real life applications

heart attack

Happens when blood flow to heart muscle is severely reduced or stopped, Caused by atherosclerosis (fat plaque buildup in coronary arteries)

• Risk increases especially between ages 40–75

• Doctors can assess your 10-year cardiovascular risk

 CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)

Used during cardiac arrest when the heart stops beating effectively

 Wearable ECG Devices (electrocardiogram)

• Apple Watch ECG

Can help detect: Arrhythmias, Heart abnormalities, 

 Stroke / TIA (Mini-Stroke)

If blood flow to brain stops for seconds → TIA

• If 3–4 minutes → permanent brain damage (stroke / CVA)

 Varicose Veins

Caused by valve malfunction in veins → blood pooling

• Common in lower limbs

 Tonsillitis

Infection/inflammation of tonsils

• Symptoms: sore throat, fever, swollen glands

• Treatment:

  • Viral → clears in 3–5 days

  • Bacterial → antibiotics

  • Severe → tonsillectomy surgery

  
  

Cancer Therapy Using Natural Killer (NK) Cells

Natural killer cells can: Destroy tumor cells, Target cancer stem cells, Can be used as targeted cancer treatment

 Pathogens Escaping Immunity

Examples: Tuberculosis bacteria survive inside macrophages

• MRSA resistant to antibiotics

• Influenza virus mutates → yearly vaccine updates

 HIV / AIDS (Immunodeficiency Disease)

HIV: Infects CD4+ T cells, Weakens immune system

• Uses mutation + latency to hide

Treatment: Antiretroviral therapy (ART), Reverse transcriptase inhibitors

 Primary Immunodeficiency (SCID)-

 Genetic condition → weak immune system Both b and T cell arms are affected 

• Treatment: Bone marrow transplant, Gene therapy

 Hypersensitivity / Allergies & Anaphylaxis

Overactive immune response

Symptoms: airway constriction, drop in blood pressure

Treatment: Epinephrine injector (life-saving)

Autoimmune Disease — Lupus-

Immune system attacks own tissues

• Can affect: joints, skin, kidneys, brain, heart

 Organ Transplant Rejection (Graft-Versus-Host Disease)-

- Donor immune cells attack recipient, Depends on MHC matching

 Viruses Causing Cancer-

Hepatitis B → liver cancer, HPV → cervical cancer

• HPV Vaccine: Best at ages 9–12

• Prevents cervical cancer

 Stress & Immunity (Psychoneuroimmunology)-

Stress can weaken immune response