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pathophysiology about meningitis
pathophysiology about meningitis
pathophysiology about meningitis
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Meningitis is a disease that affects the meninges, the name given to the three membranes that surround the brain and the spinal cord. The three membranes are called the Dura Mater, the Arachnoid Mater and the Pia Mater. The function of these membranes is to protect the central nervous system. Meningitis can be caused by both viruses and bacteria. Viral meningitis is more often than harmless and is usually resolved in about a week. Viral meningitis can be caused by viruses such as Entero Viruses and Herpes Viruses. Bacterial meningitis is less common but far more serious. This paper will be looking at these three in particular, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitis and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. (Add numbers and who is affected here later) The reason why these bacteria are a problem is because they have developed ways of getting round the human immune system. This can be done in multiple ways such as changing their own surface membranes the use of sIgA proteases, an extra cellular enzyme produced by bacteria to cleave human IgA. Bacteria can even invade our own cells to avoid the immune system. They have developed a resistance to Nitric Oxide, the cells natural antibacterial. But among the most troubling, however, is the way is they avoid phagocytosis and the compliment system. Both fall under the umbrella of the inflammatory response and both are key features of the non-specific defence in the immune system. Phagocytosis and compliment are two of only three ways of non-specific immune response methods in the blood and even then, in the case of some of these meningitis strains the other method is neutralized and turned into an asset for their own survival inside the blood stream. This paper will lo... ... middle of paper ... ...3 convertase) will cleave more C3 proteins and start a MAC from there. The lectin pathway starts when MBL, a serum protein bind itself to the surface of a pathogen. A few capsules can prevent the formation of C3Bb, which as mentioned in the previous paragraph is essential to start the alternative pathway as a C3 convertase. This is done through making serum protein B fail to bind to C3b. Less C3 convertase means that there is less 3b to go around to make C5 convertase. Combined, this drastically reduces the chances of a MAC forming. Capsules do not make bacteria serum resistant, but just a lot more unlikely to be killed by the inflammatory response. This is due to proteins still being able to go through the capsule and form on the bacterial membrane surface. The polysaccharide polymer network is largely loose and unstructured which means it is not impenetrable.
Most of the time nonspecific defenses keep pathogens from getting into the body. Sometimes one can break through and cause a disease. This is where the immune system comes into use.
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).
Bacteria are one cause of infectious disease. Bacteria are a single-cell microorganism that is very common in our bodies. Less than one percent of bacteria will actually make us sick. Some of the more common infections caused by bacteria include strep throat, salmonella, and e-coli. Strep throat is common in children and causes a painful sore throat. Strep is usually treated with antibiotic medication. Salmonella is spread on food that is contaminated by human or animal...
Due to its tendency to be both a viral and bacterial disease, meningitis can prove difficult to treat. Its dual tendencies also mean that various methods are used to attack the disease. In order to treat meningitis, different aspects of the disease must be discovered first. The type of organism causing the infection, the age of the patient, and the extent of the infection must all be taken into account (WebMD, sec. 8). Any time meningitis is found, immediate treatment with antibiotics is required, and continuation of antibiotic treatment depends on whether a bacteria or a virus is causing th...
Meningitis by definition is the inflammation of the meninges, the three layered protective membrane that surrounds the central nervous system. The meninges are comprised of the Dura mater, the Arachnoid mater, and the innermost Pia mater. It is of utmost importance to determine if bacteria, virus, fungus, toxins, or parasites, caused the inflammation, and treat the microorganism quickly and efficiently to give the best prognosis. It is of utmost importance to determine the cause of inflammation (i.e. bacteria, virus, fungus, toxins). While viral or aseptic meningitis only need supportive treatment, bacterial meningitis is one of the ten most common causes of death by infectious disease killing approximately 135,000 people a year (Waghdhare, Kalantri, Joshi, & Kalantri, 2010).
Meningitis, it’s an infection in the cerebral spinal fluid and inflammation of the meninges; the three outer layers of the brain. To be more specific, those three layers are called the Dura mater, Arachnoid mater, and the Pia mater. There are three main types of meningitis that will be discussed throughout this paper; viral, bacterial, and fungal. Each form is very similar but they all vary in terms of causative organisms, treatment and severity. Although meningitis is not very common, it can become very severe and always needs to be treated immediately.
We don't pay attention to all the things we do to spread bacteria so they just keep reproducing to gain more and more.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram-positive and fast-growing bacteria which inhabit upper respiratory tract in humans. Moreover, it is an aerotolerant anaerobe and usually causes respiratory diseases including pneumonia, otitis media, meningitis, peritonitis, paranasal sinusitis, septic arthritis, and osteomyelitis (Todar, 2003). According to Tettelin et al., more than 3 million of children die from meningitis or pneumonia worldwide (2001). S.pneumoniae has an enzyme known as autolysin that is responsible for disintegration and disruption of epithelial cells. Furthermore, S.pneumoniae has many essential virulence factors like capsule which is made up of polysaccharides that avoids complement C3b opsonization of cells by phagocytes. Many vaccines contain different capsular antigens which were isolated from various strains (Todar, 2003). There are plenty of S.pneumoniae strains that developed resistance to most popular antibiotics like macrolides, fluoroquinolones, and penicillin since 1990 (Tettelin et al., 2001). Antibiotic resistance was developed by the gene mutation and selection processes that, as a consequence, lead to the formation of penicillin-binding proteins, etc. (Todar, 2003).
our everyday lives bacteria is constantly surrounding us, some of the bacterium that we encounter are beneficial to us but then there are the ones that are severely detrimental to our health. The way that they effect a persons body can differ from person to person. Many of the “microscopic foes” are very resilient and have a very fast reproduction rate. Not only do they reproduce quickly they sometimes seem to outsmart our immune system and not allow our bodies to fight the infection making it almost impossible to stop them. One thing that a lot if people rely on is the assistance of prescription drugs to get them better but even the drugs are not being effective and we can’t stop the pathogens from invading our personal places such as work, home, school, or anywhere. Even though modern medicine is advancing the pathogens could still get the get the best of us. The scary thing is we never know when the next pandemic or epidemic is going to arise. All it needs is some ordinary microbe to swap genes with a deadly germ to produce a “super pathogen” and it could happen to anyone, anywhere, as it did to Jeannie Brown who is from “our neck of the woods”.
Meningitis infection is the inflammation of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord. Neisseria Meningitidis can cause severe infectious bacterial meningitis in children and immune-compromised patients. Humans are the only reservoir of N. meningitidis, and it can easily spread through kissing, sneezing, coughing, direct contact or living in the same house. The symptoms may include fever, chills, stiff neck, and severe headache.
Certain structures of bacteria are indispensable for causing sepsis. All sepsis causing bacteria have S-layer and produce capsules, slime layer and biofilm (see tab. ). These structures protect the bacteria in the tissues against phagocytosis, ROS, lytic enzymes, immune complexes, etc., whereas in the bloodstream capsule and slime layer prevent triboelectric charging, attraction and fixation on the surface of erythrocytes, oxidation and killing by the oxygen released from erythrocytes [33 ].
In the documentary, Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria, reporter David Hoffman investigates this new untreatable infection along two individuals and a bacterial virus within a hospital. The first individual Hoffman investigates is Addie Rerecich of Arizona, she was treated for a staph infection with antibiotics, but other complications arise. Addie had a lung transplant, she was given several different antibiotics, but her body became pan-bacteria, non-resistance to the bacteria. Addie’s life was on the edge, she had to be on life support, and finally she received new lungs. The transplant helped Addie but it would take years before could go back to normal before the infection. The second individual is David Ricci; he had his leg amputated in India after a train accident. The antibiotic treatment he received became toxic to his body increasing problems. While in India, he underwent surgery almost every day because of infections he was developing. Back in Seattle, doctors found the NDM-1 resistance gene in his body; NDM-1 gene is resistance to almost all antib...
The human body contains countless amount of defense from the ever so present dangerous pathogens found in its surroundings. If any of these pathogens is successful in entering the body, the body must them perform a series of responses in order to kill or eradicate the issue.
The following case study is about a lab technician who got in contact with a patients spinal fluids and began felling different symptoms like chills, fever, nausea, even had purple-red lesions on his or her neck and extremities, also throat culture grew gram-negative diplococci. From reading the case study again, I realized that the lab technician had purple-red lesions and also had something to do with spinal fluids which strongly prompt me to lead towards Meningococcemia infection. Meningococcemia infection is a serious disease that can effect the whole body but particularly the limbs and brain. Most patients with Meningococcemia may present Meningitis alone, these symptoms may include headache, sore throat, nausea and purpuric lesions all over the body. Meningitis is a disease that is the immflamuation of
Bacteria are everywhere. They are anywhere from in our food, on hard surfaces all the way to oceans and mountains. Bacteria can also be called microorganisms they are very small and can only be seen with a microscope. Bacteria can either be very bad for people or actually help them. Bacteria, also are very complex creatures, they can be in all shapes and sizes. There can be as many as one billion bacteria on just one door knob. Disinfectants are complex chemical compounds that fight against bacteria; bacteria can be fought with home remedies or commercial disinfectant sprays (Wearing 4-9)