Brooks pg.

Disease Summaries

BIOL 110
(Human Biology)
11:30am- 2:10pm MW
November 12th, 2014
By: Sydney Brooks

Brooks pg. 2

Digestive System: Celiac Disease

Celiac Disease is a disease that makes the body unable to digest gluten. Gluten is
found in wheat, rye, and barley. About one out of every 100 people in the United states
has this disease.

Cause- Ingestion of gluten causes the immune system to react. Over time these
reactions cause damage to the villi in the small intestine. The villi are important
for the body to absorb vitamins and minerals.
Symptoms- Some symptoms of Celiac Disease are diarrhea, weight loss,
depression, bloating, fatigue, and irritability. If essential nutrients are not taken in
by the body for a long period of time, a person can develop anemia, diabetes,
infertility, intestinal cancers, and osteoporosis. One could also go through late
puberty if Celiac Disease is not diagnosed early enough.
Transmission- Celiac disease is not transmitted to others through any kind of
contact. The disease seems to be genetic. If ones parent or sibling has Celiac
Disease, there is a 10% chance that you will have it also.
Prevention+Treatment- Doctors diagnose Celiac Disease either from a blood
test or from taking a biopsy from the small intestine. The disease cannot be
prevented as it is transmitted genetically. The only known treatment for Celiac
Disease is to take all gluten out of the diet. Without gluten in the diet, a
moderately damaged small intestine can heal in about a year. A patient with
Celiac Disease will have to live on a non-gluten diet for the rest of their lives.
Prognosis- Patients with Celiac Disease live full and mostly normal lives; The
only differences being their diet restrictions. Some people go their whole life
without ever being diagnosed.

Brooks pg. 3

Urinary System: Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary tract infections happen when parts of the urinary tract become infected. These
infections affect millions of people every year. They are much more common in women,
but it is possible for men to get them also.

Cause: Urinary tract infections are bacterial infections of the bladder or urethra.
They occur when E. Coli bacteria(usually found in the gastrointestinal system)
finds its way into the bladder. Women get urinary tract infections much more
often than men do due to the shortness of their urethras and the distance of a
woman's anus to the urethra. Urinary tract infections are most often caused from
improper wiping technique and being sexually active. Additionally, some sexually
transmitted diseases can cause an infection of the urethra. Some birth controls
give women more of a risk of getting UTIs.
Symptoms: People with urinary tract infections often have an urge to urinate that
does not go away after urination and urination is painful. Some other symptoms
of a UTI are cloudy, strongly smelling urine that sometimes has blood in it.
Women with severe UTIs can have pelvic or renal pain and experience vomiting
and high fevers while men have rectal pain.
Transmission: Urinary tract infections cannot be transmitted between
people(including sexual partners).
Prevention and Treatment: Urinary tract infections can be prevented by wiping
correctly, urinating after sexual activity, drinking lots of water, and taking
cranberry supplements or drinking about a cup of cranberry juice every day or
every few days. Cranberry along with other antioxidants can fight off bacteria in
the the bladder. If one goes to the doctor for a urinary tract infection, the doctors
will ask them to urinate in a cup so they can send it in to test for infection. The
doctor will then usually prescribe their patient an antibiotic. For 3-10 days and
advise them to drink lots of water.
Prognosis: As long as the UTI does not progress into a serious kidney infection
and cause failure, this infection is not deadly. These infections are relatively
common and tend to recur so most women have multiple in their lifetimes.

Brooks pg. 4

Respiratory System: Chronic Bronchitis

Bronchitis occurs when the lining of the bronchial tubes(that carry air to and from the
lungs) are inflamed. A few years ago in 2009, 9.9 million Americans were diagnosed
with chronic bronchitis. Bronchitis is often referred to as smokers cough. Chronic
bronchitis is one form of COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and affects
three out of every hundred people. It is the fourth leading cause of American deaths.

Cause: The initial cause of bronchitis can be from viral or bacterial infections, but
it is usually caused by cigarette smoking. The smoke paralyzes the cilia in the
lungs and they cannot remove the mucus from the airways. Over time of
repeated tobacco use, the airways become scarred and thinner on the inside
where the air must flow through. This causes people with bronchitis to not be
able to breathe well.
Symptoms: Some symptoms of acute bronchitis are coughing, coughing up
phlegm, fever, chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, and fatigue. People
with acute bronchitis will have a cough for at least three months and they can
recur for at least two years. Sometimes people get acute bronchitis on top of
chronic bronchitis.
Transmission: Bronchitis is not transferable from person to person.
Prevention and Treatment: The best way to prevent bronchitis is to be healthy,
not to smoke, and not let others smoke around you. Getting flu shots every year
also helps prevent bronchitis. Doctors say that a person has chronic bronchitis if
they have had a cough for three consecutive months and two years in a row, x
rays show narrowed lung passages, your mucus does not have any other
infections in it, or you have failed a pulmonary function test (blowing into a
spirometer). There is no cure for chronic bronchitis as it is irreversible, but there
are some treatments for it. Your doctor may give you an inhaler, refer you to a
pulmonary rehabilitation program, prescribe anti-inflammatory medicine, and
suggest that you use a humidifier, do not have animals in the house, and that you
should not smoke.
Prognosis: 97% of the 3,500 deaths a year caused by chronic bronchitis a year
are people over the age of 64. Older people have a smaller chance of being able
to live a normal life and live at all than younger people do.

Brooks pg. 5

Skeletal System: Scoliosis

Scoliosis is when the spine has too much of an S or C curve to it from side to side. It is
usually not much of a problem when children are diagnosed with it, but as an elder,
severe scoliosis can be crippling.

Cause: The exact cause of most scoliosis is unknown and children just grow that
way from birth. Sometimes it can be caused by cerebral palsy, muscular
dystrophy, infections, and injuries.
Symptoms: The most common symptom of scoliosis is too much curving of the
spine usually being side to side in a S or C curve. Most people show this in their
posture with one shoulder being higher than the other.
Transmission: Males have a tendency to transmit the scoliosis gene to their
children, but this disease is not one that people can catch.
Prevention and Treatment: Scoliosis can not be prevented. Some children have
to wear back braces to try to stop their spines from curving more. Doctors may
also prescribe pain relieving medication to patients with scoliosis or advise them
to take Tylenol or ibuprofen.
Prognosis: Most people with scoliosis live normal lives besides the back braces.
Older people with scoliosis may experience increased back pain. If the curve of
the spine is severe enough though, people may be forced to use a wheelchair
because walking may be difficult.

Brooks pg. 6

Muscular System: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy is a group of genetic diseases that causes the muscle fibers to be
weakened. Over half of the people who have muscular dystrophy have Duchenne
muscular dystrophy. It is often diagnosed when a child normally starts walking around
the age of 2. Most people with this disease have to use wheelchairs as adults.

Cause: Muscular dystrophy is passed down genetically from mother to

child(usually male children). It occurs when one of the genes that are specialized
to protect and build muscles is flawed.
Symptoms: Some symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy are frequent
falls, difficulty getting up from the ground, trouble running or jumping, and a
waddling walk. People with this disease may also have learning disabilities.
Transmission: Muscular dystrophy cannot be transmitted except for from
mother to child.
Prevention and Treatment: It cannot be prevented and there is no cure for
muscular dystrophy. Doctors can prescribe therapy and medicine that may delay
the onset of muscular dystrophy, but it progressively gets worse as the individual
gets older.
Prognosis: The life spans of people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy are
considerably less than the normal lifespan. Many people with this disease live to
be about forty years old before their respiratory system fails.

Brooks pg. 7

Integumentary System: Warts

Warts are viral infections that infect the surface area of the skin. Many people will have
at least one in their lifetime, but many people have numerous. There are many different
types of warts including common warts(of the hands) and plantar warts(of the feet).

Cause: Warts are caused when some strain of human papillomavirus (HPV)
enters the skin through an open sore. The virus then causes the skin to grow at
an abnormal rate, causing a wart.
Symptoms: The symptoms of a wart are a growth of the skin. Warts are simply
an overgrowth of skin, so they may appear smooth or bumpy. They usually do
not hurt, but they can if they are in an area that constantly has pressure on it,
such as the feet.
Transmission: Warts can be easily transmitted from person to person or to other
parts of your own body if you touch a wart on one part of the body to another part
of the body. Wart causing HPV is most commonly spread by the sharing of
towels and razors or by direct contact.
Prevention and Treatment: Most warts go away on their own in a few months,
but some stay longer. Doctors can remove them with creams, by freezing them
off, or can cut them off. Sometimes a doctor will take a biopsy if they are unsure
that the growth is just a wart. These treatments do not always work because they
only remove the wart, not the virus. There are also many home remedies for
warts.
Prognosis: People with warts have normal life expectancies. Warts are not life
threatening diseases.

Brooks pg. 8

Cardiovascular System: Ventricular Septal Defect(VSD)

A ventricular septal defect is one of the most common heart defects that is congentital
(present from birth). VSD is when there is one or more holes in the septum of the heart.

Cause: VSD is caused from a hole or opening in the wall that divides the
ventricles of the heart(septum). The hole can be big or rather small and comes
from the septum not being able to form fully when the fetus grows. Alcohol, drug
abuse, and radiation during pregnancy can also cause VSD in babies. The
opening lets the oxygenated blood mix with the deoxygenated blood. This makes
it hard for a persons blood to become oxygenated.
Symptoms: Babies born with a large ventricular septal defect can have a blue
tint to their skin from the lack of oxygen in their blood. Some symptoms of VSD
are poor eating habits, fatiguing easily, rapid heart rate or heart murmur, and
swelling of the legs of abdomen.
Transmission: Ventricular septal defects are not transmissible between
humans. They may only be transmittable biologically(from parents to children).
Prevention and Treatment: Small ventricular septal defects usually close on
their own. Larger ones can usually be fixed with surgery. They cannot be
prevented.
Prognosis: A large ventricular septal defect can cause the lungs to be overfilled
with blood and cause heart failure if gone undetected. The symptoms of VSD can
range from very mild to extremely life threatening. People that let a large VSD go
untreated can develop Eisenmenger's syndrome. Eisenmengers syndrome
occurs when the pulmonary arteries are being overused and the blood pressure
of the arteries increases and the person develops an irreversible pulmonary
hypertension. Eisenmengers syndrome causes the blood to not get oxygenated
and deoxygenated blood starts to be pumped through the body. Heart failure
and strokes are common problems that come with VSD.

Brooks pg. 9

Endocrine System: Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a disease of the thyroid gland that is caused by not enough thyroxine
being produced. Women over the age of 60 are more susceptible to this disease.

Cause: The cause of an underactive thyroid gland can be from having an

autoimmune disease, thyroid surgery, certain medications, dysfunction of the
pituitary gland, and not having enough iodine in a persons body. Some babies
are born with a defective thyroid gland. Some women also develop thyroid
disease when they are pregnant.
Symptoms: Some symptoms of hypothyroidism are obesity, joint pain, fatigue,
muscle weakness, infertility, depression, high cholesterol, and heart disease.
Many people experience extreme weight gain when the thyroid does not produce
enough thyroxine.
Transmission: Hypothyroidism cannot be transmitted except genetically.
Prevention and Treatment: Thyroid disease cannot be prevented. Doctors take
a blood sample to check if the patients thyroid gland is working properly. If not,
they prescribe a synthetic thyroid hormone so the patients body will have the
right amount of the hormone, causing the metabolism to return to normal.
Prognosis: People with thyroid disease have an increased risk of heart disease
if they are not taking medication. People with an unregulated thyroid are also at a
high risk for depression. Many people live and cope with this disease fairly easily
by simply taking a pill a day.

Brooks pg. 10

Nervous System: X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy(ALD)

X- linked ALD is a disease that damages the myelin covering in the brain and adrenal
glands. This strand of ALD is most severe and affects young boys between the ages of
2 and 10. It is also referred to as Childhood cerebral ALD or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Cause: X-linked ALD is caused when a defective gene causes the body to be
unable to break down the fatty acids in ones brain. A buildup of fatty acids forms
in the brain and adrenal glands and damages the myelin coating of the neurons
in the brain.
Symptoms: Some initial symptoms of ALD that often come before diagnosis are
changes in behavior, thought process and physical movements begin to slow
down, and memory loss. As ALD progresses, some symptoms include seizures,
having trouble walking, talking, and swallowing, loss of hearing and vision, loss of
pigmentation of the skin, vomiting, coma, and eventually death.
Transmission: X- Linked ALD is passed genetically from mother to son, and
sometimes daughter. This disease cannot be transferred in any other fashion.
Prevention and Treatment: ALD cannot be prevented. There is currently no
cure for ALS, but doctors have recently adopted a drug that reduces the amount
of glutamate made in the body and is believed to slow down the damage of the
motor neurons. Many other groups of people have proposed new drugs and
remedies to help slow the effects of ALD.
Prognosis: Most boys with x-linked ALD die within two years of being diagnosed
although some may live up to twenty years after being diagnosis. The quality of
life in the last years, and as ALD progresses, is very poor. This disease is
invariably fatal.

Brooks pg. 11

Reproductive System(Male and Female): Chlamydia

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection in the United
States. It is three times as common as gonorrhea and fifty times as common as syphilis.
Over three million people are infected with this infection every year.

Cause: Chlamydia is caused by a bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis.

Symptoms: In men, the symptoms of chlamydia are similar to those of
gonorrhea. About a fourth of men with chlamydia experience no symptoms. The
ones who do have symptoms experience burning with urination, discharge from
penis, testicular pain, and rectal pain. Women may also experience symptoms
similar to those of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. Most women do not experience
symptoms from chlamydia. The thirty percent of women that do have symptoms
experience burning with urination, painful sexual intercourse, vaginal discharge
and rectal pain.
Transmission: Chlamydia is transmitted through sexual contact or by mother to
baby during childbirth.
Prevention and Treatment: One can prevent chlamydia by not being sexually
active. To greatly lessen ones chances of being infected by using condoms and
by only having one sexual partner that does not have this infection. Chlamydia is
very easily treated by doctors when they prescribe an antibiotic for a one day to
one week period of time.
Prognosis: If one is diagnosed with chlamydia and is treated by a doctor, they
will be fine. If one is not diagnosed with chlamydia in time, they may be unable to
have children later in life due to the complications of uncured chlamydia,
including cervical inflammation, salpingitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and the
scarring of the fallopian tubes.

Brooks pg. 12

Works Cited
http://celiac.org/celiac-disease/what-is-celiac-disease/
http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/digestive/celiac.html#
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/urinary-tractinfection/basics/causes/con-20037892
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bronchitis/basics/definition/con20014956
http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/bronchitis-chronic/understanding-chronicbronchitis.html
http://health.tipsdiscover.com/chronic-bronchitis-symptoms-causes-transmissiondiagnosis-and-treatment-issues/
http://chronicbronchitis.respironics.com/
http://scioly.org/wiki/index.php/Anatomy/Skeletal_System
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22992817
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/musculardystrophy/basics/complications/con-20021240
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/warts-and-plantarwarts-topic-overview
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ventricular-septaldefect/basics/complications/con-20024118
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesconditions/hypothyroidism/basics/definition/con-20021179
http://pediatrics.med.nyu.edu/conditions-we-treat/conditions/x-linkedadrenoleukodystrophy
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-info/stds-hiv-safer-sex/chlamydia
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e.causes