Medical Interventions Final

What is a medical intervention?

help maintain health and homeostasis in the body by altering course of illness and can be used to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease

What are the main categories of interventions that function to maintain human health?

treatment, diagnosis, and equipment

How do scientists gather evidence during the potential outbreak of an infectious disease?

-recording patients symptoms and find similarities with other patients

-isolate bacteria in a lab

-determine origin

-DNA sequences identify disease pathogens since they alter DNA sequences

What is bioinformatics?

collection and analysis of biochemical and biological information

How can DNA sequences be used to identify disease pathogens?

can find the genes that are associated with the pathogens

What is an antibody?

antigen-binding immunoglobulin that destroys antigens

How do antibodies identify and inactivate antigens?

-use shape recognition

-foreign antigens bind to specific antibodies that inactivate them

How can the ELISA assay be used to detect disease?

1. primary antibodies attach to specific antigen

2. secondary antibody attaches to primary antibody

3. when enzyme substrate is added, color changes occurs

Why is it important for doctors to know the concentration of disease antigen present in a patient's system?

-explains how serious the disease antigen is

-the more the disease, the easier it is to diagnose patients

What steps do scientists take to diagnose, treat, and prevent future spread of a disease outbreak?

-symptoms are noted

-origin of pathogen

-tests like blood tests to determine antibodies and antigens

-preventative measures like quarantine

How do antibodies work to fight bacterial infections?

antibodies identify an antigen, bind to it and then destroy it

What methods do bacteria use to share antibiotic resistant genes?

-conjugation: creating a bridge between two bacterium

-transduction: involves a virus transferring DNA

-transformation: taking resistant DNA from environment

What actions are humans taking that are contributing to bacteria becoming resistant to commonly used antibiotics?

taking antibiotics when not necessary, not taking them at the right time, sharing them with other people

How do frequency and amplitude affect how humans interpret sound?

frequency: how fast the vibrations are being interpreted in the ears

amplitude: loudness of the sound

What causes different types of hearing loss?

conductive- object blocking inner ear

sensorineural- damage to inner ear or nerve damage from ear to brain

How is hearing loss diagnosed?

Tuning fork (tests for conductive and sensorineural) , audiogram test (wear headphones and identify different frequencies)

What interventions are available for patients with hearing loss?

hearing aids, cochlear implants

What are the bio ethical concerns related to the use of cochlear implant technology?

being deaf is an impairment and whether it should be fixed or not

What is a vaccination?

antigen-specific stimulation of hosts immune response to prevent virus or disease

How does a vaccination activate the body's immune system?

Provides the antigens necessary for the body to recognize a virus and allows memory cells to remember if it ever presents itself in the future

How has vaccination impacted disease trends in our country?

eliminated deadly viruses like polio and smallpox

What methods are used to produce vaccines in the laboratory?

live attenuated (weakened version), killed or inactivated, toxoid (toxins have been suppressed), genetically engineered

What is recombinant DNA technology?

process of cutting, altering, and recombining DNA fragments

What are the molecular tools used to assemble recombinant DNA?

helicase, restriction enzymes, ligase

How can recombinant DNA and bacterial cells be used to produce vaccines?

By cutting the DNA, you insert the virus genes into the plasmid and then seal the DNA

What is epidemiology?

branch of medicine that deals with control of disease. research causes of health issues, and how they could be improved

What is genetic testing?

techniques used to detect genetic mutations

How can epidemiologists assist with the detection, prevention, and treatment of both chronic and infectious diseases?

They can give quantitative data to supply new policies needed and they can be a good voice to help eliminate the disease

What are the duties of genetic counselors?

Help identify families at risk for possible genetic disabilities by gathering and analyzing family genetics and inheritance patterns in families

How can restriction enzymes and electrophoresis be used to identify SNPs and determine genotype?

1. fragment of DNA is amplified

2. amplified DNA is run through HIC column

3. then ran through electrophoresis

What are the steps of PCR

Denaturation-98 degrees- seperating the DNA

Annealing- 48-72 degrees- allows primer to attach to base pair through the DNA template

Extension-creating more strands of DNA

What can amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling tell a couple about their developing fetus?

whether or not the fetus has a disease

amniocentesis- taking fluid from the amniotic sac

chorionic villus-takes cells from the placenta

What fundamental characteristics do all cancers have in common?

uncontrolled growth and ability to invade neighboring tissues

What do DNA microarrays measure?

difference between gene expressions

interpreted by taking the colors on the slides and comparing them to ratios of gene expression

How are the similarities of gene expression patterns between different individuals calculated?

using ratios based on color of gene expression on microarray to find a decimal value and interpreted as suppressed or induced

How can molecular tests be used to detect inherited genetic mutations associated with certain cancers?

Genetic Marker Analysis- uses STRs in gel electrophoresis

What is the importance of routine cancer screenings?

getting checked to see if tumors are forming or have already formed

-can detect cancer early before it metastasizes

In what ways do different risk factors increase the chance that a person will develop cancer?

Biological- age, race, gender

Genetic- genes

Behavioral- smoking, radiation, obesity

Environmental- second hand smoke, radiation

What is the goals of PCR?

to make multiple copies of DNA

What is the relationship between phenotype and genotype?

Genotype- alleles/actual genes

phenotype- physical relationship

How can engineered plasmids be inserted into bacterial cells

conjugation, transduction, and transformation

What are the steps of PCR?

Denature at 98 degrees which separates the DNA

Annealing at 48-72 degrees which allows the primer to match with the base pair

Extension at 68-72 degrees which extends the primer to create the DNA

What medical interventions and lifestyle modifications help a pregnant woman have a healthy lifestyle?

Ultrasound, amniocentesis, exercise, vitamins, reasearch about food choices

What are SNPS?

Single Nucleotide Polymorphsim- a single base pair change in either the coding or the non-coding part of the genome tells something where to cut

What are the duties of a genetic counselor?

They study and analyze family genes and patterns of inheritance to determine the chance of a family developing a genetic disorder

How is DNA microarray technology used to determine the differences in gene expression between different tissue samples?

cDNA is applied to microarray by binding to complementary base pairs in each of the spots on the microarray. spots will appear as red (oncogenes induced) green (protoncogenes induced) and yellow (both oncogenes and protoncogenes)

In what ways are diagnostic imaging technologies used to diagnose and treat disorders?

X-rays, CT scans, MRIs create pictures of the body by exposing tissue and bones to doctors

How can genetic diseases be cured if scientists could replace faulty genes?

They could replace a faulty gene so a gene will create a correct protein that could perform correct/better functions

What vectors can be used to transfer DNA to human cells?

retrovirus, adenovirus, adeno-associated virus, herpes simplex virus, liposome, naked DNA

How might gene therapy open the door to genetic enhancement?

If we can alter our genes to prevent a disorder, then we may be able to alter physical characteristics also

What medical interventions are available for couples who would like to choose the gender of their child?

sperm sorting- sort through X and Y-sperm to choose gender

IVF with PGD- eggs from mother are harvested in petri dish, sperm from father are harvested in petri dish and the resulting embryo is tested for genetic abnormalities and if cleared, is implanted into the mother

Should parents be able to design their children?

Pro: if its for genetic disorders

Con: decrease genetic variation, decrease differences in human gene pool

What is the difference between reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning?

reproductive- creating an identical organism to the donor animal

therapeutic- cloning tissues or stem cells to treat a health condition

What are some of the ethical dilemmas surrounding current and future reproductive technology?

-what is the moral status of an embryo?

-who should pay for the treatments?

-should we be allowed to select certain traits for children

How can lifestyle changes reduce the risk for developing cancer?

-don't use tobacco

-exercise

-diet changes

-regular cancer screenings

How can viruses lead to cancer?

DNA in a virus mixes with the normal cells DNA triggering changes that make the cell grow and multiply rapidly

What can a cancer patient receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy expect during treatment?

-loss of fast-dividing cells like skin,hair, and nail cells

-pain, vomiting, fatigue

high beam radiation and drug injections (IVs) for chemotherapy

How is biofeedback therapy used to help patients improve their health or manage pain?

measuring skin temperature, blood pressure, and breathing patterns

can give them tips on how to calm down during their therapy, ex: progressive muscle relaxation

In what ways do artificial limbs allow patients who have suffered from the loss of a limb regain lost function?

-physical therapy to figure out how to function with prosthetic

• Myoelectrics can help move muscle impulses to control the movement of prosthetic

How do advances in technology allow for the development of artificial limbs that look and move like actual human limbs?

• Special dyes can be used to make the prosthetic the same color, with freckles, fingerprints and a life like appearance