Clues to the Mystery Cases

     Doctors caring for patients with these rare infections and researchers studying the mysterious cases were keenly aware of the obvious gay connection between the first clusters of cases. It was not long before scientists found an important clue as to why these patients were suffering from atypical, aggressive infections that led to their total physical deterioration: The patients’ blood tests showed an exceptionally low number of T lymphocytes, or T cells, which are a type of white blood cell.

     This suggested that their immune system—the body’s natural defense against invading microorganisms and abnormal cells, such as cancerous cells—had been profoundly weakened. The laboratory finding of extremely low numbers of T cells was consistent with the clinical finding of persistently swollen lymph nodes under the jaw, in the armpits, or in the groin of these patients; such lymphadenopathy also suggested a besieged immune system. It was all beginning to make sense. It appeared that the body’s immunity against the routine onslaught of microorganisms had become compromised, leading to a state

Mystery Cases - odd infections

       The initial reports of 1981, including the full-length articles published in the prestigious and widely read New England Journal of Medicine in December 1981, described other odd infections.  These infections were so uncommon in industrialized countries that most physicians in the United States had never heard of them. Nevertheless, they were serious, aggressive, and deadly. Doctors and public health officials were trying to grasp what was happening—vigorous young men were being hospitalized for and dying from infection in the latter part of the twentieth century. It just was not computing.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome(AIDS): A Late-Twentieth- Century Infectious Disease

     Prior to 1981, it was generally believed that medical science in industrialized countries had advanced to the point where infections and infectious diseases were no longer a threat. For one thing, several effective antibiotics were available. Penicillin and related antibiotic drugs (e.g., ampicillin) that destroy bacteria—as well as newer, more powerful, antibiotics— were able to tame infections that had been at one time life-threatening diseases (e.g., tuberculosis, pneumonia, and syphilis). In addition, strep throat (an infection caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes), common ear infections, and dermatologic (skin) infections could all be handled by a 7- or 10-day course of antibiotics taken at home in the form of pills, a liquid solution, or ear drops.

     Other antimicrobial drugs to fight microorganisms other than bacteria were available or would be soon. For example, antiviral drugs that attack viruses were just coming to the fore in the early 1980s. The antiviral drug acyclovir, in particular, was almost revered as a wonder drug by physicians and medical researchers. Acyclovir could halt the herpes viruses that cause cold sores, chicken pox, and genital herpes, leading to the disappearance of outward signs of infection. Just prior to 1981, newly discovered antifungals were found capable of inhibiting the growth of yeast and molds responsible for fungal infections that affected diabetics, organ or bone marrow transplantation recipients, and frail elderly patients.

   In many ways one can think of the middle of the twentieth century as the end of one of the most important social revolutions in history, the virtual elimination of infectious disease as a significant factor in social life. —Sir F. Macfarlane Burnet, M.D., Nobel Laureate, 1962

Twenty-first century will continue to produce major advances in medicines

   The twenty-first century will continue to produce major advances in medicines and medicine delivery. Nature is, however, a resilient foe. Diseases and organisms develop resistance to existing drugs, and new drugs must constantly be developed. (This is particularly true for anti-infective and anticancer agents.) Additionally, new and more lethal forms of existing infectious diseases can develop rapidly.

    With the ease of global travel, these can spread from Timbuktu to Toledo in less than 24 hours and become pandemics. Hence the current concerns with avian flu. Also, diseases that have previously been dormant or geographically circumscribed may suddenly break out worldwide. (Imagine, for example, a worldwide pandemic of Ebola disease, with public health agencies totally overwhelmed.) Finally, there are serious concerns regarding the possibility of man-made epidemics occurring through the deliberate or accidental spread of disease agents—including manufactured agents, such as smallpox with enhanced lethality. It is therefore imperative that the search for new medicines continue.

The Use and Abuse of Drugs

       For thousands of years, humans have used a variety of sources with which to cure their ills, cast out devils, promote their wellbeing, relieve their misery, and control their fertility. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the agents used were all of natural origin, including many derived from plants as well as elements such as antimony, sulfur, mercury, and arsenic. The sixteenth-century alchemist and physician Paracelsus used mercury and arsenic in his treatment of syphilis, worms, and other diseases that were common at that time; his cure rates, however, remain unknown.

    Many drugs used today have their origins in natural products. Antimony derivatives, for example, are used in the treatment of the nasty tropical disease leishmaniasis. These plant-derived products represent molecules that have been “forged in the crucible of evolution” and continue to supply the scientist with molecular scaffolds for new drug development.

How is HIV transmitted?

HIV can only be passed on through infected blood, semen, vaginal fluids or breast milk.

HIV is mainly transmitted through vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom or by sharing a needle or syringe with someone who's living with HIV.

Other ways that HIV is transmitted are:

• By giving oral sex (although this is rare and will usually only occur if a person has cuts or sores in their mouth).
• From a mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding (though less than one per cent of babies born to HIV positive mothers in the UK acquire HIV).
• From a needle stick injury in a healthcare setting (although there has not been a case in the UK for more than five years).
• From a blood transfusion or blood products (in the UK all blood and organs are carefully screened to prevent this but in some countries this may not happen).

It's impossible to transmit HIV through saliva and HIV cannot be passed on through casual contact such as kissing or sharing glasses or cutlery. HIV is a very fragile virus so doesn't live long outside the body.

What is HIV?

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The virus infects and gradually destroys the cells in the body that usually combat infections leaving the body susceptible to diseases it would normally be able to fight.

Without treatment, the immune system will become too weak to fight off illness and a person with HIV may develop rare infections or cancers. When these are particularly serious, the person is said to have AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

Smoking leads to hearing loss

Scientists from the U.S. found that teenagers who often become passive smokers may suffer from deafness.

Experts explain hearing problems in passive smokers, the fact that the chemicals contained in tobacco smoke can impair blood supply to the hearing. In a study by American scientists took part in 1.5 thousand teenagers from 12 to 19 years. After checking their sensitivity to the sounds of different frequencies, the researchers found that those exposed to tobacco smoke are twice as likely to have problems with hearing.

Previously, scientists have found an association between smoking and parental behavior and school performance of their children. Parents who have the habit of smoking at home are at risk of bringing up children who will perform poorly in school and will have problems with discipline.

According to WHO, in the last century, smoking killed 100 million people. This year from diseases associated with smoking: stroke, lung cancer and heart attack - could die more than 5 million people. And by 2030, mortality from this bad habit risk increase to 8 million.

Hepatitis B

World Health Organization (WHO) on the eve of the fight against hepatitis B has published data on the number of infected viral hepatitis Earth's inhabitants.

According MedPortal, the total number infected with hepatitis B virus in the world for more than two million each year from hepatitis B kills about a million patients.

The largest proportion of morbidity in the picture is hepatitis B, because it can be transmitted through blood, including in utero, as well as through contaminated hypodermic needles and surgical instruments.

Most carriers of the virus are not even aware of their infection, so WHO urges member countries to strengthen the diagnosis of viral hepatitis, as well as carry out preventive measures. According to international organizations, 180 of the 193 member countries have included hepatitis B vaccine into national immunization schedules.