such as cardiomyopathy and muscle decline is dangerous and very unhealthy for the body to endure for long time, so the heart can fail easily. Most don't live over 30, because of the breathing complications.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

muddy pointttttttttttttttttttttt

i dont get when a virus is destroyed where does it go and what takes it there

Monday, November 7, 2011

Muddiest Point!

Hi, My Muddiest Point is kind of simple. I don't understand what te difference between the agents of disease are!

I know the difference between bacteria and viruses, but I don't understand what makes Fungi, and pathogens, and Protists different!