Understanding Common Diseases and Medical Advancements
Cancer
Cancer stem cells begin to multiply out of control and, at the same time, are able to specialize and perform the function corresponding to the specific tissue or organ. The rapidly growing cells destroy healthy cells around them. These are malignant. Metastasis occurs when malignant cells spread through blood vessel walls or the lymph system. Cancer is the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases in developed countries. Genetic predisposition may influence the development of cancer. Possible causes include tobacco and ultraviolet radiation.
Vaccine Against Human Papillomavirus
The vaccine could prevent cancer of the cervix. It is effective in four strains of HPV that are responsible for genital warts and tumors in the cervix. The immunization is effective if the organism has not yet been exposed to papillomavirus (before the first sexual encounter). The human papillomavirus is transmitted through sexual contact. Infections may disappear spontaneously, but when they become chronic, they can cause cancer.
Cancer Treatments
- Surgery: Involves removing the tumor surgically.
- Radiotherapy: It consists of applying concentrated doses of radiation to the tumor to destroy it. These rays do not damage the remaining healthy tissue.
- Chemotherapy: Using drugs to attack cancer cells. These are limited to cytostatic drugs capable of inhibiting the disorderly growth of cells, disrupting cell division, and killing the cells that rapidly multiply.
Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiovascular diseases are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels. They include alterations in the heart muscle itself, the valves that carry blood to the heart or brain, and also hypertension. Cardiovascular diseases are caused by the absence of exercise, an unbalanced diet, excessive stress, and tobacco.
Mental Illness
Changes in levels of neurotransmitters, compounds that carry messages from one neuron to another, or changes in the number and structure of neurons in different areas of the brain can cause mental illness.
- Alzheimer’s: Characterized by memory loss and dementia in old age.
- Schizophrenia: Characterized by distortions of reality. Patients experience hallucinations, delusions, or hear voices.
- Anorexia, Bulimia, Vigorexia: These diseases involve a distorted vision of one’s body, producing dissatisfaction.
- Depression: A deep, prolonged, and incapacitating sadness.
Medical Imaging Techniques
- CT Scan (Computed Tomography): Generates images of the anatomy of the brain and is used to measure cerebral blood flow or diagnose injuries and brain tumors.
- PET Scan (Positron Emission Tomography): Describes metabolic brain activity.
- Bone Densitometry: A technique using small doses of X-rays to determine the density of bones (low bone density = osteoporosis).
Drugs
Drugs are substances or compounds that have curative or preventative properties for human and animal diseases. Self-medication is consuming drugs without a doctor’s prescription.
Transplants
All organs have their own time limit that they can last when the brain is already dead. Transplants may have immune rejection, and drugs can be administered to decrease the recipient’s defense response. The demand goes far beyond the availability of organs. Donor animals = xenotransplantation. Techniques are sought so that stem cells can regenerate an organ. Death is declared by the Harvard criterion, where a flat electroencephalogram means the brain ceases to function. Formerly, death was declared when breathing or the heart stopped beating.
Pharmacology and Informatics
They have allowed scientists to refine increasingly specific molecules and synthesize them completely in the laboratory. Drugs are obtained from plants, animals, and marine creatures. If we alter the environment, animal and plant species may disappear, along with the opportunity to find a cure or medicine for a disease.
Controversy of Animal Testing
It is controversial to experiment with animals because, on the one hand, sacrificing an animal’s life for our welfare does not seem right. On the other hand, a patient should not be exposed to receiving a substance whose effects could be harmful. Alternative methods include the use of microorganisms, cell cultures, or computer simulations.
Viagra
Simon Campbell and David Roberts sought a medicine for hypertension, and they realized the drug facilitates erection.