Our immune system is
what helps us fight all sorts of diseases. Now imagine, if suddenly the immune
system stops working, how prone one would be to even the most feeblest form of
disease. If a compromised immune system is insufficient in even fighting off a feeble disease, how can it stand a chance against such a deadly disease such as tuberculosis?
Compromised immune system is a very important issue when it comes to childhood tuberculosis. Before beginning any treatment of tuberculosis in a child, it is first important to know the exact situation of their immune response, hoe competent it is, if it has the proficiency to withstand the heavy dosage and injection required for the treatment of TB. After all these things have been determined, if the immune system is strong enough, then a suitable treatment plan and drugs are implemented which comprises of a full eight month period.
Anderson discusses the issue of TB and compromised immune response in the article “Diagnosis of Childhood Tuberculosis and Host RNA Expression in Africa” and also provides a very effective solution for possible ways of treatment.
Compromised immune system is a very important issue when it comes to childhood tuberculosis. Before beginning any treatment of tuberculosis in a child, it is first important to know the exact situation of their immune response, hoe competent it is, if it has the proficiency to withstand the heavy dosage and injection required for the treatment of TB. After all these things have been determined, if the immune system is strong enough, then a suitable treatment plan and drugs are implemented which comprises of a full eight month period.
Anderson discusses the issue of TB and compromised immune response in the article “Diagnosis of Childhood Tuberculosis and Host RNA Expression in Africa” and also provides a very effective solution for possible ways of treatment.
The entire point of concern in the treatment of TB is to determine whether the patient is immune compromise and continue the treatment from there. Unfortunately, in many developing
countries, a significant portion of the population of children is immune
compromised due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The risks of developing
an acute form of TB increases several folds in these children. A major issue
arises in these situations, as immune compromised children are extremely vulnerable
to all kind of disease. Immune compromised children and children with
tuberculosis display similar early symptoms. In order to treat children with
tuberculosis disease specifically, it is first crucial to establish a diagnostic
test for children that could distinguish tuberculosis from other diseases in
children who are or are not infected with HIV. Anderson presents a new kind of
diagnostic test that can help distinguish tuberculosis from other diseases. He
talks about the potential use of transcriptional signatures of the host blood
to distinguish infectious tuberculosis disease from other diseases (Anderson,
2014).
If these RNA expression
signatures are used then it could help differentiate TB symptoms and disease
from immune compromised HIV disease. Children who are immune compromised will be treated accordingly and the normal eight month course of antibiotics and injections can be conducted for the others.
Our immune response is the only defense we have against all foreign diseases. If immune compromised children can be detected at an early stage, it would have a very positive significant impact. There would be more chances that tuberculosis can be caught at an early stage in these children and a specialized treatment plan can be implemented immediately.
Our immune response is the only defense we have against all foreign diseases. If immune compromised children can be detected at an early stage, it would have a very positive significant impact. There would be more chances that tuberculosis can be caught at an early stage in these children and a specialized treatment plan can be implemented immediately.
Anderson, Suzanne T,PhD., M.R.C.P.C.H., Kaforou, M., M.Phil,
Brent, Andrew J,PhD., M.R.C.P., Wright, V. J., PhD., Banwell, C. M., PhD.,
Chagaluka, George,M.B., B.S., . . . Eley, B.,F.C.P.(Paeds) (S.A.). (2014).
Diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis and host RNA expression in africa. The
New England Journal of Medicine, 370(18), 1712-23. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1520422194?accountid=14541
Hey Rimsha,
ReplyDeleteThe immune system is a very important aspect to the human body and something as little as too much stress can lead to a weaker immune system. I'm sure you already know this, but I have a question. Is it true that the average immune system in the human body has been deteriorating over time do to use of drugs?
Short and sweet - straight to the point. I hope they can use the RNA expression signatures to help these children. The immune system is so sensitive and necessary. Great article.
ReplyDeleteIt is very scary to believe that your immune system could suddenly just be shut off or compromised in such a way that there is no turning back from there. One would be a lot more susceptible to contracting Ebola, HIV, or in your case tuberculosis. This is a very scary thought which is why it is important to know what treatments work well per individual which I do find to be extremely interesting. This also is a clear reason as to why African children are much more frequently disease bound because of the lack of immunity boosting medication provided.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is really great to see live changing innovation like the one you mentioned in this blog post. To have created a method that is able to efficiently recognize a child suffering from early stages of TB in order to maximize their chances of survival is such an amazing accomplishment! I wonder what other applications this test could have in early diagnosis of other diseases.
ReplyDeleteI like how it is short but to the point. Not mush to read here, but it is just straight info. The way I like it. I think the immune system is such an interesting aspect of our body, how it responds to foreign invaders through the series of signaling pathways. It is just something interesting. I love the body. Great post.
ReplyDeleteRimsha, I wrote a piece on immune system before and it is great to read a very informative analysis from another aspect. It is so sad how children in developing countries have the tendency to contract viruses so easily due to their poor immune system. On the other hand, it is very surprising how our immune system works. Many consider our brain as our working engine, but I think our immune system is more important. Did you know that fever is a sign our immune system is telling us something is wrong in our body. Additionally, it has been proven that stress can hurt our immune system in so many ways.
ReplyDeleteRimsha,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this article because it was relevant to my topic as well. Good immune health is key for fighting diseases and it is an aspect of health that people often ignore. People automatically tend to go for medication instead of truly considering the fact that if they had a strong enough immune system, they would get sick in the first place or need the medication if they did get sick. We live in a world that is saturated with medicines, cleaning products, hand sanitizers etc. We live in a time where the word germophobe is a common thing. This has a huge impact on our ability to build immunity. Thank you for educating people on this topic.
Rimsha,
ReplyDeleteThe more I read about your topic, the more I see how connected different diseases are around the world. Here, in the United States we are taught how HIV and AIDS attacks the immune system, allowing common illnesses like the common cold or pnemonia to wreck havoc on the host's body. This is concerning but relatively less dangerous when put into perspecticve by your post against the abundant plethora of illnesses such as TB, malaria or ebola rampant in other parts of the world. This information certainly sheds light on how serious this issue is on a global level.
Such an interesting and sad subject! I can imagine with kids that it is hard to identify specific illnesses due to them possibly not being able to tell what exactly is wrong. I have a couple friends with children and its crazy how much time is missed from school because they are continuously getting sick. Luckily nothing horrible, but still catching the flu or a cold. I hope that they are able to use RNA to diagnose TB and possibly other ways of assisting children in strengthening their immune system over all.
ReplyDelete