MDSA 102190, Science, Medicine and Society Essay 2 a.

Write a short paragraph (one or two sentences) describing four aspects of the involvement of iodine in biology. Must not exceed one A4 page. b. Discuss in a short essay one of your choices from (a) above. Must not exceed two A4 pages. Please use Times New Roman 12 size font with at least 2.0 cm borders. The criteria, layout, font size and number of pages must be strictly adhered to. Answers outside these criteria will not be marked. Scripts will be checked for possible plagiarism. Uses 1. Tincture of iodine used in disinfecting wounds 2. used in medicine as X-ray radiocontrast agents for intravenous injection. This is often in conjunction with advanced X-ray techniques such as angiography and CT scanning 3. An important trace element required by the body. There role is as constituents of the thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine. With various deficiency effects. 4. Exposure to radioactive iodine can increase risk of developing thyroid cancer

James Lee 07925999 MDSA 102190, Science, Medicine and Society, Essay 2

Iodine- Four Aspects of its Involvement in Biology

1. Tincture of Iodine is an important piece of kit for first aid and survival kits as it can be used to disinfect wounds and also to sanitise water making it suitable to drink. Tincture of Iodine usually consists of 10% elemental iodine in ethanol, it is used to disinfect as it is a strong oxidising agent effective in killing pathogens. 2. Iodine is used in medicine as a contrast medium to make structures in the body more clear in an x-ray. The iodine is either swallowed of injected intravenously into the subject of the x-ray and causes the internal structures such as the digestive tract to show up as opaque in the x-ray.

X-ray where an Iodine contrast medium has been used to make the blood vessels in the brain clearer, in order to diagnose an arteriovenous malformation.

3. Iodine is trace element required by the body in small quantities in order for proper growth and development; it cannot be produced by the body and so must be taken in through food. Iodine is required by the body for the production of the thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine and iodine deficincy leads to various ill effects including goitre. 4. Radioactive iodine can be used to treat certain forms of thyroid cancer including follicular and papillary thyroid cancer. This treatment works on the principle that the radioactive iodine is circulated in the blood and that the thyroid cancer cells will pick up this iodine wherever they are in the body and then the radiation in the iodine will cause the cancer cells to die.

Iodine and its Role in the Diet

As previously mentioned iodine is an element required by the body in order for it function correctly and develop properly. It is important that the body takes in the correct amount of iodine in order to prevent deficiency disorders or disorders arising from excess iodine. The recommended dietary allowance per day is specific to age:- It is 90 mg for preschool children (0 to 59 months), 120 mg for schoolchildren (6 to 12 years), 150 mg for adults (above 12 years) and 200 250 mg for pregnant and lactating women. The most common sources of iodine in the diet are seafood, dairy milk, iodized salt, breast milk and food additives. The level of iodine consumption varies around the world, in some countries such as Japan iodine consumption is high so deficiency is a rare. However in Ireland, iodine consumption is quite low partly due to be unavailability of iodized salt and so deficiency is more prevalent. Function of Iodine in the body:- When iodine is taken into the body through food its main effect is on the thyroid gland, which is a butterfly shaped gland in the front part of the neck. Iodine is known to be essential to maintaining the function of the thyroid and as constituents of the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Iodine is taken into the body in the form of iodide or iodate in water or food, in the stomach any iodate is converted into iodide. This iodide then travels around the body in the bloodstream before most of it (approx 75%) is taken up by the thyroid. When in the thyroid the iodide is converted back into iodine, some of which is stored in the thyroid and the remainder of which is used to produce thyroid hormones. This occurs when a protein produced by the thyroid called thyroglobulin (Tg) reacts with iodine to produce an iodinated thyroglobulin, which is then cleaved by enzymes to produce thyroid hormone. This hormone consists of about 90% T3 and 10% T4. Iodine Deficiency:- World health organisation figures indicate that in Europe 59.9% of people are at risk of iodine deficiency compared to 10.1% in the Americas. Since iodine is so important to the function of the thyroid a lack of iodine causes the function oh the thyroid to be severely disturbed.