Abstract This paper discusses the etiology, anatomical alterations, physical findings, diagnostic lab data, PFTs, x-ray results, and general management of bronchial asthma.
Abstract Asthma is an intermittent disorder, which affects the patient from time to time. Resistance to airflow may be triggered by external factors, such as inhalation of substances, or resistance can occur without any external stimuli. The paper explains that the clinical symptoms of asthma include wheezing, chest tightness, and breathlessness. It also shows that, in America alone, there are more than seventeen million people suffering from asthma, and asthma attacks alone are responsible for some 500,000 hospitalizations every year. The paper presents details of the disease and explores treatment options.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
What is Asthma?
Asthma and the Immune System
Diagnosis of Asthma
Radioallergoabsorbent Test [RAST]
Prick Tests
Treatment
Steroids
Bronchodialators
Conclusion
Bibliography
From the Paper "Our lungs are equipped with elaborate defense methods to guard against the potential invasion of foreign bodies. The tiny hair like protrusions called the cilia, constitutes the first line of defense. The cilia pushes the trapped particles (along with the mucus) into the mouth which we swallow and the pathogens are destroyed by the action of the digestive enzymes. The bronchioles constitute the second line of defense."
Abstract This paper examines how studies have shown how Native American and Alaska Native children have twice the rate of death caused by injuries or violence as do other children in the United States. It looks at how more Native American and Alaska Native children are hospitalized for bronchial infection than any other group, how the diabetes rate among these adults and children is double that of the rest of the country, and how cancer rates among those in some regions are also significantly higher. It discusses the importance for Native Americans to be informed and educated on these issues so that they may better understand how these disease processes may alter or impact their lives and how it is also important that policy makers and elected officials understand the unique concerns of the Native American populations of the U.S. and address those problems with adequate financial, material, and human resources.
From the Paper "There are persistent racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality rates in the United States. Despite much speculation, no evidence suggests that social, economic, or racial/ethnic disparities in the risk of death in infancy are caused by genetic differences. Any discussion of racial and ethnic differences in birth outcomes needs to acknowledge the limited extent to which social and economic variables - including racial discrimination - can be distinguished from crude proxies for biologically determined pathologic pathways (Krieger et al 1993, Herman 1996). The racial and ethnic categorizations used in most research on infant mortality in the United States should be seen as "proxies for specific historical experiences and a powerful marker for current social and economic conditions"."
Abstract The paper offers a definition and description of chronic obstructive pulmonary lung disease (COPD). The paper looks at the causes, symptoms, conventional diagnosis, transmission, prognosis and prevention of the disease. The paper seeks to highlight how COPD has long-term and frequently deadly consequences for those who refuse to engage in a healthy lifestyle.
From the Paper "The online MedlinePlus medical encyclopedia defines Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary (Lung) Disease (also known as COPD) as a group of lung diseases which cause swelling of the airways; the same source then lists Emphysema and "chronic bronchitis" as two of the most common forms of COPD (sec.3). To expand upon the last sentence a little more fully, the National (U.S.) Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute defines Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Lung Disease as being, fundamentally, a progressive state of airway constriction and obstruction that ultimately leads to dramatically reduced lung function - even fatally reduced lung function (1-2). To summarize, Chromic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease may best be described as an incurable and progressive disease that attacks the pulmonary capacity of the lungs; in particular, the disease either (in the case of chronic bronchitis) causes mucus build-up in the bronchial tubes or (in the case of emphysema) sufficiently irritates the alveoli that they become "stiff" and unable to hold air - thereby ensuring that the body is not taking enough oxygen into it at the same time as it cannot get rid of unwanted carbon dioxide (American Academy of Family Physicians, para.1-4)."
Abstract The paper discusses both trivial hypersensitivity reactions such as itchiness and urticaria as well as fatal reactions such as peanut allergy and bronchial asthma. The paper looks at the current mainstream therapy for severe anaphylactic reactions that involves intramuscular epinephrine and adjuvant therapies including antihistamines, corticosteroids and inhalant bronchodilators. The paper then reveals that the efficacy of these medicines is limited by adverse side effects that could potentially arise from chronic use. The paper asserts that there is a need to entertain the potential benefits of Chinese traditional medicine.
From the Paper "Most human beings eat foodstuffs or are exposed to environmental factors and do not experience any problem. Others, however, can eat some of these foods and have a multitude of allergic reactions. Others can be exposed to only minute amounts of these ingredients, but these minute exposures can be fatal. This may be attributed to the fact that some people are hypersensitive to these stimuli. Hypersensitivity reactions are objectively reproducible symptoms or signs that manifest when a person is exposed to a stimulus at a dose tolerated by normal persons (Brown, 2006). Humans are constantly exposed to these stimuli that have the capacity to produce an immunologic response. Hypersensitivity reactions are in fact caused by several immunologic reactions that may be triggered by exogenous antigens such as pollen, dust, food, drugs, and chemicals (Kumar, Abbas and Fausto, 2005). These stimuli are called allergens."
