Evolutionary Medicine Flashcards
Evolutionary Medicine Definition
application of evolutionary principles to the problems in health and disease
Evolutionary Medicine approach
ask why (ultimate) rather than how (proximate) questions
Evolutionary Medicine utility
better understanding= better prevention, treatment
five reasons why we’re vulnerable to disease
- tradeoffs
- natural selection acts to increase reproductive success of genes, not health
- some signs of disease are actually defenses
- mismatach with current environments
- pathogens are evolving more quickly than we do
tradeoffs
structures and systems must balance conflicting demands
DNA Repair: + Longevity - Fecundity
Immune Defense: + targets pathogens, - might target self
why is there mismatch with current environments
Out environment has changed at a rate that exceeds our rate of evolution
Two hypothesis for an evolutionary perspective on why we have fevers
- Disease: Fever is a direct effect of pathogen replication in host. **Pathogen success increases with fever **
- Defense: Fever is an adaptive defense against pathogen. **Pathogen success decreases with fever **
Adaptive value of fever for iguanas
iguanas that were held at fever temperature after being infected with bacteria lived longer
fever in humans
mild infection was induced in humans
symptoms were worse in individuals that were given medicine to reduce fever because immune response was suppressed
mismatch to current environment meaning
humans adapted to different environment than the one we currently live in
myopia
near sightedness.
Caused by elongated eye
varies in frequency across populations.
increasing frequency
younger generation suffers from myopia in comparison
myopia and environment mismatch
some evidence suggests that while myopia has a genetic basis, the phenotype is plastic. This means that only in certain environments will specific genes result in myopia.
A key influence is exposure to natural light (prevents myopia)
