13_-_Darwinian_medicine

Darwinian Medicine

An approach that incorporates evolutionary theory to understand health and disease, emphasizing adaptations and evolutionary processes in human biology.

Adaptive Value of Pain

Pain serves as an adaptation that draws attention to harmful stimuli, reduces reinjury, and motivates learning to avoid harm.

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (CIPA)

A rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by the inability to feel pain, leading to severe injuries and complications.

Morning Sickness

A symptom of pregnancy that is considered adaptive, as it helps to expel potentially harmful foods and protect the developing fetus.

Hygiene Hypothesis

The theory that increased hygiene and decreased exposure to microbes may lead to an increase in allergic and autoimmune diseases.

Evolutionary Mismatches

A situation where traits that evolved in one environment become maladaptive in another, leading to health issues.

Thrifty Phenotype

A concept suggesting that some individuals adapt metabolically to a caloric environment, affecting their risk of obesity and diabetes.

Antibiotic Resistance

The ability of bacteria to survive exposure to antibiotics, often due to genetic mutations and gene transfer.

Angiogenesis

The process of forming new blood vessels, crucial for tumor growth and survival.

Old Friends Hypothesis

The notion that exposure to certain microbes and parasites ('old friends') is essential for the normal development of the immune system, reducing the risk of autoimmune diseases.

Immune System Coevolution

The idea that the immune system developed alongside various microbes and parasites, leading to a mutual relationship.

Nutritional Immunity

The strategy by which the body sequesters essential nutrients, such as iron, to limit bacterial growth.

Gallium Treatments

A novel antibacterial treatment strategy targeting bacterial iron acquisition mechanisms.

Autoimmune Disorders

Conditions resulting from an inappropriate immune response against the body's own cells.

Bacterial Siderophores

Molecules produced by bacteria to scavenge iron from their environment, which can be targeted in new antibacterial therapies.

Epigenotype

The reversible and heritable changes in gene expression that occur without altering the underlying DNA sequence, affecting traits such as obesity and diabetes.

Plasma IgE

An immunoglobulin involved in allergic reactions, produced by B cells upon first exposure to an allergen.

Food Allergy Prevalence

The frequency of allergic reactions to specific foods, showing geographic variability.

Epidemiological Transition

The shift in disease patterns from infectious diseases to chronic conditions as societies modernize.

CIPA Case Report

A study documenting the long-term effects and complications of congenital insensitivity to pain.

Vaccine BCG

A vaccine traditionally used against tuberculosis that shows potential for preventing autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes.

Allergic Reactions

Strong immune responses to benign substances, often involving histamine release.

Microbial Diversity

The variety of microbial species present in an environment, which influences health outcomes, such as allergy susceptibility.

Diet External Factors

Elements in the environment, like diet and microbial exposure, that influence the onset of diseases like Type 1 diabetes.