Clinical Consequences Flashcards
Describe Tay Sachs Disease
Failure of lysosomes (specifically hydrolytic Hexosaminidase enzyme) to degrade lipids.
Lipids (gangliosides) accumulate in neurons
Neurodegeneration, blindness, seizures, usually death
Autosomal Recessive
Describe Kartagener’s Syndrome
Mutation in Dynein motor protein in microtubules
Causes problems with cilia and flagella movement
Result: recurrent resp. infection, infertility (males)
Autosomal Recessive
Describe Vohwinkel Syndrome
Thick honeycomb calluses (palmoplantar hyperkeratosis), and build-up of fibrous tissue on hands and feet, can also present as deafness
Caused by gene mutations impacting Connexin-26, results in GAP junction dysfunction.
Describe Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex
Hemidesmosome Dysfunction
Causes severe blistering of skin and epidermal-dermal junction is not functioning properly.
Describe Taupathy related disorders
Neurodegeneration caused by hyperpolarization of protein tau. Hyperpolarization causes tau to dissociate from microtubules of neuronal axons, and aggregate into tangles, causing microtubule destabilization.
Includes diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Describe Lymphoedema
If lymphatic vessels are damaged, they are very poor at regeneration therefore lymph drainage back to nodes is impaired, and can result in oedema caused by excess lymph.
Can also be caused by Lymphatic Filariases
Describe Rheumatoid Arthritis
Example of autoimmune disease
Extensive inflammation caused by immune system mounting response to synovial membrane of joints.
Describe Septic Shock, and the processes that lead to it.
Hypoperfusion occurs when heart has increased pumping due to immune response to blood-borne infection.
Infection -> Vasodilation
Vasodilation -> reduced blood pressure
Reduced BP = Organ hypoperfusion
Hypoperfusion -> Tachycardia (increased heart rate)
Tachycardia is used to increase BP and restore perfusion so organs receive appropriate amounts of blood
Extended Tachycardia -> Heart failure/death
Autosomal mutations in Toll-Like Receptors can result in what?
Recurrent infection
Innate cells wont produce cytokine release when TLR recognizes a pathogen
Describe the RAS mutation and its implications
Mutation in the key regulatory codon resulting in change in protein function, causes hyperactivation of RAS, and excessive 2nd messenger activation and over-transcription of key genes, and cancer
Discuss the mutations leading to sickle cell anaemia.
GAG gene is mutation to GTG which changes the tertiary folding of the polypeptide, it is flatter, and the haemoglobin doesn’t fold correctly leading to a moon shaped RBC.
If heterozygous for mutation, some blood cells will still fold correctly
Describe how the understanding of proteins in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia is useful in drug design.
Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia occurs due to translocation of the the BCR gene (chrom 22) and ABL gene (chrom 9) bind, forming a fusion protein with strong kinase activity.
Knowing this aided in the development of a drug that would block the binding of this
Describe Li-Fraumeni Syndrome
Inherited familial predisposition to a wide range of certain, often rare, cancers. This is due to a change (mutation) in the TP53 gene.
Describe Ehlor-Danlos Syndrome
Group of inherited (or more rarely random mutation) syndromes that typically involves defects in collagen 1 resulting in hyper-flexibility, stretchy-velvety skin, joint pain and abnormal scar formation.
Describe Psoriasis
Epidermal Hyperplasia, skin regeneration is so quick (up to 7 days), that keratohyalin and tonofibrils cannot develop completely in the stratum spinosum, this results in granular layer not developing properly
What is zika virus, and how is it transmitted?
Mosquito Borne virus
Can be passed vertically to unborn child causing microcephaly
What is ebola, and how is it transmitted?
Virus transmitted through blood and body fluids.
• symptoms typically start between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus
• fever, sore throat, muscular pain, and headaches
• Vomiting, diarrhoea, decreased liver/kidney function
• Internal/external bleeding
~50% mortality rate
What is malaria and how is it transmitted?
Mosquito Borne parasite
• Disease of poverty
• Parasite (sporozoites ) travels to liver to reproduce asexually, then releases (by wrapping self in liver cell membrane) merozoites into blood where they reproduce in erythrocytes, break out, and resume the cycle.
Cycles (waves) of fever and flu like symptoms
What is lymphatic filariases and how is it transmitted?
Mosquito Borne- highly infectious parasitic disease
Parasite lives in lymph system and causes lymph oedema
Disfiguring
What is yellow fever and how is it transmitted?
Viral Mosquito Borne
Haemorrhagic disease
Causes fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue
What is African trypanosomiasis and how is it transmitted?
Sleeping sickness, arthropod transmission via tsetse fly
Parasite causes disturbed sleep, fever, severe headaches, irritability, extreme fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and aching muscles and joints
Can be treated with pentamidine which crosses BBB
What is leishmaniasis and how is it transmitted?
Parasite transmitted via sand-flies
Causes immune system to break down mucosal membrane
Presents as ulcers, fever, erythropenia, enlarged spleen/liver
What is American trypanosomiasis and how is it transmitted?
Chagas disease, or kissing bug disease
Caused by arthropod, the reduviid parasite faeces.
Live as carrier for 20-30 years
Parasite is transmitted by defecating into blood, and travel to live on intestines and heart.
Causes inflammation, flu-like symptoms, rash, loss of appeptite.
What is salmonella and how is it transmitted?
Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterial infection transmitted via water and food
Causes fever, stomach pain, diarrhoea, cramping
What is cholera and how is it transmitted?
Gram-negative rod shaped bacterium transmitted through water.
Causes gut leakage leading to severe diarrhoea and dehydration, can be fatal.