Our bodies are ecosystems that have evolved over time to deal with a variety of infectious agents and microorganisms, such as worms and other parasites. The hygiene hypothesis states that although we have shifted rapidly into a clean, modern and civilized state, our bodies have not yet adapted, and our immune system is responding inappropriately with an increased susceptibility to allergies and autoimmune diseases. The main premise is that humans are mismatched to modernity. (Stearns, 2009) Our civilization has changed rapidly and we now readily have access to modern hygiene, clean water, and antibiotics but our bodies have not yet evolved to adapt with its new environment. Our immune responses are still based on the assumption that we would always have worms and bacteria in our bodies. Due to modern hygiene and clean drinking water, many of these infectious microorganisms have no way of entering our body and our immune system often responds inappropriately to different agents such as mould, dust, or pollen, by ramping up its immune response. (Mirkin, 2009) While the epidemics of infectious diseases have declined over time, an epidemic of autoimmune diseases is immerging. (Bach, 2002) Autoimmune diseases such as asthma, Type 1 (early onset) diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and Chrohn's disease are on the rise. Data also shows that Type 1 diabetes is common in Europe, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, while worms and leprosy are common in the Tropics. In areas where Type 1 diabetes is common, there is a very low incidence of tuberculosis and the opposite is also true. (Stearns, 2009) In Germany and other European countries, farm children have fewer allergies than city children. This suggests a connection between cleaner city life a... ... middle of paper ... ...niversity: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu/ (Accessed November 4, 2009). License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Mirkin, G. (2009, December 20). The Hygiene hypothesis. Retrieved from http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine122009.html Bach, J.F. (2002). The Effect of infections on susceptibility to autoimmune and allergic diseases.New England Medical Journal, 347(911-920) BBC News. (2009, November 23). Dirt can be good for children, say scientists. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8373690.stm Hunter, M.M., & McKay, D.M. (2004). Helminths as therapeutic agents for inflammatory bowel disease.Ailmentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 19(2), 167-177. Constantinescu, C. (2009, March 3). Parasitic worms may lead to treatment for multiple sclerosis. Retrieved from http://www.news-medical.net/news/2009/03/03/46407
Thomas disccuseed thr “paranoid delusions on a societal scale,” that we have against human diseases or our “enemies.” The book contiuniuously uses anaphora by saying that diseases result from “inconclusive negoitions for symbiosis” and misinterpretation of biology” The fact that bacteria can only be harmful from practiacally harming themselves is an interesting point to point out. That shows the reader that the only way they could be harmed from bacteria, wouls be if the bacteria had gotten itself “sick” first. Thomas talks about certain microorganisms that have “advantages in their ability to affect himan beinhg, but that there is nothing to be gained, in an evolutionary sense, by the capacity to caue illness or death.” Another reassuraing statement for readers is when he says, pathogenicy is a disadvantage for most microbes because they are carrying
3.Stevenson, J. (2004, Sept.). Impact of Infectious Diseases on Development of Human Societies. MBI. July 18, 2005:
Soon, S., Molodecky, N. A., Rabi, D. M., Ghali, W. A., Barkema, H. W., & Kaplan, G. G. (2012). The relationship between urban environment and the inflammatory bowel diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC gastroenterology, 12(1), 51.
“Immune Response: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. .
To be able to determine which task the immune system needs to take to fight off the pathogen, it must be able to differentiate between self and non-self-substances. The immune system gets activated by the non-self-substances called antigens. The antigens attach to special receptor sites on defense cells which starts cell processes. If the body has come in contact with the antigen before, it will be able to respond to it more quickly (PubMed Health).
Today was quite a nice experience. There were a lot of volunteers in the office so it's kind of hard to have a lot of one-on-one time with patient. I ended up working closely with the hygienist for most of my time there. She showed me her day to day experiences and some techniques she uses to calm patients. It’s important to experience working with every dental professional. As a future dentist I'll be interacting with the entire dental team including the hygienist, so today I decided to stick with the hygienist.
International Journal of Epidemiology 36.6 (2007): 1229-234. International Journal of Epidemiology. Oxford University Press, 28 Sept. 2007. Web. The Web.
... each and every day how to fight against germs that are unfamiliar to them. Our bodies play a vital area as to how our bodies are getting sick or healthy. A sudden change of diet can have a negative affect on our bodies, I have experienced this myself when we changed to a vegan diet for a week.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a complicated chronic deteriorating disease that has an effect on the central nervous system (CNS). This disease causes destruction of the myelin around the nerve fibers. “The exact etiology of Multiple Sclerosis is unknown; however, it is thought to be an immune mediated disease. MS is characterized by CNS inflammation, demyelination, and axonal loss” (Compston & Coles, 2008). Typically, it is described by early relapses and remissions of neurological signs of the CNS. This is known as relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). MS can be identified by a variety of known risk factors. Multiple Sclerosis can be brought on by a mixture of inherited and environmental risk factors such as smoking or an exposure to a virus like Epstein Barr. The inflammatory process has an interesting role on the central nervous system.
... resulting impairment to the CNS. The first group of mice exhibited a pattern of CNS inflammation that resembled that of the most common subtype of MS, RRMS, with lesions filled with macrophages, a type of immune defender cell. The second group of mice displayed inflammation deep in the CNS tissues and in the optic nerve with lesions filled with neutrophils, another type of immune cell. Both groups of mice were given antibody drugs similar to drugs being developed against MS in humans. The effects were observed over time and results showed that some of the drugs inhibited disease in the first group of mice but did not inhibit disease in the second group. Thus, as Mark Kroenke (2008), the study’s first author and a Ph.D. student in immunology at U-M stated, "That's our proof that these really are different mechanisms of disease" (Kroenke et al., 2008).
This literature review will analyze and critically explore four studies that have been conducted on hand hygiene compliance rates by Healthcare workers (HCWs). Firstly, it will look at compliance rates for HCWs in the intensive care units (ICU) and then explore the different factors that contribute to low hand hygiene compliance. Hospital Acquired infections (HAI) or Nosocomial Infections appear worldwide, affecting both developed and poor countries. HAIs represent a major source of morbidity and mortality, especially for patients in the ICU (Hugonnet, Perneger, & Pittet, 2002). Hand hygiene can be defined as any method that destroys or removes microorganisms on hands (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). According to the World Health Organization (2002), a HAI can be defined as an infection occurring in a patient in a hospital or other health care facility in whom the infection was not present or incubating at the time of admission. The hands of HCWs transmit majority of the endemic infections. As
The actual living conditions of people directly correlate to the spread of infectious diseases and infestation of chronic illnesses that result in premature death. Crowding, such as in ghettos and low income projects, creates an unnecessary closeness of people in a community. Therefore we see an increase in the spread of infectious diseases because human to human contact is inevitable. For instance, in the US controlled Marshall Islands has a population of over 10,000 people living in an area smaller than Manhattan. Tuberculosis runs rampant there and is often times left unchecked due to the lack of personal space in conjunction with poor sanitary conditions. Poor sanitation in a region is an effect of lack of public interest in the community and subsequently aids in the demise of the health of the population.
In the 1960s, doctors in the United States predicted that infectious diseases were in decline. US surgeon Dr. William H. Stewart told the nation that it had already seen most of the frontiers in the field of contagious disease. Epidemiology seemed destined to become a scientific backwater (Karlen 1995, 3). Although people thought that this particular field was gradually dying, it wasn’t. A lot more of it was destined to come. By the late 1980s, it became clear that people’s initial belief of infectious diseases declining needed to be qualified, as a host of new diseases emerged to infect human beings (Smallman & Brown, 2011).With the current trends, the epidemics and pandemics we have faced have created a very chaotic and unreliable future for mankind. As of today, it has really been difficult to prevent global epidemics and pandemics. Although the cases may be different from one state to another, the challenges we all face are all interconnected in this globalized world.
Inflammatory bowel disease is a life long disease, and it particularly targets the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract), which consists of the mouth, esophagus, stomach small intestine, large intestine (appendix, cecum, colon (ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid), and rectum), and anus. The gastrointestinal tract is very important to the human body; some of its functions include mechanical and chemical digestion of food, the movement of food and waste from mouth to anus, secretion of enzymes and mucus, and the absorption of nutrients. These are some reason why it’s so destructive when this part of the body becomes impaired or even damaged.
The occurrence of infectious disease and epidemics has speckled the history of humanity since the first civilization established itself. Considering that a large population can help to foster infectious diseases, and humans share almost 300 communicable agents with animals, the outbreak of epidemics is inextricably intertwined with revol...