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Rheumatoid Arthritis Is A Widespread Autoimmune Disease Research Paper

Rheumatoid arthritis is a widespread autoimmune disease that is linked to progressive disability, socioeconomic costs, systemic complications, and even early death. In addition to having an unknown cause, the disease also has a guarded prognosis. In the past few years, there have been several attempts to understand the pathogenesis of the disease, which have resulted in the creation of new therapeutics with enhanced outcomes (McInnes & Schett, 2011, p.2205). As a result of this progress, the current treatment strategy for the disease involves initiating aggressive therapy immediately after diagnosis and increasing the therapy. This process is carried out through an evaluation of the disease activity in order to achieve medical remission. While various unmet needs remain, rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by synovial inflammation, systemic attributes, autoantibody production, and cartilage and bone destruction. Question 2:

Despite being common in the environment, Acinetobacter bacteria are rarely a medical threat to healthy and uninjured people. Acinetobacter infection can take place through person-to-person contact, exposure to contaminated surfaces, or contact with wounds contaminated with debris and dirt. Notably, very ill individuals, those with tramautic wounds, and those undergoing treatment in intensive care units are more vulnerable to infection with difficult-to-treat Acinetobacter bacteria. The symptoms of these infections differ based on the specific body part affected by bacteria. The symptoms for an Acinetobacter infection caused by pneumonia include chills, shortness of breath, fever, and cough.

Question 3:

A transfusion reaction is a condition that occurs when an individual is receiving blood or immediately after blood transfusion. While a blood transfusion is an important and effective means to help restore strength and health for an individual who has experienced serious blood loss, it's vital that the blood is precisely matched to the person's blood type. Failure to ensure...

While transfusion reactions are rare, their occurrence can significantly affect a person's lungs and kidneys. The reaction occurs when antibodies in the recipient's blood attack the donor blood if they are not compatible. For instance, a hemolytic reaction takes place when the recipient's immune system attacks the donor's red blood cells while a febrile reaction occurs when the recipient's immune system attacks white blood cells of the donor (Dugdale & Chen, 2011).
Question 4:

Antigen-antibody interactions usually contribute to the development of immune complexes that become stuck along the vascular walls and activate complement and the immune reaction. In most cases, antigen-antibody reactions takes place within different time periods after exposure such as 1-3 weeks. An example of an antigen-antibody reaction that occurs within 1-3 weeks after exposure is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). This is an autoimmune disease or antigen-antibody reaction in which the body's immune system erroneously attacks the body's healthy tissue and may affect the brain, skin, kidneys, and joints.

Question 5:

Since cancer is a common disease, many families have at least one member who is suffering or has suffered from the disease. While most cancers are not directly linked to genes inherited from the parents, these are some types of cancers that are inherited due to various factors. The three major types of cancers that most likely have a genetic link are breast cancer running in the family, hereditary colon cancer, and childhood cancers.

Question 6:

Tumors are categorized as either benign or malignant based on whether or not they can spread through metastasis and invasion. While benign tumors are those that cannot spread by metastasis or invasion since they only grow locally, malignant tumors are capable of spreading through invasion or metastasis. Generally, benign and malignant…

Sources used in this document:
References:

Dugdale, D.C. & Chen, Y. (2011, February 28). Transfusion Reaction - Hemolytic. Retrieved from U.S. National Library of Medicine -- National Institutes of Health website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001303.htm

Eldridge, L. (2013, April 28). Benign vs. Malignant. Retrieved November 8, 2013, from http://lungcancer.about.com/od/Biology-of-Cancer/a/Benign-Vs-Malignant.htm

"Gastrointestinal Symptoms." (2012, March 21). Above Stress. Retrieved November 8, 2013,

from http://abovestress.com/stress-symptoms/gastrointestinal-symptoms.html
McInnes, I.B. & Schett, G. (2011, December 8). The Pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. The New England Journal of Medicine, 365, 2205-2219. Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1004965
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