Essays on Interferon

The purpose of this paper is to review the etiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, inheritance patterns, and recent advances in disease management of cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a progressive and lethal disease resulting from an autosomal recessive gene (Singh, Rebordosa, Bernholz, & Sharma, 2015). The major problem associated with cystic fibrosis is the repeated lung infections that over time severely damage the lungs, scar and widen the passageways and limit the ability to breathe (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, n.d.). As of 2013, there are an estimated 70,000 cystic fibrosis patients globally with 33,000 of them in the United States ( ...

Hepatitis type B viral infection is a common and serious disease that is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV is a DNA virus with partial double strands and belongs to the Hepadnaviridae family. One-third of the world’s population is believed to have been infected by HBV of which 6% have chronic HBV infection. Depending on the rate of infection and carrier rate, the world is divided into low, medium and high endemicity regions (Franco et al. 75). The HBV resides in the bodily fluids of an infected individual and is transmitted via the same (Aspinall et ...

The new drug for hepatitis C treatment comprises a combination of both Ledipasvir and sofosbuvir which are both novel direct-acting antiviral agents.1These agents possess great potency against the hepatitis C virus.2The high cost of the new hepatitis C can be justified with several reasons. Both Ledipasvir and sofosbuvir may be administered as single tablets which may have or lack ribavirin and are to be taken once per day for a duration of 8, 12, or even 24 weeks.3 A justification for the high price of up to $1000 per pill, and $84,000 for a therapeutic duration of 12 weeks with sofosbuvir ...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome is a life threatening condition that is caused by a virus from the Coronaviridae family. The SARS virus is believed to have originated from the Guangdong province of southern China before spreading to Hong Kong, Canada and the United States of America. The virus has an incubation period of 2 to 7 days but it may last up to 10 days. Like other respiratory disease, SARS is spread through direct contact; long range and short range. The major agent of transmission is the droplet nuclei. The symptoms of the disease include: fever, chills, malaise, cough, dyspnea and ...

Introduction

Liver is an important organ in the digestive system. The selected infection is hepatitis C. This viral infection affects the liver and then results in the liver enlargement. This form of hepatitis is one of the major challenges worldwide since its discovery and this could be attributed to the absence of a vaccine against the viral infection. Another important contributory factor is that of the prolong period of inactivity of the virus within the host before clinical manifestation. These all contribute to the level of destruction of the liver caused by the virus.

Etiology

The main aetiology is by the hepatitis ...

Description and challenges

Hepatitis C is a type of infection that is caused by a virus that attacks the human liver resulting in inflammation. The virus is called Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The infected people show less or no symptoms during its early stages of infection (Michael, 2014, p 1178). Hepatitis C virus is considered the most dangerous of the Hepatitis infections. The virus is transmitted through the contact with contaminated blood, mostly through needles that are shared through the use of illegal drugs. One challenge with Hepatitis is that, during its early stages, one cannot know if he is infected or not. This ...

Medicine

(Department)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Introduction of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) COPD is among the commonly occurring lung diseases in which the person feels difficulty in breathing (Lynn, Harrold, and Schuster, 2011). There are two main types of COPD: - Chronic bronchitis in which there is a persistent cough with mucus, - Emphysema in which there is damage to the lungs with the passage of time.

Most of the patients of COPD have a combination of both of the conditions.

Causes and reasons of COPD Smoking is found to be among the top most important causes of COPD. Moreover, chances of developing COPD increases with increased smoking. However, in rare cases people may ...

The immune system has an immune arsenal that help in the combat of infections including the challenging viral infections (Iannello 2006). Upon infection by a virus, the host invariably reacts by activating its line of defenses. These immune defenses can fall into two main groups: the innate immune system (first line of defense) and adaptive immune response. The innate immune system is non-specific in nature, but the adaptive immune system is acquired following previous infections or vaccinations (Iannello 2006). However, viruses continue to undergo an evolution and have engineered strategies that evade the hosts’ immune antiviral responses. This paper examines ...

A 2013 study by Al Jahdali et al. (2013) explored the screening utility of a novel laboratory test for Tuberculosis. The Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) is antigen-specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and has some advantages over the traditionally-used Tuberculin Skin Test (TST). Some of these advantages include less tendency to report false positives due to anergy, as well as less cross-reactivity with the Bacille-Camille-Guerin (BCG) immunization and infection by other species of Mycobacterium (Al Jahdali et al., 2013). In this study, the researchers screened a total of 200 dyalisis patients using both tests: the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) and the Interferon-Gamma ...

- DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROJECT - Aims and objectives The health risk assessment of MRI is incomplete yet and a number of gaps in our knowledge about the ill-effects of MRI have been identified. The effects of exposure to static fields above 8 T are not known. Only a little is known about the increased sensitivity of some people to CNS stimulation by the electric fields in switched gradient fields. There are concerns about the increased heat loads on infants and pregnant women. Hence, well-targeted research is required to complete the health risk assessment (Health Protection Agency, 2008). ...

The scientific method involves making an observation, making an explanation of the observation, testing the explanation in order to see whether it is valid and either accepting or rejecting the explanation. Once an explanation is rejected, a better explanation is developed and then tested. The exact steps that are followed in a scientific method depend on the number of times the method is broken down. However, there are five major steps that are followed in a scientific method. These steps are making observations, proposing a hypothesis, designing an experiment and performing it to test the hypothesis, analyzing the data in order to determine ...

Abstract

IFITM3, a protein induced by interferon, restricts reovirus infection in host cells and inhibits the viral replication. It affects the proper penetration of the virus by altering the dynamics of the viral uncoating in the endosomes. This study is the first in characterizing the anti-viral activity of IFITM3 on non enveloped viruses that depend on endosome for cellular entry. Following contagion with a virus, the body triggers the release of a class of cytokines, interferons that are involved in first line of defense against infection. Type I interferons are specifically induced in the cells following insult with both DNA and RNA ...

Psoriasis is a disease that is part of the broader group of disorders known as papulo-squamous disorders. It is one of the most common dermatological conditions in the world. According to the National Psoriasis Foundation its prevalence is nearly 2.2% of the American population, and 2-3% of the worldwide population. It is clinically characterized by papules that are sharply demarcated from the normal skin and plaques, both covered by scaling skin (Harrison’s, 2008). In the past, the studies on psoriasis focused on the hyper- proliferation of the skin cells; but recently, the focus has changed to study the defects ...

[City, State]

Question 1

Tabex is a Bulgarian drug that can be used to stop smoking. The drug is prepared from an alkaloid containing plant scientifically referred to as Cytisus laborium L. which is trivially called “Golden Rain acacia” (tabex.net, n.d). As reported on the tabex website, studies have shown that the drug has been successful in helping over 57% of tobacco users using it to stop smoking. Ideally, cystine has been used as a smoking-cessation for several years even though it was until recently that the alkaloid was subjected to clinical studies that have verified the notion that the alkaloid can indeed ...

When people become sick with dermatomyositis (DM) they have an inflammatory skin rash and inflammation of the voluntary muscles. The patients experience muscle weakness which gets worse.

The DM most often starts with a speedy, severe onset of symptoms. Patients eventually become so weak they have trouble with daily routine activities such as standing up after sitting down, climbing stairs or lifting objects. Other organs such as the lungs may also become diseased.

The symptoms are often treated with prednisone which is a corticosteroid drug used to decrease the inflammation. Other corticosteroid drugs can be used but that family of drugs ...

Introduction

Hepatitis is a major health threat to our environment because of the associated effects on liver and the mode of transmission. Hepatitis C which is one of the types of hepatitis that has become a major challenge since the discovery. Different factors have contributed to these challenges. One of those major challenges is the inability of researchers to discover suitable vaccine for the infection. The prolonged inactive period of the causative organism in the body before clinical manifestation is another factor (Department of health). The infectious course usually leads to enlargement of the liver and this in turn affects the functions ...

Abstract

This is a report on Hepatitis C virus infection in Australia discussing the population at risk, clinical presentation, management, and issues with vaccine production. The findings in the report show that injecting drug users among youths are the major group at risk. The presentation of the disease could be in acute or chronic form. The management is not 100 percent achievable due to unclear reasons but the drugs are effective. There are major side effects associated with the drugs hence there is a need for pre and post testing counseling. The major issue with the infection is the absence of vaccine ...

1.0 Introduction

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neural degenerative condition involving the progressive degeneration of the myelin sheath (the protecting cover to the nerve fibres (axons)) around the nerve cell leading to a break down in transmission of nerve impulses. The impairment of the transmission results in loss of the body’s ability to control and coordinate muscle movement. The disease progresses through a complex and diverse symptoms making it challenging to diagnose, treat and manage. The symptoms of MS may range from gentle to severe weakness, impaired body movement, lack of ordered senses, uncontrolled bowel and bladder, damaged cognition, impaired vision and a variety ...

Introduction

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neural degenerative condition involving the progressive degeneration of the myelin sheath (the protecting cover to the nerve fibres (axons)) around the nerve cell leading to a break down in transmission of nerve impulses. The impairment of the transmission results in loss of the body’s ability to control and coordinate muscle movement. The disease progresses through a complex and diverse symptoms making it challenging to diagnose, treat and manage. The symptoms of MS may range from gentle to severe weakness, impaired body movement, lack of ordered senses, uncontrolled bowel and bladder, damaged cognition, impaired vision and a variety ...