When we are young, our mothers always stress to us that we need to drink our milk so that our bones grow to be strong and healthy. What we don’t realize at the time is that our mom is right. When we are young, our bones grow and grow until we become an adult. What happens next is the question. According to Gerard Tortora and Bryan Derrickson, “osteoporosis affects 10 Million people a year in the United States” (Tortora and Derrickson 203). Osteoporosis is a bone disorder where your bones start to loose bone mass due to your body losing calcium. Osteoporosis primarily affects middle-aged and elderly women (Tortora and Derrickson  203).

Dr. Rhut believes he has found a way to use hormones in the body to help fight osteoporosis. In recent studies that Dr. Rhut has done, he has found that by using negative allosteric modulators to release parathyroid hormones into the bloodstream, this will stimulate new bone formation. When your concentration of calcium is too low, your body senses this. It will then release PTH. This will raise your calcium concentration until the calcium sensing receptors on the parathyroid cell are activated. Once activated, it reduces PTH release (arthritis foundation).

The negative allosteric modulators will take a quite a few more years before they will be passed to use on patients. If passed, this will definitely help cut down on the amount of people that have osteoporosis. This will reduce the risk of so many hip fractures, or fractures in general, in the elderly population. This will also help with bone shrinkage, height loss, hunched backs, and bone pain (Tortora and Derrickson).

Tortora, Gerard J., and Derrickson, Bryan. Principles of Anatomy & Phisiology .13^th ed.  Hoboken:

John  Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011. Print.

“Turning on Hormones to Fight Osteoporosis.” Research Alert. Arthritis Foundation, 2008. Web. 6 Oct.

2013.

Bone marrow transplants are procedures that involve transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells. It is mainly done on people with bone marrow or blood cancer and even some diseases. Bone marrow transplants are very dangerous and have many complications; it is mainly for patients with life threatening diseases. The reason why this is very dangerous is because you really don’t have an immune system because of all the chemotherapy and radiation you have to go through. When you kill the immune system you are more vulnerable to viruses, but it also gives the new bone marrow a better chance to work. It is like that saying, a clean slate. If you try to do a transplant with cancer cells the transplant has a less chance of taking because it does not have any good cells to work with and the immune system would see the good marrow as bad marrow and attack it.  Now I am going to tell you why fetal bone marrow is the best source of stem cells for transplantation.

A study done by Maria Michejda, a Ph.D at Georgetown, found out that fetal bone marrow, from spontaneous abortions, is eight times more effective than umbilical cord blood, and twenty-three more times effective than adult bone marrow, for bone marrow transplantation. The reason for this is because fetal bone marrow contains the highest concentration of CD34+ cells, which is just the cells that are responsible for creating new blood cells, and it also contains the lowest concentration of CD-3. CD-3 cells are the cells that identify and reject foreign tissue. CD-3 cells are the main reasons transplants do not work.

Fetal bone marrow transplants will begin to change the way people do things. Before you start to think that fetal bone marrow comes from living babies think again. Fetal bone marrow does not put babies in pain or anything because it is not taken from them; it is taken from spontaneous abortions. Now when women have miscarriages they can take the bone marrow and save it for people that needs transplants. This will benefit the world in the long run because most bone marrow will accept FMB, instead of treating it like a foreign object. So this will cause more people to recover from bone marrow transplants instead of reject it and die

Bibliography

http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/b/bone_marrow_transplant.htm

Bone Marrow Transplant.” ScienceDaily, 6 Jun. 1997. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_marrow_transplant

Bone Marrow Transplant.”Wikipedia, 6 Jun. 1997. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/06/970606123807.htm

Transplantation.” ScienceDaily, 6 Jun. 1997. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.

Aging of skin is a consideration for many reasons. The aging process makes skin less elastic with decreased ability to heal. The skin is the body’s first line of defense and is vitally important to good health. Damage to the skin over the years is irreversible for the most part. Good skin care and damage prevention is the best defense against skin loss. Sun exposure is one of the main culprits in skin damage. It also is the main cause of melanoma skin cancer. Wrinkles can be lessened by the use of injectable botulinum toxin. This is only one of many aesthetic processes to try to hide aging. Damaged skin with actual loss of skin tissue and wound formation can be treated with a process called platelet gel.

According to the French Cancer and Aging Research Institute a gene possibly responsible for the changes in aging skin may be removable, thus halting the aging damage to skin. Damaged skin is more likely to develop wounds from a variety of injuries, surgeries, or trauma. Skin wounds provide a source for bacteria to grow. A procedure using a patient’s platelets in a gel form is one procedure that can promote wound healing and advance the production of new skin over wounds.  Another step to reducing the aging of skin is to avoid the sun. Protective clothing and diligent use of sunscreen are two methods to prevent sun damage and reduce the risk of malignant melanoma. Dermatologists recommend education of society about the warning signs of melanoma for early recognition and diagnosis. They suggest regular skin inspection for any visible changes to the skin. Malignant melanoma is a deadly form of cancer, and knowledge with proactive inspections can increase survival by rapid intervention and treatment.

Skin aging prevention, if possible, will assist people in maintaining healthy skin to protect the body. Aesthetic procedures, including the injection of bacteria into the skin to look less wrinkled, are popular among those trying to remain more youthful in appearance. Ultimately, the goal should be healthy skin.  Healthier skin is less apt to develop wounds that create routes for infection into the body. Platelet gel is one method of treating wounds in patients. Healing is altered by many factors including disease processes and mobility. Any enhancement to wound healing is beneficial to society in shorter healing time and complications including costs. Early melanoma detection is vital in reducing deaths in society. This step of skin inspection and knowledge of signs to discuss with one’s doctor will make a major contribution to the health of society.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130122101909.ht

http://www.prp.net.br/adm/pdf/Crovetti%202004%20Platelet%20Gel%20for%20chronic%20wounds.pdf

http://www.aad.org/dermatology-a-to-z/diseases-and-treatments/m—p/melanoma

“Keeping skin youthful: Skin aging regulator identified.” ScienceDaily, 22 Jan. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.

Tortora, Gerard J and Derrickson, Bryan. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology 13^th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011. 13 Sep. 2013.

Lisa Querry

   Usually when one hears the word maggot we don’t associate it with anything good or interesting, but for once maggots are good or so some think!  These slimy creatures have been demonstrated to do excellent things for wound healing.  Maggot debridement therapy is the use of live larvae to go into wounds and clean out the dead tissue so they can heal much faster.  As gross as this may seem it is actually very beneficial for bad wounds, some have been using this method dating back to before written history!

In the United States medical maggots are regulated by the food and drug administration for medical use only.  This process takes two to three days of the maggots being inside of a wound covered with special dressing.  The maggots natural instinct is to migrate away from clean tissue so it goes and gets rid of all of the bad.  Cleaning throughout the wound, these maggots promote healthy tissue growth.

The use of Maggot therapy is still going strong today; in 2011 approximately 50,000 wounds were being treated with this process. Although it may seem scary, it is much more efficient then any antibiotic or topical treatment for a wound.  These can be most beneficial for people who have chronic wounds such as pressure ulcers, neuropathic foot ulcers, and non-healing traumatic or post surgical wounds.  So before you see the word maggot and get utterly repulsed, think about the benefits that you could reap from this larva and how it could help if you had a serious wound!

“Medical Maggots™ (maggot Therapy, Maggot Debridement Therapy, MDT, Biotherapy, Biosurgery, Biodebridement, Larval Therapy).” Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

Blog 2 (Skin Testing for Allergies and Disease)

I decided to write my second blog on the integumentary system. The integumentary system includes the skin, hair, and nails. The integumentary system does a lot of things for the body. It helps protect body, serves as a waterproof layer, and regulates the temperature for the body. The system also does more. I am basing my blog off of allergies. An allergy is an abnormal response to the immune system. Although it effects the immune system, it also effects the integumentary system.

Skin testing for allergies is used to figure out what is causing your allergy symptoms. This method is used on your skin by pricking or scratching. The doctors then wait to see how your skin reacts to the allergy they used. The three main test are: scratch test or prick test,  intradermal test, and patch test. The doctors decide what type of test that the patient needs. For the scratch test (prick test) the doctor or nurse simply puts an extract or many extracts on your skin, and wait to see if your skin reacts to it. For the intradermal test, a small amount of allergen is injected into skin (somewhat that of a tuberculosis test). The last and final test is the patch test. The doctors or nurses put the allergen on the patch and then put the path on your skin.

The skin testing for allergies or diseases could help in society, because it will help people realize what they are allergic to. My mother never knew what she was allergic to until she went to the doctor and did the prick test. If she had not of found out that she was allergic to kookaburras, they doctors said that her throat could close up if she got close to one. One of these skin tests could possibly save someone’s life.

Tortora, Gerald J., and Bryan Derrickson. Principles of Anatomy & Physiology. 13th ed. N.p.:        n.p.,n.d. Print.

Johnson, Kimball, MD. “Skin Testing for Allergies.” WebMD. WebMD, 03 Jan. Web. 06 Oct.         2013.

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

Scoliosis is an abnormal sideways curve of the spinal cord. The word “scolio” means crooked. When you look at a person from the back that does not have scoliosis their spinal cord and back appears to be in a straight line. However, when you look at a person with scoliosis there spinal cord and upper back makes a “c” shape. Scoliosis is a vertebral deformity that you are born with.
Dr. Ikuyo Kou and Dr. Shiro Ikegawa did a study in Japan at the Riken center to see if or what genetic factors are associated with scoliosis. Their study consisted of 1,819 Japanese individuals that were diagnosed with scoliosis compared to 25,939 Japanese individuals who did not have scoliosis. They compared the genes of these individuals who participated in their study and found that on chromosome 6 there was a gene associated with scoliosis. Researchers believe that the gene is, GPR126, and is highly expressed in cartilage and that leads to delayed bone growth and tissue formation in delevoping spine.
This research can greatly affect people will scoliosis. As of now, one method of “treatment” is wearing a back brace which is supposed to keep the curve from progressing any further. Another method would be having surgery, which is, a method of going into the vertebral column and attaching metal rods that are supposed to force the spinal cord to straighten. Both of these methods help but I am sure people who have scoliosis would like to have more options of treatment and that can be achieved in the future with this amazing discovery the Riken center made.

                                                                                                                  Work Citied
RIKEN. “Gene associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis identified.” ScienceDaily, 12 May 2013. Web. 3 Oct. 2013.                     http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130512140943.htm
Tortora G.J. and B. Derrickson. 2012. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 13th ed., John Wiley and Sons