Causes of Disease - Overview

Question 1

What are some causes of disease?

Answer 1

1. Natural causes of disease ,first studied scientifically by Hippocrates
2. Introduced concept of aetiology(the study of causation or origination)
3. Diseases can have a single cause, or be the product of multiple factors

Question 2

What do you call a condition with no known cause?

Answer 2

Idiopathics

Question 3

What are the 2 categories in which causes of disease are put into?

Answer 3

Extrinsic(from outside) and Intrinsic(rom within)

Question 4

What are some of the intrinsic causes of disease?

Answer 4

Changes in an individual’s genome:

Nuclear or mitochondrial
Inherited mutations and other genetic variations
de novo mutations
Epigenetic modifications

Typically alter the function of a gene (or group of genes)
E.g. more/less protein or same amount but more/less activity

Question 5

What levels can effects of genetic variations manifest in?

Answer 5

Cell autonomously:
Cell X no longer expresses structural protein Y, so cell X is the wrong shape

Cell non-autonomously:
Cell X no longer secretes protein hormone Y, so cell Z no longer functions

Question 6

What are some examples of some extrinsic causes of disease?

Answer 6

Injury
Infection
Nutrition and diet
Lifestyle, e.g. smoking, exposure to workplace toxins
Chemical poisoning (acute and chronic)
Exposure to radiation

Question 7

What is the cause of Downs Syndrome and is it intrinsic/extrinsic?

Answer 7

Trisomy of chromosome 21, inherited at conception

Intrinsic

Question 8

What is the cause of Covid 19 and is it intrinsic or extrinsic?

Answer 8

Infection with SARS-CoV-2

Extrinsic

Question 9

What are mitogens?

Answer 9

A mitogen is any substance that triggers the process of mitosis, or cell division. Frequently, mitogens are proteins — compounds consisting of amino acid molecules that facilitate biochemical reactions in organisms

Question 10

Does age cause disease?

Answer 10

• Age is a contributing factor to many diseases, but is it a cause?
• Age really just means ‘time’, in the context of causes that accumulate, e.g.