Disease Blog: Arthritis

Arthritis

What is Arthritis?

The US National Library of Medicine says that if you have trouble moving around or feel pain and stiffness in your body, you could have arthritis. In the majority of cases arthritis. Causes pain and swelling in the joints. Eventually a swollen joint can suffer severe damage. In some cases, arthritis can cause problems in the patient's eye, skin or other organs. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in every 5 American adults, about 50 million people, have doctor-diagnosed arthritis. As the country's population ages, it is estimated that this number will increase to at least 67% by 2030. Arthritis is not a single disease - it covers over 100 medical conditions. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and generally affects elderly patients. Some forms of arthritis can affect people at a very early age.

What causes Arthritis?

Basically, a joint is where one bone moves on another bone. Ligaments hold the two bones together. The ligaments are like elastic bands, while they keep the bones in place your muscles relax or contract to make the joint move.

Cartilage covers the bone surface to stop the two bones from rubbing directly against each other and the covering of the cartilage allows the joint to work smoothly and painlessly.

A capsule surrounding the joint is the space within the joint - the joint cavity - has synovial fluid. Synovial fluid nourishes the joint and the cartilage. The synovial fluid is produced by the synovium (synovial membrane) which lines the joint cavity.

If you have arthritis something goes wrong with the joint(s). What goes wrong depends on what type of arthritis you have. It could be that the cartilage is wearing away, a lack of fluid, autoimmunity (your body attacking itself), infection, or a combination of many factors.

Medications for Arthritis:

Medications

One with Arthritis can use medications known as asnonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The drugs react with the chemicals called prostaglandins in the body, which trigger pain, inflammation, and fever. Some NSAIDs are available over-the-counter for relief of pain and fever at your local drugstore, including ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), naproxen (Aleve), and aspirin. There are also many other prescription NSAIDs available such as celecoxib (Celebrex), ketoprofen (Orudis), naproxen (Naprosyn), piroxicam (Feldene), and sulindac (Clinoril); you'll need a prescription from your doctor. Prescription doses of NSAIDs also curb inflammation

Career Blog: Athletic Trainer

Athletic Trainers

Work:

Athletic trainers are highly qualified health professionals who are trained to prevent, recognize, manage, and rehabilitate injuries that result from physical activity. Athletic trainers can help you avoid unnecessary medical treatment and disruption of normal daily life; if you're injured, they are trained to work with your healthcare provider to get you on the mend and keep you on the move. 

Salaries:

• Youth sports (up 41%, to $46,296)
• Professional sports (up 31%, to $50,515)
• High schools (up 16%, to $42,442)
• Hospitals (up 15%, to $54,292)
• Performing arts (up 15%, to $56,135)
• Government settings (up 9%, to $50,71

Working Conditions:

Athletic trainers work environment isn't always the same. Athletic trainers may work under a licensed physician and work with other health care providers. The high school, college or professional team that the athletic trainer works gives an idea of the work environment. Many athletic trainers work indoors most of the time like at indoor sport events or at an office and others work outside at outdoor sport events or practices. Being an athletic trainer requires standing for long period of time, working with medical equipment and being able to walk, run, kneel, stoop or crawl. Trainers must be able to travel for sports team. Schedules for athletic trainers vary because of work settings. Athletic trainers that work in an office or private practice usually work about 40-50 hours per week with nights and weekend off. Athletic trainers that work in hospitals or clinics may spend part of their time working at the hospital or clinics, and the other part of their time they working at other locations such as high school or colleges helping any athletes that are hurt or got hurt during practice that day. They also go to high schools, colleges or commercial businesses to provide athletic training services and talking to them about preventing injuries. certified athletic trainer works under the direction of a physician and in cooperation with other healthcare professionals, athletics administrators, coaches and parents. The certified athletic trainer gets to know each patient/client individually and can treat injuries more effectively.

Athletic Trainers Professional Settings:

• Professional and collegiate sports
• Secondary and intermediate schools
• Sports medicine clinics
• Hospital emergency rooms and rehab clinics
• Occupational settings
• Performing arts
• Law enforcement and military 
• Physician offices   

References:

http://www.nata.org/athletic-training

http://caate.net/becoming-an-athletic-trainer/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_training

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 19-20

Drawings

Chapter 19

Deborah ended up getting pregnant at 16 and wanted to drop out of school, but Bobbette refused to let her quit so he watched her baby while she went to school and studied her courses.

Joe became constantly angry and aggressive after he came back from the army. He went to Clover to adjust his life but ended up fighting with people over there as well. Eventaully, he came back to Baltimore and turned himself in.

Chapter 20

The new research showed that the HeLa cells had contaminated 18 of the most common cell lines used in research after the new advances of the cancer research.

The new programs to identify the HeLa cells all leaded back to the identification of the Lacks family.

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 17-18

Drawings 

Chapter 17

There was a long effort of research carried out using the HeLa cells that were conducted by a virologist named Chester Southam which began in 1954.

Chester continued his resesarch of cancer cells on 600 patients with cancer cells which included every gynecological surgery patient at the hospital by lying he was only testing them for cancer, The research eventually ended when a few Jewish doctors figured out the hoax.

Chapter 18

Research showed that normal cell cultures eventually died or later changed and became cancerous. When cells turned cancerous they all acted the same way and functioned differently almost contaminated.

Cell sex or somatic cell fusion HeLa cells with animals which produced hybrids which provided new branches of cell research but it did give away a negative reaction to the public.

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 15-16

Discussion Questions:

Chapter 15

1) Is there a sense of Deborah's mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about Galen?

How do those feelings play a part in her molestation?

2)Why was Ethel allowed to continue treating the Lacks children for as long as she did?

3)What will happen to Joe due to treatment he was given at such a small age(child)?

Chapter 16

1) Why did Cliff bring Skloot to the family cemetery? What was the purpose?

How does race still play a role in communities like Clover?

2)Why do the "white" and "colored" Lacks families have different ideas/rules about their interconnections and what made them think differently?

3)How does the Lacks family history in the book compare to Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings point of view?

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 13-14

Discussion Questions:

Chapter 13:
Discussion Questions:
1.The author notes that Tuskegee Institute, site of the first HeLa production
factory, was also home to the notorious Tuskegee Syphilis Study. How are these two
projects similar? How are they different?
2.Why is standardization of procedures considered so critical to scientific 
research?How can that standardization also limit the growth of research? 
3.Did Microbiological Associates have the right to begin growing and selling HeLa
cells, even though they had played no role in developing them?

Chapter 14:
1)Why do the journalists find it so necessary to find out Henriettas name and contact her family for stories about Henrietta and her life?
2)Why did George Gey reject to acknowledge Henrietta Lacks for journalists?
3)Should Gey and his colleges have explain and tell the Lacks family about the history of HeLa? Why or why not?

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 11-12

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 11:
1.) How well liked was Henrietta in the Sparrous Point Community?
2.) Throughout the reading on Chapter 11 and the previous chapters, how close was the Lacks family? How does their family compare to your own, or to others you know about?
3.) What are the reactions that were given to the medical decisions involving the blood transitions and discontinuing cancer treatment for Henrietta Lacks?
4.) Although Henriettas family wasn't physically wealthy, can we assume that the Lacks family was rich in other aspects?
5.)How did Emmet describe Henrietta in the hospital?

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 12:
1.) Why was it a surprise for Dr. Geys assistant to think of Henrietta as a human when she saw the chipped hail polish? Do doctors and scientists tend to see patients as bodies or specimens rather than people? What are some examples of this can you see in the book? Should doctors and scientists do this? Why and why not?
2.)How did the Lacks cousins interpret the sudden storm during Henriettas funeral? Do you agree with their reaction?
3.) What significance does the public viewing of a deceased body have for the community?
4.) How did Cousin Peter interpret the sudden storm? What do you think of his reaction? 

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 9-10

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 9:

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 10:

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 7-8

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 7:

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 8:

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 5-6

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 5:

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 6:

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 3-4

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 1-2

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 1:

Henrietta Lacks Chapter 2:

Chapter 2 demonstrates Henrietta's life as a child. It explains that Henrietta was born in Roanoke, Virginia on August 1, 1920 by her mother was Loretta Pleasant. They also mention that Henrietta had 8 other siblings and how her mothers died after her tenth pregnancy. Her father was lazy and didn't want to raise the kids so he decided to send his children away to his family in Clover, Virginia. The siblings became split up and as time progressed Henrietta ended up living with her grandparents. With her grandparents, she met her cousin, which later becomes her husband, David Pleasant. She and all of her cousins worked the tobacco farms that their family owned to earn enough money during crop season to feed the family for the year. Times passes and Henrietta and David, also called Day, started having children and got married in April of 1941. Soon after, their cousin Fred came back to visit from Baltimore where he worked at a steel company in Sparrow's Point. He convinced Day to come with him and earn enough to move Henrietta and the children there. Finally, when Fred was drafted overseas he gave Day all the money he had saved and Henrietta and her two children left Clover to start a new life.

"Day gives all of his savings to Henrietta and her children so they can start a new life."

"Henrietta's family worked on tobacco farms which helped them gain money to support themselves."

"Henrietta gets married to David Pleasant on April of 1941 and have children to work on the farms."