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Exam 3 Review: Chapter 21: Diseases of the Immune System
allergy = hypersensitivty - An abnormally active and inappropriate immune response to certain common, ordinary, non-threatening antigens {"allergens"}(e.g., various chemicals, drugs, pollens, molds, foods, or microorganisms); reactions vary greatly in intensity; common symptoms may include sneezing, itching, and skin rashes; some allergens stimulate antibody-mediated responses while others stimulate cell-mediated responses.
[Follow this link for an interesting case study on contact dermatitis.]
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - An RNA retrovirus which causes the generally fatal chronic illness, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), by infecting helper T lymphocytes of the immune system; the virus attaches to the CD4 cell surface marker to penetrate the host cell and then uses the enzyme reverse transcriptase to introduce a DNA copy of its viral genome into the host cell's DNA, leading to a slow but steady reproduction of the virus inside the infected cell; the most common serotype, HIV-1, is distributed worldwide, while HIV-2 is primarily confined to West Africa.
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Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) - A severe immunological disorder caused by the RNA retrovirus HIV, characterized by increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections, e.g., Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, TB and candidiasis, to certain cancers, especially Kaposi's sarcoma, and to neurological disorders; transmission is chiefly through blood or blood products which enter the body's bloodstream, esp. by sexual contact or contaminated hypodermic needles; other body fluids may also carry the virus.
autoimmune disease - Any of a large group of diseases characterized by abnormal functioning of the immune system which causes it to produce specific anti-self antibodies or cell-mediated responses against one's own tissues; diseases of the immune system are currently treated by a variety of nonspecific immunosuppressive drugs and corticosteroids.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) - A chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease of the connective tissues, occurring mainly among middle-aged women, chiefly characterized by skin eruptions, joint pain, arthritis, fever, weakness, weight loss, anemia, enlargement of the spleen, and a characteristic butterfly-shaped skin rash on the face, recurrent pleurisy, and heart and kidney disease.
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Hodgkins disease - A malignant, progressive, sometimes fatal lymphoma of unknown cause, marked by progressive (but painless) enlargement of the lymph nodes, followed by enlargement of the spleen, and liver; bone marrow transplantation may be useful for selected patients who have relapsed following treatment with radiation and chemotherapy.
List:
10. Seven autoimmune diseases and the organ(s) or tissue(s) attacked in each disease.
| Autoimmune Disease | Organ(s) or Tissue(s) Attacked |
| MS = Multiple Sclerosis | myelinated fiber tracts (white matter) of the brain and spinal cord (CNS) leading to a wide variety of neurological symptoms |
| Myasthenia Gravis | neuromuscular junction of skeletal muscle leading to progressive muscular weakness |
| Grave's Disease | TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) receptor of thyroid follicular cells leading to hyperthyroidism |
| Type I ("juvenile") diabetes mellitus | pancreatic islet beta cells leading to insulin deficiency |
| SLE = Systemic Lupus Erythematosus | general attach on connective tissues; organ systems showing characteristic involvement and lesions include the dermis of the skin, the kidneys, the heart, and the lungs |
| Glomerulonephritis | capillary basement membrane of the nephrons of the kidney leading to progressive impairment of renal function |
| Rheumatoid Arthritis | self-antigen is patient's normal IgG class antibodies; the autoanti-IgG-antibody-IgG Ab-Ag complexes become deposited in various tissues including the joints and the glomerlular basement membrane of the nephrons of the kidney leading to chronic inflammatory changes and scar tissue formation |