Many different people can suffer from a compromised immune system. Although we typically think of those who suffer from HIV/AIDS and congenital diseases that affect the immune system first, anyone can run the risk of an improperly functioning immune system. AIDS and other diseases of the immune system very often lead to numerous serious infections. Those whose immune system is compromised for other reasons may only experience numerous colds and viruses.
Vitamin deficiencies, lack of proper rest, cigarette smoking and chronic stress can all lead to a compromised immune system. Proper nutrition is of utmost importance for anyone who wants a well-functioning immune system and for overall good health. Immune system aids or enhancers often include vitamin and mineral supplements, particularly those that may be lacking from the average diet. The vitamins A and C are particularly important, but need to be taken with the right combination of other vitamins and minerals to work effectively. Taking a good daily multi-vitamin is the easiest way to insure proper nutrition.
If one does not get adequate amounts of sleep, then the immune system cannot repair cells that were damaged during the day. When you are busy working or playing, the immune system is busy providing protection from injury. When you are resting the immune system can go about the business of destroying viruses and other sources of infection.
If you have numerous colds or other infections and you smoke, then you have another good reason to quit. Cigarette smoking leeches vitamin C from the body and impairs the body’s ability to absorb other important vitamins and minerals. Those who have been diagnosed with a compromised immune system, AIDS or a similar condition should make every effort to quit smoking.
Those who are under chronic stress have been shown to have lower than normal white blood cell counts. It is not always possible to reduce the amount of stress in our lives. For those who cannot, vitamin supplementation and an immune system aids, like the herb Andrographis Paniculata (AP) can be particularly helpful. Although some herbalists still recommend Echinacea, it has been shown to have toxic effects on the liver when used for extended periods of time. Animal studies have shown that AP, even in large amounts is non-toxic.
Many diseases are believed to be linked to dysfunction of the immune system. Rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, allergic rhinitis and other allergies, as well as numerous other diseases are all theoretically caused by improper immune system responses. It appears that the immune system attacks healthy cells and in the case of allergies, substances that would not cause infection, leading to inflammation. Because of this belief, prescribed medications for these and other diseases can lead to a compromised immune system. Corticosteroids and other anti-inflammatories can reduce white blood cell counts.
Immune system aids or enhancers, such as AP, have been shown in laboratory tests to increase white blood cell counts, reduce risks of infection and reduce the number of complications associated with common viruses, such as influenza. Beta glucans, a biologically active plant component, has been shown to stimulate the immune system, protect against colds, flu and infections, as well as AIDS by inhibiting viral replication. To learn more about products that contain AP, beta-glucans and other ingredients that can lead to the improvement of a compromised immune system, visit www.immune-system-booster-guide.com.
Posts Tagged ‘White Blood Cell’
Compromised Immune System
Knee Arthritis – Do You Know These Solutions?
Knee arthritis
Put simple arthritis is inflammation in the joints cause by the degradation of cartilage which results in bones grinding against each other. Since the knee is basically a joint surrounded by tissue and membranous fluids we can see why this would be an issue. Knee Arthritis is commonly found in individuals over the age of however age aside factors such as obesity and genetics (knee arthritis tends to run in families) can increase one’s risk of getting arthritis. The two most common types of arthritis that affects the knee are rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disorder that occurs when white blood cell starts to attack body tissue which results in the erosion of two opposing joint bones. This type of arthritis can lead to sever e deformity in bones if not treated early. I must state that there is no cure for this disease however early detection can help to improve quality of life. Symptoms shown by individuals with this disease are but not limited to, swelling and pain in the knee joint, stiffness of joint, fatigue, limited range of motion and tenderness along the joint. If you feel you exhibit several of these symptoms it would be best to speak with your physician as this is not a disease to be taken likely.
It is still not clear what causes rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis
This type of arthritis results in the degradation of cartilage. The degeneration is not reversible and when this occurs joints are able to rub against each other causing tremendous pain and discomfort especially when in motion. The symptoms exhibited by an individual with osteoarthritis are similar to those shown by someone with rheumatoid arthritis.
Unlike with rheumatoid arthritis scientist do have some idea as to factors that can cause osteoarthritis. It is believed that diabetes, obesity and mechanical stress on joints are some of the contributory factors. Others include congenital disorder, Lyme disease, Marfan syndrome and weak quadriceps muscles all play a role in the development of osteoarthritis.
Treatment methods
Whilst the damage caused by arthritis is usually irreversible and the disease itself is incurable, there are various treatment methods that can reduce pain and inflammation thus greatly improving quality of life. Some effective treatment methods are as follows:
• Weight loss- reducing the mass which the knee has to support helps alleviate pain
• Lifestyle modification- one should no longer indulge in certain activities like playing football as this can worsen one’s condition
• Medication – anti-inflammatory medications reduces swelling and pain relievers helps with the pain
• Physical therapy- strengthening supporting muscles like the quadriceps muscles helps to reduce tension on the knee and thus reducing pain
• Walking aids- clutches helps to relieve the tension place on the joint inflicted with arthritis
• Surgery – this is often a last resort and is usually followed by extensive physiotherapy. An orthopaedic surgeon can replace the entire knee joint or at least a portion of it.
Those are just some of the more effective methods of dealing with arthritic pain. I must emphasise though that early detection is key, so don’t be afraid to contact your doctor if you have a genuine concern.
HIV Positive Man Cured by Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant! How?
Who would have thought 10 years ago that there would be a cure for AIDS? Well, according to the Journal Watch: HIV/AIDS Clinical Care, February 13, 2009, a 40-year-old HIV positive male German patient with Leukemia underwent bone marrow stem cell transplantation, which completely eradicated the virus from his body, 2 years later. Removing HIV was not the main reason why the patient underwent the risky procedure, doctors at the Berlin Charité Hospital said.
The principal reason was to treat the patient for leukemia, a disease characterized by an uncontrollable increase or proliferation of malformed leukocytes and their precursors in the bone marrow and peripheral blood, caused by malignancy of the blood forming organs, National Institute of Health. Therefore, it was very unexpected to witnessed the complete absence of any HIV RNA traces, according to the doctors.
The process of transplanting healthy bone marrows into people with HIV, have been done many times before without any success of removing the virus from the body. So, one can understand why these doctors were not necessarily trying to use the procedure to cure the patient of AIDS, but instead, were trying to cure him of his leukemia problem.
Sometimes this is how a cure is achieved-by sheer accident. Well, mankind has one on its hands as we speak. One might be wondering what is so different about this bone marrow transplant and others done before it. The key ingredient is a defective version of the white blood cell protein chemokine receptor “CCR5.” This protein receptor and CXCR4 are both present on CD4 T-Cells and a few other immune system cells.
The HIV virus generally enters the white blood cell via the CCR5 receptor or the CXCR4 receptor. However, if the CCR5 or CXCR4 receptors are defective, the virus cannot access the T-Cells to infect them. HIV infections via the CXCR4 receptors are rare, but they do occur by variant strains of the virus, The Lancet, May 22nd 2002.
Our discussion will therefore focus on the CCR5 receptor. A very large percent of people have normal amounts of CCR5 receptors on their CD4 T-Cells. A few of us have limited or partial amounts while some of us have none at all. Well, in this instance, it pays to have none. People who have limited amounts of the CCR5 receptor are heterozygous for the gene that codes for it.
A gene is a small segment of a double helical DNA. The DNA itself contains two strands of nucleotides base pairs that are twisted in a spiral shape like a rope. The only difference is that there are only two strands within the DNA helix while there are several within the rope’s helix.
It is therefore a segment of this helix that is termed, the gene. It is just like cutting a small segment from a rope and examining the characteristics of that segment from the rope. In our case, we will be examining the piece of the DNA that codes for the CCR5 receptor, which is also a protein. We will find that in heterozygous individuals, only one section from one strand of the DNA codes for the defective CCR5 receptor, while the opposite section on the other strand of the DNA does not code for a defective version but codes for the normal CCR5 receptor, which facilitates easy HIV infection.
People who are homozygous in relationship to the defective genetic segment (32-bp deletion) on the DNA are therefore totally immune to the CCR5 mode of HIV infection. And if those people were ever going to get HIV, they will have to be infected with a HIV variant that strictly invades the CXCR4 receptor instead of the CCR5 receptor.
On the other hand, individuals who have normal proportions of CCR5 receptors on their CD4 T-Cells with no heterozygosity or homozygosity are 100% more susceptible to HIV infection. In fact, there are tests that can be done to determine whether or not a person is heterozygous or homozygous for the defective CCR5 gene.
The HIV positive patient who was cured by the stem cell transplant was given a stem cell that was taken from a person who was homozygous for the CCR5 deletion on his/her gene. Deletion means that the normal base pairings of the DNA segments (genes) was changed into something else that does not code for anything. It is not all segments on a DNA that codes for something useful. Therefore, this is why the CCR5 receptor does not work and is therefore defective.
Sometimes certain portions of the DNA are stop codes, blanks or codes that do not provide instructions to make any proteins. A perfect example of this is trying to build a car without a blueprint or a schematic. It does not matter how much material is available. If there is no instruction of how to build cars, there will be no cars built. Our example is the same way. The DNA and segments (gene) of the DNA are blueprints that cells use to build different proteins for the body.
The HIV positive patient in our discussion was obviously infected with the HIV strain that specifically uses the CCR5 receptor has its mode of entry into the CD4 T-cells. This patient will not be infected with HIV again unless he is exposed to an HIV variant that uses the CXCR4 mode of infection or something totally different. This scenario is very unlikely provided that the patient refrain from risky sexual behaviors.
A Short History of AIDS
AIDS is a short term for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. It is not a precise disease but is syndrome of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection. The HIV attacks the CD4 lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell and breaks it down finally stopping the function of the patient’s immune system. The absence of immunity makes the patient vulnerable to diseases and a simple flu can weaken the HIV infected person.
Kinshasha in the DR Congo has been recently identified as a place where AIDS came from. A man having the same symptoms of AIDS died there in 1959. His blood samples were tested which showed that he had HIV infection and probably died from viral infection.
His cause of infection remained a mystery but many experts believed that the cause of disease was SIV or simian immunodeficiency virus. It was transferred from chimpanzees through ingestion of monkey’s meat.
In 1981, widespread occurrences of AIDS in California and New York led to its discovery. The researchers began calling the new disease as AIDS in 1982 and described the incidences of infections – Pneumocystis and Karposi’s Sarcoma, a pneumonia in young men. Later, the incidences of same disease in the US were confirmed by 32 countries.
French researchers isolated a retrovirus in 1983 that they believed caused AIDS. The virus was called HTLV-III/LAV by an international science committee. Later it was called HIV or human immunodeficiency virus when its source was traced SIV. French researchers were the first to isolate the virus, however the US credits Doctor Robert Gallo for its discovery. Although both viruses were confirmed to be same after two years however the credit of the discovery remained with Gallo. Later, an international committee of scientists renamed the virus as HIV.
A new treatment for HIV arrived in 1987 after six years of thorough medical research. The use of drug Retrovir (AZT, Zidovudine) was approved by FDA for treating HIV. In 1992, the first use of drug in combination with AZT was approved by FDA. The addition of the drug, Hivid was the start of combined therapies of HIV/AIDS.
The fight against AIDS continued and in 1996, power HIV-fighting drugs called Protease Inhibitors were introduced. These drugs were used in combination with the existing drugs for HIV/AIDS and were effective. After a year, scientists discovered that the HIV/AIDS hides in the reservoirs in human body making it impossible to find its cure despite the effectiveness of the drugs.