Sec 31.6: Diseases that Weaken the Immune System Flashcards
What is red bone marrow?
It is a tissue found within bones that makes red and white blood cells and platelets
What is leukemia?
It is a cancer of the bone marrow that prevents normal function
What does one type of bone marrow do?
It produces white blood cells that do not mature, then attempts to replace defective cells by producing more, and spends all its time producing defective white blood cells and fewer red blood cells and platelets
What is the cure for Leukemia?
Large doses of radiation and chemotherapy to kill abnormal bone marrow cells, then bone marrow transplant to make healthy blood cells
What are some problems that arise?
Graft-versus-host disease, chemotherapy and radiation killing both healthy and cancerous cells, leaving immune system open to opportunistic infection
What is Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD)?
It is when donor marrow makes antibodies against the host’s healthy tissues
What is opportunistic infection?
An infection caused by a pathogen that a healthy immune system could normally fight off
What is Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV)?
It is a retrovirus containing 9 genes that attacks and weakens the immune system
What is a retrovirus?
It is a virus that contains RNA instead of DNA, therefore more able to rapidly mutate
How is HIV transmitted?
Through mixing of blood and other bodily fluids, sexual intercourse, mothers to children in pregnancy, labor, delivery, or breastfeeding, or reusing needles from infected people (tattoos, piercings, illegal drugs)
What does HIV infect?
T cells, which become ineffective and no longer produce an immune response, remaining alive only as a host to reproduce HIV
What is Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
It is the final stage of the immune system’s decline due to HIV - the condition of having a worn-out immune system
How does HIV overpower the immune system?
T cells activate B cells to make antibodies against HIV, but HIV reproduces quicker, and so it destroys T cells, which results in the inactivation of B cells, and the body becomes weak to opportunistic diseases
How is HIV diagnosed?
By whether a person’s blood contains antibodies against HIV
what are possible opportunistic infections after AIDS?
Fungal infections, tuberculosis, pneumonia, viral infections, and cancers
