The final stage of the disease process (although it may not be the final stage of the infection) is the actual production of disease. Many microorganisms live in or on the body without causing disease. These organisms are called commensal organisms and may be beneficial to the host: the production of lactic and lactobacilli proprionic acidophilus in the vagina inhibits the growth of many other bacteria and many commensal organisms compete with pathogens for ‘living space’ in the gut. Microbial pathogens differ in that they cause dis- ease by one or more mechanisms like picture bellow. These include the following: (more…)
There are thousands of components to the immune system, and during the course of learning about some of these it can appear tha ...
Most initial infections are local, i.e. the infectious agent gains entry to the body at a single site, e.g. via an insect bite ...
There are several pathogen types that can cause disease include many groups of single-celled microorganisms and larger multicel ...
Routes by which infectious organisms gain entry into the body include the skin, respiratory tract, gastro-intestinal (GI) tract ...
Exotoxins are secreted products, usually of bacteria but sometimes protozoa and fungi. They can act in a number of ways: • ...
There is much controversy as to the role of allergen exposure for the development of atopic sensitization towards this allergen. While in some studies, a clear, almost linear dose-response relation between allergen exposure and sensitization has been found, others described a bell-shaped association with higher levels of exposures relating to lower rates of atopic sensitization. Part of the discrepancy may relate to the type of allergen, since mostly cat but not house dust mite allergy allergen exposure has been shown, in some studies, to exert protective effects at higher levels of exposure. (more…)
Natural history studies with the following design features provide a firm epidemiologic foundation for risk factor assessments and ...
The effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on children have been extensively studied and numerous surveys hav ...
Two factors thought to influence the risk factor asthma are the promoting effect of sensitization to house dust mites and the preve ...
Allergen exposure plays a role in the development of asthma bronchial hyper-responsiveness and in the acute inflammatory response ...
Sensitization to pets remains a risk factor for asthma and rhinitis, and can occur in people who have never lived with a pet. S ...
Exotoxins are noxious proteins secreted by many bacteria. These toxins are often heat-labile and thus can be heat-inactivated for use as vaccines to prevent toxigenic immunity to bacteria disease. Many bacteria produce more than one protein exotoxin, making vaccine development more difficult. (more…)
The final stage of the disease process (although it may not be the final stage of the infection) is the actual production of di ...
One especially favored target for immune recognition is bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This macromolecule is found only in ...
Exotoxins are secreted products, usually of bacteria but sometimes protozoa and fungi. They can act in a number of ways: • ...
Bacteria cause allergic disease because of toxicity, invasiveness, immunopathology, or lends of these three mechanisms. Thus much ...
Antibodies which are also known as immunoglobulin are found in our blood and other bodily fluids. Antibodies are used as a mechan ...