Mar
23
2013

Osteoporosis

Posted by

Osteoporosis affects many elderly women every year. Women over 65, postmenopausal and menopausal are at the highest risk and is the age group that is effected by it. Osteoperosis is a condition that effects the bone density. Dense bones can be porus and spongelike which results  in many fractures. Normal bones which are harder to break and aren’t compresssible are made up of proteins, collagen and  calcium. The spine, hips, ribs and wrist are normal areas to get fractured when osteoporosis has effected the bones.

 

Osteoporosis can be treated the best by early detection. Treatment is the preventment of loss of density. There is no complete cure for osteporosis but building bone strength is a good treatment. Lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, exercising reguarly and eating a balanced diet are treatments that have showed improvement in women with osteoporosis. Medications like  alendronate (Fosamax), risedronate (Actonel), raloxifene (Evista), help build bone and prevent further damage.

 

All in all osteoporosis is a condition that makes elderly womens bones dense. It does not mean the end of thier lives but it does mean that they have to change thier lives for the better. And eat right, exercise and stop bad habits like smoking and drinking. Osteoporosis does not have a cure but there are many medicines and methods to treat it that helps rebuild bone density. Once a bone has been fractured no matter if it has osteoporosis or was normal it will never be exactly the same.

 

Sources: J. Tortora, Gerald, and Bryan Derrickson. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 13th ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken NJ, USA  2012.

“Osteoporosis”. www.medicinenet.com. Catherine Burt Driver, MD on 6/6/2012

Mar
03
2013

babies and balance

Posted by

    The ears play a major part of maintaining body posture or balance. How do the ears help play this role? The  inner ear contains liquid that helps detect our body posture relative to the position of our head and gravity. Being able to keep our balance is a process called equilibrium. Balance is a critical especially when babies are beginning to walk ( Tortora and Derrickson 2011).

Ear infections have played a role in preventing babies from taking their first step. Many babies have been treated for other conditions when an ear infection was the only thing wrong (Cohen 1997). It is understandable because ear infections make babies fussy, disoriented, and wobbly which can be the symptoms of other illnesses (Tadlock 2010). Equilibrium disorders in babies are hard to recognize due to the inability of toddlers and infants to communicate verbally.

If we parents or caretakers pay attention to children’s needs and recognize the signs of balance disorders, we can help babies take their first step. Noticing the signs of an ear infection can prevent children from going through unnecessary treatments. It could also lessen the stress put on parents and save money spent on procedures that are not helping. After all, having balance in our everyday life makes everyone happy.

 

Literature Cited

1. Tortora, Gerald J. Derrickson, Bryan H. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. January 4th 2011

2. Lindsey Tadlock. September 13 2010. livestrong.com/article/243709-baby-balance-disorders. January 31, 2013

3. Helen Cohen. December 10th 1997. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science m/article/pii/S0165587697001134

Mar
03
2013

Retina Regeneration

Posted by

The retina contains specialized structures and cells that allow us to see. The retina contains the photoreceptor cells, rods and cones. Rods allow people to see in dark conditions (1). Cones, associated with color vision, are activated in lighted conditions (1). The signal is translated to the bipolar cells, which sends the message to ganglionic cells. The Ganglionic cells come together to form the optic nerve. The optic nerve, of course, leads to the visual cortex in the brain.

Damage and disease to the retina can lead to blindness. Research shows a way to possibly stimulate Muller cells in the eye to create a chain reaction in order to regenerate retinal cells. The research included experiments done in the lab and on mice. It was found that, when injected in the eye, glutamate, stimulated Muller cells to divide and transform into retinal cells (2). Supplemented by aminoadipate, the brand new retinal cells located specific areas of need and became the needed cell type (2). The research is moving forward hoping testing will soon be done on animals and humans.

This research could change the life millions who suffer from blindness due to retinal disease and damage. If proven safe and effective on humans, this research could give these people an opportunity to see their loved ones again. It would give them back the precious gift of eyesight to do what they love and just return to normal life.

(1) Tortora G.J. and B. Derrickson. 2012. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 13th ed., John Wiley and Sons

(2) Jacobs, Patti. “Massachusetts Eye and Ear.” Schepens Eye Research Institute. Schepens Eye Research Institute, 24 Mar 2008. Web. 31 Jan 2013. <http://www.schepens.harvard.edu/press-

Mar
03
2013

Color Vision

Posted by

Color Vision

In vision, color perception depends on wavelength. The photoreceptors that are involved in vision are rods and cones. Rods allow us to see dim light but don’t provide color vision in dim light so we only can see black, white, and shades of gray (Tortora & Derrickson). There normally about 120 million rods. Cones are stimulated by bright light which produces color vision. There are normally 6 million cones (Tortora & Derrickson). In essence, different people may see one subject in many different ways.

In a study on the evolution of color vision conducted at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, researchers introduced a human gene into a mouse chromosome. The human gene code was for a light sensor that a mouse normally does not have (Nathans). The goal of th experiment was to see if a mouse’s brain was capable of using the human photoreceptor to see just as many colors as we can. The mice used in this study actually exceeded their expectations. They had to test the mice to see how well their color vision had developed so they showed them color panels. The mice chose the correct panels in 80 percent of the trials (Nathans). The study is what led them to the conclusion that the trichromatic color vision that we now enjoy came from distant ancestors of all primates. There are consequences of trichromacy as well. We perceive what we see on television and computer screens as a full spectrum of color when in reality the colors are just mixtures of red, green, and blue pixels. After reading this research, the evolution of color vision is clearly a complex process.

The study of the human eye is a task itself when there are so many different components that function around the eye. The retina can provide the most information when studying color vision. Maybe one day some researcher will be able to explain what all the human eye is capable of because without color vision everyone would only see black, white, and shades of gray. No one wants to live in a dim world.

 

Gerald J. Tortora and Bryan Derrickson. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 13thed., John Wiley and Sons, 2012.

Nathans, Jeremy. “HHMI News: Genetic Studies Endow Mice with New Color Vision.”HHMI News: Genetic Studies Endow Mice with New Color Vision. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 23 Mar. 2007. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://www.hhmi.org/news/nathans20070323.html>.

Feb
13
2013

Stress Can Shrink the Brain

Posted by

In light of upcoming exams, stress may be on the rise among students. However, students should take extra precautions against falling prey to stress. The physical tolls that stress takes on the body affects homeostasis in the brain and can actually cause the prefrontal cortex to shrink. This portion of the brain controls metabolism, emotions, self control, and the ability to adapt.

Studies have pinpointed which types of stress affect which part of the brain. Stress from a life trauma (more of a prolonged circumstance) can shrink the mood centers of the brain and cause depression and anxiety disorders. Stress from single life events affect emotions and can cause inappropriate emotions or a lack of emotions. Chronic stress from day to day activities does not pose an immediate threat to the size of the brain, but may gradually shrink the prefrontal cortex. This could lead to a person having an unusually difficult time when faced with adversity or life trauma because his or her brain has already eroded from former stressors.

While these are alarming studies in adults, the results are even more of concern for children. Stress and traumas experienced by children can shrink their brains in the area associated with fear and threat. Because the brain is still forming at this time, the damage may be more definitive. Social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of children can be affected. If already affected by stressors in life, maintaining current brain health and even reversing some of the effects of stress may be possible through exercise, meditation, and positive social relationships.

 

Park, Alice. “Study: Stress Shrinks the Brain and Lowers Our Ability to Cope with Adversity | TIME.com.” Time. Time, 09 Jan. 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

Perry, Bruce D. and Pollard, Ronnie. “Homeostasis, stress, trauma, and adaptation: A neurodevelopmental view of childhood trauma.” Database: PsychINFO. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America,  Vol 7(1), Jan   1998, 33-51.
Feb
12
2013

Blog # 1 LASIK eye surgery

Posted by

 

LASIK surgery is an increasingly popular alternative to wearing glasses or contacts. It reshapes the cornea and changes the focusing power. The intent of the surgery is to correct the curvature of the cornea for conditions that include farsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism (Tortora & Derrickson). Nearsightedness can be corrected by using a concave lens that diverges the light rays coming in so that they are in focus directly on the retina. In farsightedness, the correction is a convex lens that converges the light rays entering to focus directly on the retina (Tortora & Derrickson). After surgery, however, there could be side effects such as dry eyes and sensitivity to light.

There are many different studies being conducted involving the sensitivity of the cornea after the surgery takes place. In one particular scientific study, patients were examined to investigate whether LASIK surgery was the cause of patient’s cornea sensitivity and dry eyes. Twenty patients who had undergone myopic LASIK surgery two to five years previously were placed with ten people who had not received the surgery. The cornea sensitivity was assessed by using a non-contact esthesiometer. (PubMed)

The degree of dry eye symptoms was significantly higher in patients who had received the LASIK eye surgery treatment, rather than the patients in the control group. The majority of patients also reported ongoing symptoms, although the testing for that in particular was not conducted. (PudMed) Some claimed they had never had such symptoms until after the surgery.  It appears that the LASIK surgery could have played a role in the tear deficiency of the patients, as well as the sensitivity.

 

Works Cited:

Gerard J. Tortora and Bryan Derrickson. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 13th ed., John Wiley and Sons, 2012.

Journal of Refractive Surgery from PudMed.gov 2007. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17455828>

Feb
12
2013

New Research in Embryogenesis of the Human Eye

Posted by

The individual components of the eye work in unison, with each part playing a vital role in providing clear vision.  The cornea acts as the eye’s main focusing segment.  It takes a widely diverging ray of light and bends it through the pupil which is surrounded by the colored iris.  The eye is very complex, and with this complexity various problems can occur.  With new technology, doctors are able to restore many forms of impaired vision.

A new study completed in Kobe, Japan looked into the development of mammalian eyes from stem cells.  Yoshiki Sasai grew what is now known as an optic cup using human stem cells.  This breakthrough was encouraging due to the ability for Sasai to grow three-dimensional tissues unlike the two-deminsional sheets that were being developed.  Observing the optic cup, structural similarities were seen when compared to normal development of an human in vitro eye.  Sasai was impressed to notice that layers of the eye were grown in the same sequence without his aid.

This new achievement could aid scientists in a clinical setting aiding to the increased successes in transplanting stem cell photoreceptors into mice.  This transplant only offered rod receptors that would only give unclear images.  Sasai’s optic cup is being looked at to one day integrate both photoreceptor tissues into humans.

Yoshiki, Sasai, Eiraku Mototsugu, et al. “Self-organizing optic-cup morphogenesis in three-dimensional culture.” Nature. 472.7341 (2010): 51-56. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. <10.1038/nature09941 >.

Tortora, Gerard J., and Bryan Derrickson. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print.

Feb
12
2013

A Blind Solution

Posted by

There are many reasons as to why people go blind. For example, blindness can occur because the lens of the eye became cloudy, which prevents light from entering the eye, or because the retina got degraded and deteriorated, which affects the perception of images (1). Another cause of blindness could be caused by a change in eye shape, which alters the projection of an image, or because of damage to the optic nerve, which disrupts the flow of visual information to the brain (1).  Blindness can also occur because of an eye injury or trauma (1). However, the leading cause of blindness in the United States is caused by eye diseases (1).

Because technology has advanced so much in the past few years, people with failing vision can now get a corneal transplant. However, now there is an even better solution to improving eye vision. The University of Tuebingen in Germany has developed a chip that can be implemented into the eye which transforms images into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain, which allows the person to see (2). The clinical trials for the chip implant were done on people who suffered from retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary condition that destroys the retina (2). The results showed that out of the eleven people who received the surgery, five were able to see or distinguish objects (2).

Although this new chip implant discovery does not work a hundred percent, I believe it is only the beginning. With this new discovery, people who have suffered from blindness can now have the hope that they will be able to see once again. This new discovery will not only provide hope to the family of the victim, but it will also give the victim confidence and raise his or her self- esteem.  He or she will once again be able to live his or her life however he or she wishes. Furthermore, with technology improving every day, I am sure one day people will not have to suffer from blindness anymore.

1.)    Thompson, Dennis. “What Causes Blindness? .” EverydayHealth.com. (2010): n. page.      Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

2.)    Bukowski, Jack . “Let There Be Light: New Technology Enables Some Blind Patients to   See .” InsidersHealth.com. (2011): n. page. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

Feb
12
2013

Sensory Hair Cells Regenerated, Hearing Restored in Noise-Damaged Mammal Ear

Posted by

Hearing is a process in which the hair cells in the cochlea play a very important role.  Hair cells are stimulated and moved by a vibrating sound wave and they  convert the vibration into an electrical signal that is interpreted by our brain as a sound (Tortora and Derrickson). So as a result of their important role in hearing, when the hair cells are damaged by extended contact with loud noise deafness can occur. A cochlear implant is usually the treatment performed to those with damaged hair cells to recover some hearing (Tortora and Derrickson). However, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School researchers have  successfully performed an experiment in which with the use of a drug managed to regenerate hair cells in deaf mice ( ScienceDaily).

Researchers used a group of deaf mice to test a drug’s effectiveness of turning supporting cells into new hair cells in the cochlea. The drug used inhibited a signal in the Notch protein which surrounds hair cells, and as a result of the inhibition the surrounding cells began to turn into hair cells (ScienceDaily). Afterwards, the deaf mice recovered some hearing because of the regenerated hair cells, and the drug was found to be what caused this improvement in their hearing (ScienceDaily). With the use of an analyses  that showed increase hair cells in the deaf mice ears, researchers further supported the regenerating power of the drug that was used (ScienceDaily).

Researchers are excited to see the results that this drug produced in adult mice because it is the first time hair cell regeneration has been achieved in adult mammals (ScienceDaily).  Implants, surgeries, and other types of treatments for hearing loss can become a thing of the past with this new found research. With further improvements of this drug and more testing, this drug could be used to correct any hearing problems caused by the damage or absence of hair cells. However, for now we should all take the proper precautions to take care of our hair cells by minimizing the exposure to loud sounds for an extended period of time.

Sources:

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. “Sensory hair cells regenerated, hearing restored in noise damaged mammal ear. “ScienceDaily, 9 Jan.  2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2013. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130109124201.htm

Tortora G.J. and B. Derrickson. 2012. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 13th ed., John Wiley and Sons

 

 

Feb
12
2013

Looking Tan vs. Skin Cancer

Posted by

Tanning beds are linked more frequently to less serious skin cancers such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, than to melanoma (Mann). Over exposure to UV radiation accounts for all of the one million cases of skin cancer diagnosed in the U.S. each year (Tortora).  Basal cell carcinoma attributes to about 78% of all skin cancers, and squamous cell carcinoma is about 20% of all skin cancers (Tortora).  So is looking tan really more important than your health?

 

So what is basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma?  Basal cell carcinoma is abnormal, uncontrolled growth that arises in the skin’s basal cells, which line the outermost layer of the skin (skincancer.org).  The tumors arise from the stratum basale of the epidermis (Tortora).  It is rare for this type of skin cancer to metastasize (skincancer.org).  Squamous cell carcinoma arises from the stratum spinosum of the epidermis (Tortora). This type of carcinoma may or may not metastasize (Tortora).  Both of these types of cancers are nonmelanoma skin cancer (Tortora).  According to research on Webmd, people who used tanning beds were 67% more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 29% more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma than people who never used them.  Those who are at the greatest risk are the ones who have been in a tanning bed before the age of 25 (Mann).  Researchers reviewed in 12 studies that estimate that indoor tanning is responsible for more than 170,000 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancers in the United States each year (Mann).

When will people realize the risks of tanning in tanning beds?  Although the most common skin cancers from tanning beds are not deadly we should not want to put our bodies in danger of possibly getting melanoma, the “deadly one”.  Having one of the nonmelanoma cancers are often expensive to treat, and without the money to treat them you could be left with scars, and/or other serious side effects (Mann).  Our skin is a vital organ to our body that we need to live.  Using tanning beds can prevent our skin from functioning properly and damage our skin.  We should take care of our skin to keep from getting skin cancer by not using tanning beds.

 

 

 

Works Cited:

 

Tortora, Gerard J. and Bryan Derrickson. “Skin Cancer”.  Principles of Anatomy & Physiology. 13th ed. N.p.: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Pg. 175. Print.

Mann, Denise. “Indoor Tanning Beds Linked to Common Skin Cancers.” WebMD. WebMD, 02 Oct. 2012. Web. 13 Dec. 2012.  <http://www.webmd.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/news/20121002/indoor-tanning-beds-linked-common-skin-cancers>.

“Skin Cancer Foundation.” Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC). N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2012. <http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer