Author Archives: Heather Inez Mundlin

Jun
17
2014

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

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Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

We have all seen the commercials with the infants that are coughing hysterically due to RSV. But, do we actually even know what RSV is. Newborn babies have immature immune systems which can cause infections of the lungs and breathing passages. RSV is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children. RSV is highly contagious and usually spread through coughing and sneezing. RSV if severe, can lead to bronchiolitis or pneumonia. RSV has estimated to cause over 14,000 deaths yearly in the United States.

Barney Graham and his colleagues at US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases are researching the early immune system in order to develop effective vaccines for newborns to infants. Graham and colleagues studied the behavior of these lung dendritic cells in newborn mice and compared it with that in older animals. They learned that the younger the child is the more likely the RSV infection will make intense changes. Also dendritic cells from newborns take up, digest, and present parts of an intruding virus to other immune cells, which is different than it is among adults. This is why adults do not usually get RSV.

Preventing and treating RSV, can be fairly easy. Using hand sanitizer before handling a small child can reduce the chance of the child contracting RSV. Parents should allow time for recovery if the child has contacted RSV. Also, give the child plenty of fluids. If the infant is at risk for RSV, they can be given a monthly injection of medication consisting of RSV antibodies during peak RSV season, which is November through April. You should call the doctor if your child has had thick nasal discharge, high fever, worsening cough, signs of dehydration, or trouble breathing.

Heather Mundlin

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5908a4.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140213184812.htm

 

Apr
24
2014

Dark Chocolate- Good for the Heart

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Have A Piece of Dark Chocolate

            Do you have high blood pressure? Eat a dark chocolate truffle. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. One piece of dark chocolate a day can’t keep the doctors away, but it can help prevent you from having a stroke or even a heart attack. Dark chocolate is a great source of antioxidants, which can help strengthen your ability to fight infection and diseases.

We all know atherosclerosis is when arteries become stiff and white blood cells stick to the walls of blood vessels. By adding a piece of dark chocolate everyday it can help restore flexibility to arteries and prevent those white blood cells from sticking to the walls. Dr. Esser and his colleagues at Wageningen University in the Netherlands recently evaluated 44 middle-aged overweight men over two separate 4- week periods that had two ounces of chocolate per day. The study showed that the chocolate consumption increased endothelium-dependent vasodilation.

Dark chocolate has a number of ways it can improve other health problems such as, decreasing your LDL cholesterol, reducing your rick of getting blood clots, increasing blood flow in arteries and the heart. Dark chocolate has even been found to improve mood by boosting the serotonin and endorphins in the brain. Also beware, dark chocolate is high in fat and calories, so be sure to eat right and balance out those extra pieces of dark chocolate. Go ahead and indulge in a sweet sugary goodness, and do not feel guilty because you’re helping your heart out!

Heather Mundlin

http://www.fasebj.org/content/28/3/1464.abstract

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140227092149.htm

Feb
26
2014

Stem Cells for Repairing Blood Vessels in the Eye

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Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in over 40,000 American adults. Most patients with this disease are a diabetic, but premature babies can also have this disease. The development of an abnormal vasculature in the eyes is a reaction from ischemia, which is a restriction in blood vessels and insufficient oxygen in tissue that can lead to the forming of extra blood vessels in the back of the eye. Unlike in the heart where extra blood vessels that form can have a benefit, the new vessels that form in the eye can lead to the leaking of fluid and blood that can ultimately lead to vision loss.

A study at Scripps Research Institute used a method of repairing damaged blood vessels in the eye through the use of stem cells that came from bone marrow. They injected the white blood cells into the eyes of a mouse model. They found that when the stem cells moved into the avascular areas of the retina, and the parent cell started to change into microglia that supported vascular repair. This was the first time that microglia has been shown to support vascular repair in any organ.

Current treatments for these eye diseases—such as thermal lasers and anti-antigenic drugs—are designed to prevent the growth of new vessels or to close, ablate, or remove abnormal vessels. Using preventative measures such as having yearly eye exams, can help slow the place of complete vision loss. Also having better control of your blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol levels can slow the onset and the progression of retinopathy and protect your vision. Also in the 1st three stages of diabetic retinopathy there is no treatment needed. If the disease escalates into proliferative retinopathy, it is usually treated with a laser treatment.

Heather Mundlin

http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/diabetic/retinopathy.asp#4a

http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20061120/friedlander.html

Dec
06
2013

Why Do Humans Need Sleep?

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Why Do Humans Need To Sleep?

            There are many theories behind the reasons why we need so much sleep. The evolutionary theory states, that the inactivity at night is an adaptation that serves as a survival function, by keeping us out of harm’s way at time when we would be particularly vulnerable. This behavioral theory has evolved to become what we now recognize as sleep. There are factors that can influence sleep patterns such as your physical size, muscle mass, and brain size. While you are sleeping, an anabolic process or building process restores the body’s energy supply that has been depleted throughout the day; also the body starts to repair itself and the muscle tissue is rebuilt and restored.

At times, we do not get nearly enough sleep that our body needs. Sleep deprivation can affect our personality, our sense of humor, we become irritable, and are less tolerant of the world around us. A lack of sleep can also affect our cognitive process. Without the proper amount of sleep and rest, our over worked neurons can no longer function to coordinate information properly. Fifty-six studies were reviewed at the Department of Neurology in Erfurt, Germany, that explored cognitive dysfunctions in people with sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD), insomnia, or narcolepsy. Individual study outcomes were grouped according to neuropsychological functions. Consistent evidence was found for impaired driving simulation performance in SRBD patients. Other neuropsychological functions with less obvious impairment included attention span, divided attention and sustained attention for SRBD patients;  attention span, verbal immediate memory and vigilance for insomniac patients, and  sustained attention, vigilance and driving simulation performance for narcoleptic patients.

There are a lot of ways to improve our sleeping habits such as avoiding caffeine, alcohol (which may bring on sleep, but after a few hours alcohol acts as a stimulant), and avoid smoking too close to bedtime. Always make your bedroom is a quiet, dark, and cool environment, and try to keep a constant sleep schedule. You should also lighten up on evening meals, balance your fluid intake later in the afternoon, and exercise earlier in the day, if possible. There are a few ways to seek treatment for sleep deprivation such as, going to a sleep specialist, who are trained to evaluate individuals for sleep disorders, and taking melatonin, which is a receptor agonist, that has been found effective for short term treatment of insomnia. When we are able to receive eight to nine hours of sleep a night, we are more alert, energetic, and are happier.

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters

Fulda S., Schulz H. (2001) Cognitive dysfunction in sleep disorders. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 5(6), 423-445

Oct
30
2013

Wolf Man

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The Ambras syndrome and hypertrichosis occurs when someone has abnormally excessive body hair. The entire body is covered with fine body hair except the palms, soles and genitalia on an individual with Ambras syndrome. On hypertrichosis patients only have fine hair on their face, nose, ear, and shoulders. The hair could be as long as several centimeters.

Hypertrichosis is believed to be inherited, but is still unknown. Hypertrichosis was once thought to be an example of atavism, which is the recurrence in a animal of certain primitive characteristics, and at one time was thought to be the missing ape-human association needed to prove Darwin’s theory. In two cases, Ambras syndrome was found associated with the complex rearrangements of chromosome 8. Both have been found to have an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Hypertrichosis can occur until the average age of 2. Ambras Syndrome has increased hair growth throughout their lifetime.

In the United States, both of these diseases are extremely rare, but internationally there have been fewer than 50 cases found.  Researchers found in a large Mexican family with X-linked congenital genetic hypertrichosis the first genetic locus for human hypertrichosis was identified by a common relation analysis. There is a 1 in a billion chance that you can get Ambras syndrome. There are few treatments for Ambras syndrome and hypertrichosis but some have used laser hair removal, vaniqa cream, repeated shaving, and some chemical methods. For years these people have been seen mostly on the hit TV shows Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

Works cited

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1072987-overview

http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/rare/10-bizarre-medical-conditions.htm

The American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 88, Issue 6, 10 June 2011, Pages 819–826 doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.05.004

Oct
01
2013

Linking Breast Cancer to Genetics

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Hereditary breast cancer is extremely rare and is caused by a mutant gene passed from parents to their children. People who carry the mutant gene have a very high increased risk of developing breast cancer at some point in their lives. Hereditary breast cancer can come from a strong family history of breast cancer. For example, if your mother, sister and aunts had breast cancer, their offspring have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the gene.

In 1994, the first gene associated with breast cancer was found on chromosome 17. Two years later in 1996 another gene was identified on chromosome 13. In 1995 and 1996, there were studies done that sampled DNA. The samples revealed that Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews are 10 times more likely to have the mutated genes. This means, that approximately 2.65 percent of Ashkenazi Jewish population has one of these mutated genes.  But did you know that only 0.2 percent of the general population carries these mutation?

The only test for hereditary breast cancer is the DNA test. It will determine whether an individual is in a high-risk family that has this genetic mutation. However, the test will not tell if and when the cancer might develop. Most causes of breast cancer are not hereditary; it is possible to develop breast cancer whether or not a genetic mutation is present.

Works Cited:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1247/

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/breast-cancer#inheritance