Encounter #3

One of the requirements of one my classes called HLSC 101 – Intro to Health Care involves shadowing a health care professional of your choosing. After several obstacles, I was given the opportunity to shadow a physician assistant at Holy Cross Hospital. However, Dr. McKenzie told me, this past Monday, that I needed a recent documentation of my current flu shot as well as a tuberculosis (TB) test document. This would ensure the safety of the people that I would come into contact with and myself.

            Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. One of the main issues with this disease is that it can be easily transmitted from person to person through the air. This disease can be fatal and is currently affecting about one-third of the world’s population. (To learn more about tuberculosis read my blog entry for February 21, 2014 titled Investigations #1). I had a flu shot before but I have never had a TB test to my knowledge. I will receive a tuberculin skin test next week from my doctor. Basically I learned that the doctor would inject a fluid into my skin called tuberculin and after 2-3 days I will come back to have my arm checked for a reaction. If a person has a positive skin test, they would have a raised, hard area or swelling that is present in the skin. If they do not, then there would not be any hard area or swelling that is present in the skin.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/testing/default.htm 

Dictionary #3

1. a) Exogenous pathway: Intracellular route taken by antigen that is processed for presentation by MHC class II, typically associate with proteins that are endocytosed.
b) Endogenous pathway: Intracellular route taken by antigen that is processed for presentation by MHC class I, typically associated with proteins generated in the cytosol.

2. Lipid Rafts: Parts of the membrane characterized by highly ordered, detergent-insoluble, sphingolipid- and cholesterol-rich regions. 

3. Periarteriolar lymphoid sheath (PALS): A collar of lymphocytes encasing small arterioles of the spleen. 

Reflections #2

We are closing in on the half way mark of the semester with spring break next week. I have to say that the first half of Immunology has been quite the learning experience. Immunology is my first of many 400 level classes in college and although this class requires a lot of work, everything that Dr. V assigns are relevant and serves a purpose. I have encountered many teachers who assign work just to show that they are doing something in their class, even though the work may not be helpful (busy work). However, this is not the case with Dr. V. 

Immunology has really changed the way I observe things around me. For example, if I see a person who is sick I start diagnosing what is wrong with their immune system. All of the labs for this class are well organized and it actually fits perfectly into what we were learning in class. This is a big deal for me because I have been in quite a few labs in years past that were not organized and/or fit into what we were learning in class. The material that I learn in both lecture and lab will surely help me as I advance to more higher-level science courses and eventually my career as a medical laboratory scientist and a physician assistant. I am excited for what the second half of Immunology has in store. 

Investigations #2

The other day, while flipping through my parent’s medical books in the library at our house, I saw a picture of a man with an enlarged thyroid gland. I was shocked at how enlarged the man’s thyroid gland was, so I wanted to investigate more on the disease called Hashimoto’s disease. I discovered that Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system sends T cells and create antibodies that would destroy a person’s thyroid tissue/gland. Interestingly enough, doctors currently do not know what causes one’s immune system to attack their thyroid gland. However, some suspect it is due to a virus or bacterium that might have triggered the response, while there are others who believe it is due to genetic flaws. It is found that women are more likely to develop the disease than men.

Hashimoto’s disease slowly progresses as one ages. Thyroid hormones would begin to decrease, TSH levels would increase as a result of decreased negative feedback, and goiter is likely to develop. The signs and symptoms of Hashimoto’s disease are basically under the general category of hypothyroidism, which include fatigue, puffy face, hoarse voice, pain and stiffness in joints, swelling in various parts of the body, muscle aches, and unexplained weight gain (mostly fluid). The treatments for Hashimoto’s disease involves daily replacement with pharmaceutical preparations of T₄, which restores the thyroid hormone levels and decrease TSH levels back to normal.

References

"Hashimoto's Disease." Symptoms. Mayo Clinic, 2 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Widmaier, Eric P., Hershel Raff, Kevin T. Strang, and Arthur J. Vander. Vander's Human Physiology: The Mechanisms of Body Function. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Investigations #1

     Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that is claiming millions of lives each year. It is believed that about one third of the world’s population is infected and it is currently one of the leading causes of death in the world. TB is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. People can be infected by the bacteria and not even know that they have the disease. Some of the signs and symptoms include coughing that lasts longer than 3 weeks, productive cough (blood & mucus), weight loss, chest pains, sweating at night, and weakness. In most cases, symptoms do not appear until the victim’s immune system weakens, such as in people with HIV and people of old age.

       

     M. tuberculosis is an airborne disease, where people can be infected when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talk. The bacteria are ingested by alveolar macrophages but they are able to survive and multiply intracellularly by inhibiting phagolysosome production. Granulomas (tubercle) form from the accumulation of activated macrophages and other mononuclear phagocytes, which surrounds the infected macrophages with the bacilli. Granulomas contain and inhibit the growth of the bacilli. However, when the immune system of an infected person weakens the walls of the granuloma loses structural integrity and ruptures, allowing the bacilli to escape and spread to other organs.

To learn more about the disease visit: http://www.cdc.gov/tb/

References

Nancy A. Knechel. Tuberculosis: Pathophysiology, Clinical Features, and Diagnosis.

      CriticalCareNurse 2009; 29(2). 

Lakshimi PS, Verma D, Yang X, Lloyd B, Daniell H. Low Cost Tuberculosis 

      Vaccine Antigens in Capsules: Expression in Chloroplasts, Bio-Encapsulation, Stability, 

      and Functional Evaluation In Vitro. Plos One 2013; 8(1).