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Health:
Difficulties arise, as different people have different standards about what is a 'healthy' level of
physical activity, application of mental ability or socialising
Health involves the effective functioning of a body, and is not just the absence of disease
Disease:
Disease - is any condition that impairs or interferes with the normal functioning of the body
Genes
Genes are made up of DNA, with bases forming codons that relate to specific amino acids
Since amino acids are the functional unit of proteins such as enzymes, a gene message often
translates into a particular enzyme that controls a specific reaction
If a gene mutates, the amino acids will form different proteins, hence different enzyme reactions will
be carried out. This could lead to disease
Mitosis
Infectious disease
Is caused by pathogens which invade the body
Infectious diseases are contagious and can often be passed from one person to another
Non-infectious disease
Non infectious disease cannot be easily passed from one person to another (except by heredity)
Is not caused by a pathogen
It can be caused by:
○ Heredity - haemophilia, Down Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis
○ Nutrition - Scurvy, Berri Berri, Tooth Decay
○ Physiological malfunction -
○ Environment - Skin Cancer, Lung Cancer, Stress, Asthma
○ Chemicals - Cancer from radiation
Transmission of Disease
Host Response
- Interpersonal variation - elderly are more prone to disease. AIDs sufferers have little resistance
- Personal Variations - people under stress may succumb to colds
- Resistance and Immunity - humans have non specific and specific defences that fight disease
- Behaviour - healthy lifestyles can prevent and reduce susceptibility to disease (better diet, exercise). By participating in screening
processes, we can reduce severity of disease (early detection of melanoma)
The Environment
- Standards of Housing - water supply, sewage and air pollution can contribute to disease
- Many infective agents are spread easily in crowded, unhygienic conditions
Examples include
○ Washing hands before eating or preparing food
○ Effective sewerage treatments
○ Providing uncontaminated water
○ Avoid coughing near food
○ Cover hair and open sores when preparing food
Food
- Processing and preparation reduces the rick of contamination
- Contamination could be by poisonous chemicals or pathogens
- Cleanliness is achieved by use of fresh and properly stored food - this helps ensure maximum
nutirtional vale of the food
Personal Hygiene
- Washing hands prior to eating and when coughing or sneezing reduces spread of pathogens from
person to person, and object to person
- Washing body and brushing teeth prevents the build up of decay and certain bacteria that could
cause disease
Pasteur
○ Established the germ theory of disease through experiments with wine fermentation
○ Hypothesised that infectious disease were caused by microbes
○ His experiment disproved spontaneous generation
○ He proved that decay was caused by air-borne microbes, not just contact with air
○ He stimulated scientists to start looking for microbes that were causing disease
Koch
○ Followed up on Pasteur's work
○ He isolated bacterium responsible for anthrax
○ He improved technologies: described techniques of fixing, staining and photographing bacteria
○ He developed a general system for identifying a pathogen: "Koch's Postulates"
Koch's Postulates:
1. The organism believed to be the cause of disease must always be present when the disease occurs
2. The organism must be isolated from the host and grown in pure culture
3. Organisms form the pure culture, when inoculated into healthy suitable hosts, must produce the
disease
4. The organism must be re-isolated, grown in pure culture and compared with the organism first
injected
- Example: penicillin disrupts cell wall structure in bacteria, so these cells cannot replicate
- Antibiotics only treat bacterial infections - they have no affect on viruses
Skin:
- Physical barrier to pathogens
- Aided by sebum and sweat which flush away slow growth of bacteria and fungi
Mucus:
- Produced by mucous membranes
- Membranes are sticky and traps the microbes
- Respiratory surfaces lined with mucous membranes
Cilia:
- Are hair like structures that line air passageways
- Tarp and sweep away inhaled bacteria in respiratory tract
Other:
- Oil glands on skin secrete fatty acids that inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi
1. Natural Barriers:
- Physical - un broken skin
- Entrapment - mucus
- Chemical - stomach acid, sweat, lysozymes
B Lymphocytes are:
- B Cells - when activated in response to an antigen they produce 2 types of cells:
○ Plasma cells - produce antibodies (proteins) which inactivate the antigen
○ Memory B cells - which remain in body and respond to future infection by same antigen
4. Identify one chemical barrier which prevents pathogens from entering the body and state how
this barrier carries out this function
- Stomach acid - a lower pH level is acidic, and kills pathogens entering the body
Example:
- Antigens in the outer coating of bacterium will stimulate the immune system response
- The body will produce antibodies, which will immediately destroy the bacterium, or make it easier
for a macrophage to engulf it
Organ Transplants:
- Antibody-antigen responses results in rejection of transplanted tissue (hearts, livers, lungs etc)
- The transplant tissue is identified by the body to be foreign and this triggers an immune response
- Antibodies are produced to attack the transplanted tissue
- Nowadays more successful than in pioneering attempts
- New drugs are used to counteract the body's automatic immune response
Inflammation response
- Areas become hot, red, swollen and painful
- Damaged tissues will initiate a localised inflammatory response
- Damaged tissues releases histamines, chemicals that increase dilation of blood vessels
- Increase in blood circulation results
- Histamines cause leakage of blood vessel walls so that white blood cells (eg phagocytes) can
penetrate the affected area and kill any pathogens
Phagocytosis
- White blood cells called phagocytes move through blood capillary walls to the affected and release
more histamines
- Phagocytes will actively engulf or surround the invader
- Neutrophilsm the most obvious within the first few hours
- Monocytes will circulate after a few hours, and phagocytose foreign material
- White blood cells that destroy foreign objects will accumulate later as dead phagocyte cells to form
pus
Simplified
- Phagocytosis is carried out by specialised white blood cells called Phagocytes ("eating cells")
- These phagocytes include macrophages and neutrophils
Lymph system
- At 2nd line of defence, lymph nodes filter out foreign bodies like harmful bacteria
- Fluid from lymph nodes is then filtered by the lymph system from the body
B Lymphocytes are:
- B Cells - when activated in response to an antigen they produce 2 types of cells:
○ Plasma cells - produce antibodies (proteins) which inactivate the antigen
○ Memory B cells - which remain in body and respond to future infection by same antigen
Antibodies
- are proteins found in blood plasma that can combine with and neutralise an antigen
- They are highly specific for the antigen that stimulated their synthesis and release
- They can react with an antigen in a number of ways
○ The antibody combines with antigen to cover its active site, so has no effect in the body
○ The antibody may dissolve parts of the cell walls of bacteria, destroying them
○ The antibody neutralises the toxins produced by the antigen
○ The antibody may cause bacteria to clump together, making the bacteria less active and more
easily taken up by the lymph system
○ The antibody may make the antigen more susceptible to the phagocytosis
T Cells
- Mature in thymus
- Are the lymphocytes that destroy antigens themselves
- T cells do not produce antibody producing plasma cells
- When the antigen enters the body, T cells themselves secrete substances that either
○ Directly destroy the antigen
○ Stimulate the activity of phagocytes
- Produce memory cells - rapid response to future infection
B Cells
- Mature in Bone Marrow
- Are the lymphocytes that are stimulated to produce plasma cells
- The presence of antigen molecules stimulates the lymphocyte cells which begin to divide and
produce plasma cells, which make antibodies
- B cells accumulate in the spleen and lymph nodes and do not circulate
- Produce memory cells - rapid response to future infection
CLASS NOTES:
T cells:
- Helper T cells (T4 cells)
○ Activate B cells (to produce antibodies) and T cells in response to antigens
- Cytotoxic (killer) T cells
○ Produce chemicals that destroy antigens and attract phagocytes
- Memory T cells
○ Remain in the body and confer long term immunity
- Suppressor T cells
○ Suppress the immune response once infection is controlled
○ Reduce antibody production and output of chemicals from cytotoxic cells
Antigen
2. Outline the role of TWO types of B Lymphocytes and THREE types of T-Lymphocytes in the
immune response
Killer T Cells ○ Produce chemicals that destroy antigens and attract phagocytes
Helper T Cells ○ Activate B cells (to produce antibodies) and T cells in response to antigens
Suppressor T Cells ○ Suppress the immune response once infection is controlled
○ Reduce antibody production and output of chemicals from cytotoxic cells
Memory T Cells ○ Remain in the body and confer long term immunity
Plasma B Cells ○ produce antibodies (proteins) which inactivate the antigen
Memory B Cells ○ which remain in body and respond to future infection by same antigen
Mechanism 2:
- Is based on cell contact between the T cell and B cell
- Close contact comes about because of interaction with the antigen
- This contact allows the T cell to signal the B cell to become a functional antibody-producing cell
Vaccination
- To inoculate an organisms to cause them to develop immunity to a disease 1. Vaccines acts as an antigen
- The vaccine contains antigens that trigger the production of antibodies and memory B and T cells in the ↓
organism 2. Stimulates immune response
- Vaccinations only apply to infectious diseases, and not non infectious: there must be a foreign antigen ↓
from a pathogen to develop antibodies against 3. Plasma and memory cells are produced
↓
Immunisation 4. Antibodies can be produced rapidly of the pathogen
- Is the process which stimulates the immune system to produce lymphocytes or antibodies to fight strikes again
infection, giving immunity to that disease
Effectiveness of Vaccination
- A series of vaccinisations must occur over a period of years
- Each produces a small response to the vaccine and given in a series, these small responses teach
lymphocytes to rapidly recognise the antigen in the vaccine and to produce memory B and T cells that
give prolonged immunity
- Each vaccine contains a particular antigen related to a particular pathogen
- Some vaccinations can wear off with age, because re-exposure to the antigen is often needed to prompt
production of memory B and T cells
Vaccination Programs
- Protect people against a wide range of infectious diseases, including:
○ Polio
○ Diphtheria
○ Tetanus
○ Measles
○ Mumps
○ Rubella
○ Hep B
○ Meningococcal disease
Acquired Immunity
- Tissue organs form other organisms are treated by the body as foreign and they are destroyed and
removed
Drugs
- Drugs that suppress the immune response are given to transplant patients
- Large doses are needed initially, but over time the immune response lessens
- However, these drugs do not simply stop rejection of the transplanted tissue or organ - they also
reduce the body's ability to respond to other antigens
Immunosuppressant
- Reduces the immune response
- Increases the risk that a patient may suffer from infections
Solution: Drugs
- Drugs called immunosuppressant's are given to the patient to suppress the immune response
Risk:
- Even a mild infection could cause serious illness or death
- Once immune system is suppressed, the patient is more susceptible to other infections like
pneumonia
Epidemiology
- Investigates the cause and effect of disease
- Describes patterns and causes of diseases in populations
- Done by collecting and statistically analysing information and data
Data
- Comes from statistical analysis, and described as percentages (eg: 83% of lung cancers are
associated with smoking)
- Conclusion by epidemiologists cannot predict each individuals fate, but only give a broad
generalisation about population
- Studies have shown that passive smoking can also lead to lung cancer
- As a result, smoke free zones in the workplace has been instilled to maintain a healthy environment
for employees
Quarantine
- Is the isolation of a diseased organism to prevent the spreading of that disease
Quarantine Regulations
- Are imposed by governments to restrict the spread of infectious diseases and invasive organisms
- They are most often applied to goods like plants and animals, food and products made from plant or
animal material when they enter a country
○ Example: animals that are brought into Australia are held in quarantine stations for varying
periods to make sure that they do not introduce diseases that do not exist in Australia, like
rabies
○ Example: It is illegal to import apples into Australia from New Zealand because they may carry
a disease called fire blight
Effectiveness of Quarantine
- Quarantine is effective for diseases that are:
○ not highly infectious (eg: leprosy)
○ Develop fairly quickly (eg: measles)
○ Or have severe, easily diagnosed symptoms (cholera)
- Quarantine is not very effective for:
Diseases which are highly infectious (eg: influenza), because these can be spread before the
Limits of Quarantine:
- Quarantine has also had limited success in stopping the spread of diseases such as bovine
spongiform encephalitis (mad cow disease) because this disease develops very slowly
- However, current bans on meat from countries with the disease may have some long term effect
Strategies include:
- Public health programs
- Use of pesticides (insect vectors)
- Biological control (agriculture, insect pests)
- Genetic engineering