Classes of Diseases

Frontotemporal dementias occur as familial forms and, more commonly, as sporadic diseases. They are characterized by a remarkably circumscribed atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex, often with additional, subcortical changes. In 1994, an autosomal-dominantly inherited form of frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism was linked to chromosome 17q21.2. Subsequently, other forms of frontotemporal dementia were linked to this region, resulting in the denomination frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17) for this class of disease. All cases of FTDP-17 have so far shown a filamentous pathology made of hyperphosphorylated tau protein (Fig. 45-7). In 1998, mutations in tau were reported in FTDP-17 patients [29-31]. Since then, more than 30 different mutations have been described in over 80 families with FTDP-17 (Fig. 45-6). 

Mortality from Each Class of Disease Disease Class Found and Expected in Three Series Studied3 ... 

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in industrialized countries, exceeded only by heart disease. Characterized by out-of-control abnormal cell growth, cancer might affect men and women of all ages and races, and actually the term cancer refers to a class of diseases, comprising over 100 different types of cancer classified by the organ or type of cell that is initially affected. 

The misfolded form, scrapie, results in a class of disease called spongiform encephalopathies, e.g., mad cow disease. Unlike other diseases caused due to protein misfolding, prion diseases are infectious. The infecting agent is the misfolded protein. Prionogenic diseases are transmitted across the species barriers, from cow to sheep to human beings, and are fatal. 

Figure VI-1 shows normal and some abnormal patterns of serum protein electrophoresis. The electrophoretic patterns obtained are not indicative of any one disease or class of disease. Furthermore, a characteristic pattern may be obscured or not found in a disease entity where normally such a pattern is expected. Serum electrophoretic patterns provide only a general impression of the disorder and require confirmation by other procedures. An alteration (depression or elevation) in a given fraction should be quantitated by more sensitive and specific methods.

Cancers are classified by the tissues affected. The vast majority of cancerous tumors are carcinomas (tumors derived from epithelial tissue cells such as skin, various glands, breasts, and most internal organs). In the leukemias, cancers of the bone marrow, excessive leukocytes are produced. Similarly, the lymphocytes produced in the lymph nodes and spleen proliferate uncontrollably in the lymphomas. Tumors arising in connective tissue are called sarcomas. Despite the differences among this diverse class of diseases, they also have several common characteristics, among which are the following ... 

In this chapter, we will first review the classes of molecules that are currently used for targeting applications. We will then analyze classes of diseases which lend themselves to molecular targeting, and finally will discuss how a ligand can be converted into a diagnostic or therapeutic agent. 

After learning about three different classes of disease and how their very diverse mode of action impacts the development of specific biopharmaceuticals, we will now discuss how we can improve the development process of biopharmaceuticals per se - independent of their indication and mode of action. Speeding up the de-... 

For optimum function, the hemoglobin a and (3-globin chains must have the proper structure and be synthesized in a 1 1 ratio. A large excess of one subunit over the other results in the class of diseases called thalassemias. These anemias are clinically very heterogeneous, as they can arise by multiple mechanisms. Like sickle cell anemia, the thalassemia mutations provide resistance to malaria in the heterozygous state. 

Antibodies or immunoglobulins are a class of disease-fighting proteins produced by B cells found in the lymphatic system or bone marrow. Antibodies are produced to... 

Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells of an organism. All over the world millions of people die every year owing to one of the different types of cancer. Unfortunately cancer chemotherapy finds a serious limitation since treatment with drugs is followed by drug resistance in the tumorous cells and side effects (Efferth, 2005). So researches have been directed to make chemotherapy treatment more efficient. 

In future work, we wiU extend and validate the different models to other class of diseases. Approximately 1-1.5 % of the French population suffer from dementia and the causes of dementia are neurological disorders such as Alzheimer s disease (which causes 50 %-70 % of aU dementia), blood flow-related (vascular) disorders such as multi-infarct diseases, inherited disorders such as Huntington s disease, and infections such as HIV [15]. In fact, we would like to simulate the patient s progress in order to forecast and to analyze the need for long, medium and short-term care. This allows us to evaluate human, financial and physical resources in the future. 

Everyone is interested in developments that influence public health and, most particularly, their own personal health. Half of all Americans take at least one prescription medication and the demand for non-prescription, over-the-counter medications is enormous. For even a general understanding of the maijor public health issues the amount to be learned is large. Knowledge, however, is our personal first line of defense. With chemistry as the framework, in this chapter we take a look at the most important classes of diseases and the medications available to treat them. The major questions addressed are the following ... 

It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a Hospital that it should do the sick no harm. It is quite necessary, nevertheless, to lay down such a principle, because the actual mortality in hospitals, especially in those of large crowded cities, is very much higher than any calculation founded on the mortality ofthe same class of diseases amongst patients treated out of hospital would lead us to expect. 

On arrival of new fish at the hatchery, care needs to be taken with quarantine and acclimatisation to the new holding conditions. The entrance of new broodstock is a path through which diseases can enter into a hatchery. Therefore, a quarantine period should be managed before entering the fish into the broodstock unit and the broodstock unit should be managed as an area quarantined from the other hatchery facilities. Ideally, the quarantine should be in tanks with an environment similar or identical to that in the broodstock unit. Three classes of disease should be considered parasites, bacteria and virus. All fish should be examined for external parasites and if the fish have wounds from capture, the wounds should be treated with an... 

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