B6.3 - Part 2 Non-communicable diseases

Question 1

Name five non-communicable diseases

Answer 1

• Coronary Heart disease
• Bonchitis
• Diabetes mellitis type 1 & 2
• Cancer
• Liver cirrhosis
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Epilepsy
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Cerebrovascular Disease (Stroke)
• Coronary Artery Disease.

Question 2

Name the four commonly identified harmful substances in tobacco smoke.

Answer 2

• Tar - Sticks cillia together preventing them wafting mucus away from the lungs causing smokers cough. Collects in the lungs. Carginogenic
• Nicotine - Addictive drug. Makes your heart beat faster, narrows blood vessels leading to increase blood pressure & stoke.
• Carbon monoxide - Attaches to the haemoglobin in RBCs stopping oxygen from binding making the heart work harder leanig to CHD.
• Particulates - small peices of solid. These are engulfed by WBCs relesing an enzyme that weakens the walls of alveoli preventing proper inflation - emphysema.

Question 3

What treatments are available for cardiovascular disease?

Answer 3

• Angioplasty - A stent can be surgically implanted to keep arteries open
• Statins can be taken to lower cholesterol levels
• Pacemakers can be inserted to maintain heart rhythm
• Heart transplant or artificial valves can be inserted
• Betablockers can be taken to lower blood pressure
• Nitrates can be taken to widen blood vessels allowing more blood to flow through at a lower pressure
• Antiplatelets to reduce stickiness of bllod platelets and therefore clotting
• Bypass surgery using vessels from other areas of the body.

Question 4

What lifestyle changes should a person with cardiovascular disease make?

Answer 4

• Healthy balanced diet - reducing processed foods
• Exercise more
• Drink less alcohol
• Stop smoking

Question 5

What is cancer?

Answer 5

A disease where cells in the body begin to divide uncontrollably.

Question 6

How are embryonic stem cells used to treat medical conditions?

Answer 6

• Testing new drugs for safety and effectiveness
• Growth of tissues/organs with no concern of rejection
• Reversing damaged caused by disease by:
  
  • Manufacturing brain cells - Parkinson’s
  • Rebuilding bones and cartillage - arthritis
  • Making replacement heart valves

Question 7

Describe how the risk of rejection is minimised in trnasplantation.

Answer 7

• Tissue matching
• Immunosuppresant drugs

Question 8

Name two risks associated with the use of stem cells in medicine.

Answer 8

• Long-term side effects unknown
• Rejection of foreign materials
• Potential increased risk of cancer
• Ethical issues surrounding use of embryonic stem cells

Question 9

What is gene therapy?

Answer 9

The placement of a fully functioning allele into a cell containing a faulty allele for the same gene.

Question 10

Give one benefit and one risk of gene therapy.

Answer 10

• Benefits - Replacement of faulty genes, reversal of chronic disease, lasting results, improvement in life quality
• Risks - Virus used to deliver could cause harm, increased risk of cancer, inflammatory response, sepsis, infection, targeting wrong cells

Question 11

What is personalised medicine?

Answer 11

Preventing and treating diseases tailored specifically to the patient’s genome.