Tag: immunity related disorders and problems

Hay fever (allergic rhinitis) is caused by grass pollen mostly but it can also be caused by tree pollen or weed pollen. Pollen is a fine powder enriched in protein released by plants as part of their reproductive cycle which can cause irritation in nose, eyes and throat. Symptoms of hay fever include sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes etc. It is more common in spring and early fall. Hepatitis and dengue are viral diseases. Helper T-cells are immunity providing cells in the body

Flatworms are generally parasitic in nature and feed on the host organism's nutrition often causing disorders as a consequence. When it comes to parasitic infection, flatworms and roundworms are likely culprits. These two types of parasitic worms can be found in a variety of habitats. They aren't always visible to the naked eye. Tapeworms and flukes cause diseases in humans and their livestock, whilst monogeneans can cause serious losses of stocks in fish farms. Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, is the second most devastating parasitic disease in tropical countries, behind malaria.

Pollens are present in air. Excess of pollen are produced in certain seasons which causes allergic reactions in several human beings. The common allergic reactions are asthma, bronchitis and rhinitis.

The term anaphylaxis was coined by Charles Richet and Paul Portier in 1902 during their experiments on the effects of sea anemone toxin in dogs.

Hay fever and asthma are the allergic reactions of the body to allergens. Allergy is the hypersensitivity of a person to some foreign substance coming in contact with the body. 

The nematodes or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda and have a pseudocoelom and complete digestive system. The partial, fluid-filled cavity inside the body of some invertebrates. Cnidarians have two different body plans. Both body plans have radial symmetry. A polyp, such as a hydra, sea anemone, or coral, is shaped something like a vase. Platyhelminthes, a group of soft-bodied, usually much flattened invertebrates and have cavity only one opening to the outside which, in most cnidarians, is surrounded by tentacles for capturing prey. But Porifera does not have a gastrovascular cavity as it does not have specialized tissues and phyla with a true coelom and digestive system. The protostomes include the phyla Mollusca, Annelida, and Arthropoda but not porifera. 

Active immunity is the antibody response produced by the body when exposed to pathogens, vaccines etc. It is a long lasting immunity and has no side effects as these are WBCs produced by the body. 

Active immunity is established when the immune system encounters an antigen and mounts a primary response, leaving behind long-lived memory B and T cells that protect against subsequent infections.

Emil von Behring was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1901 for his discovery of serum therapy for diphtheria. He and Shibasaburo Kitasato showed that serum from rabbits immunized with tetanus toxin could prevent tetanus in rabbits. Erlich's work demonstrating that increasing doses of bacterial toxins could provide immunity against lethal doses of toxin was the basis for the serum therapy findings. His work also led to the concepts of active and passive immunization, and to his Nobel Prize in 1908 awarded for establishing the field of humoral immunity. It is fitting to highlight Erlich's contribution to the initial conception of passive immunization in 2015, the 100 year anniversary of his death.

Cyclosporin is an immunosuppressive agent used in organ transplant patient. It is produced by fungus Trichoderma polysporum.