Author: carlyrittenmeyer

A friend of mine when on a mission trip to the Philippines over spring break and came back with dengue fever. I had never heard of this disease before so I just had to do some research. Turns out the Philippines is undergoing its worst dengue fever outbreak since early 2012! It is also occurring throughout most Asian, European, and Latin American countries. So, what exactly is Dengue fever? It is actually caused by a mosquito, specifically a female mosquito.

The number of cases has been increasing throughout the years and is spreading to other areas too. In order to get the disease, you must be bitten by an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito. Once this mosquito is infectious, it can transmit the disease for the rest of its life! The disease is very similar to the flu, and it affects infants, young children and adults. It has a relatively long incubation period and then symptoms last for as long as a week. Symptoms can be asymptomatic, mild, or severe. Obviously asymptomatic people do not show signs and symptoms, but mild cases include severe headaches, muscle pain, nausea, swollen glands, and a rash. Severe Dengue includes a fever, persistent vomiting, bleeding gums, fatigue, blood in vomit, and more. Yikes!

There are no vaccines or specific treatment for the Dengue fever. The best thing to do is for people to catch on to signs and symptoms early so doctors can do their best to provide the best care they can. It has been recommended to wear a lot of clothing during the day, use repellents, have screens over windows and doors in these countries that experiencing this outbreak. Luckily, this is not something we have to worry about in the United States right now, but since the number of cases are increasing, we never know what will happen. Right now, it is good to be aware of this disease and do our best to prevent getting it when we are traveling in other countries.

What is a monoclonal antibody exactly? Well, monoclonal antibodies are molecules that are made in a laboratory and they assist in treating various types of cancer, heart disease, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and more. Most of these antibody drugs are administered through a vein. Keep in mind that these drugs do not cure disease, but they simply aid in the body’s immune response to the disease. Monoclonal antibody drugs enhance the ability of our immune systems to fight off disease. Today, I will be investigating a specific monoclonal antibody drug called infliximab.

Infliximab is used to treat many chronic inflammatory diseases. In response to inflammation, cells produce inflammatory cytokines to help regulate the immune response to infection. An example of such an inflammatory cytokine is called a Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF alpha). TNF alpha normally helps the body fight off infection, however in those with autoimmune diseases, too much TNF alpha can cause a lot of pain. The drug infliximab inhibits the effects of TNF alpha to reduce the effects it may cause during inflammation.

Infliximab is used to treating inflammation of Crohn’s disease, different types of arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriasis. Unfortunately, there are side effects to taking this monoclonal antibody drug.

• Upper respiratory tract infections
• Urinary tract infects
• Cough
• Rash
• Back pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Headache
• Weakness
• Fever
• Low or high blood pressure
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Itching
• Chills

As you can see, there are a lot of side effects and many of them seem to be in relation that the drug is trying to treat. Infliximab has also been shown to reactivate tuberculosis, decrease white and red blood cell and platelet count, and put those at high risk at developing malignant lymphoma. What I find most bizarre is that taking this drug can make you susceptible to other infections. One should be tested before beginning treatment, and if they test positive, they should not take this drug. The blocking of the TNF alpha cytokine can interfere with the body’s innate and adaptive immune responses which can potentially reactivate Tuberculosis. Infliximab can decrease the immune system’s ability to fight off infections therefore negatively impacting the body’s innate and acquired immune response. A negative impact in the body’s immune response can cause serious reactions due to the presence of this monoclonal antibody. I believe that treatment using monoclonal antibodies is well worth it. Even though there can be side effects, monoclonal antibodies have shown to really help people fight off serious disease.

Amidst this COVID-19 pandemic, there are still other diseases that are spreading, like influenza and pneumonia. This can be forgotten due to all the attention our world has put on this novel coronavirus. Influenza is a very similar disease to coronavirus. Flu symptoms include a fever, cough, running nose, body aches, and fatigue. People who are at risk for this infection include those who are above the age of 65, children under the age of 2, and those who are immunocompromised. This disease has been overlooked this particular year. This flu season has been different than most as it started very early this year. Influenza B was the main flu strain that was circulating back in December, however in March, Influenza A made an appearance.

Pneumonia is a lung infection which is caused by bacteria or other viruses. When bacteria get into the lung tissue, an inflammatory response is triggered causing an increase in mucous production. Air sacs in the lungs get inflamed and it can make it very difficult to breath. This disease can result from the flu. Similar to the flu, children under 5, adults over the age of 65, and those who are immunocompromised are most at risk of disease. Pneumonia can be deadly and requires medical attention.

I think we have forgotten how many people the flu kills every year. It is still important to pay attention and protect ourselves from diseases outside of COVID-19. This particular year, I think people are not thinking about other illnesses outside of coronavirus which is scary. When the flu and pneumonia are severe, they both require hospitalization. However, with all the focus on coronavirus, people who are suffering from these diseases are not getting the medical intention they need. This is causing an increase in flu deaths this year. It isn’t necessarily our fault though due to all the media attention on COVID-19. There is an array of diseases that circulate our world that we need to be aware of outside of coronavirus!

Scientists are making rapid progress on Coronavirus which is great news! How are our healthcare workers testing for coronavirus? There are two main tests for COVID-19 which are a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and a serological test. The PCR test requires scientists to collect cells from a patient’s throat or nasal passage to detect presence of the virus’ genetic RNA material. The serology test looks for the patient’s immune response to COVID-19 detecting antibodies. Today, I want to focus mainly on the PCR test and look at the antibody responses.

Antibodies are proteins throughout our body that help us fight off disease. Why is antibody testing important for COVID-19? Well, this testing can identify those that have developed immunity to the virus. It can show if a person was positive for coronavirus and has recovered, or if they were simply asymptomatic and never had symptoms. An antibody titer is a test that is used to measure the levels of antibodies in a person’s blood. For COVID-19, this is the PCR test. If scientists are able to measure the amount and what specific type of antibodies are being made, then they are able to if you have been infected. So far, antibody tests are showing that the immune response for COVID-19 peaks at around 4 months.

The information I am about to share can be pretty confusing. I want to explain such antibody responses and how they can help us fight off and detect COVID-19. When a virus or bacterium enters the body, the immune system first begins producing IgM antibodies. After a certain amount of time, the body begins generating IgG antibodies. Then, when the body is exposed to the same infection at another time, the body can respond faster to the infecting agent. When IgG levels begin to rise, IgM levels will drop. When a person’s blood shows only IgM antibody titers, that means that there was a recent exposure to a foreign substance. If a person’s test indicates that they primarily have an IgG antibody titer, this means they have been exposed to the pathogen in the past. Therefore, if we could determine who was IgG positive, that would mean that they had, in this case, COVID-19 before. An IgG positive person can potentially transmit disease to others through the blood. I am proud of scientists and researchers across our nation! They are working hard to understand and get rid of this virus!

The coronavirus is killing more and more people each and every day. It has interrupted our lives completely as we are no longer able to go out of our houses and see friends. It’s about time for a vaccine, right? I don’t know about yall, but I cannot continue to live like this for much longer. Luckily, scientists have been working like crazy to find a vaccine to kill this virus. Vaccines use particles from infectious diseases and present it to the body’s immune system. The particles used in vaccines are in its weakest form, but the ultimate goal is for the body to start making an immune response. Then, if you happen to get the disease, your body can fight it off quickly.

Scientists have discovered that this novel coronavirus is genetically similar to respiratory viruses SARS-CoV in 2003 and MERs-CoV in 2014. While studying these two viruses, they found that there is an important protein called a spike protein that will help people become immune to the virus. Spike proteins are very infectious as they allow the virus to break through cells. Remember, viruses are not alive and they need to a host cell in order to begin multiplying. Scientists have been using lab-made pieces of this viral protein to create a vaccine. This is already progress in itself! Researchers have developed something called a microneedle array which looks similar to a band-aid (I have never heard of this until now). It is placed on the skin and consists of 400 little needles that inject the spike protein and dissolve into the skin. This method was used on mice and after about two weeks, the mice had produced antibodies and an immune response!

Scientists have also found that the antiviral drug, remdesivir, is a promising drug that can help treat coronavirus. This drug is also used to treat those with Ebola. Remdesivir was tested, not on a human, but a model for someone infected with MERs-CoV. The drug seemed to stop the virus from replicating in the lung tissue. More work needs to be done on this antiviral drug, however it seems that we are making great progress against the novel coronavirus! Hopefully with all the work these scientists have been doing, we will generate an effective vaccine and/or drug soon and wipe out this awful disease!

T cell and dendritic therapy are forms of immunotherapy that are used to fight off cancer. These forms of therapy use a patient’s own blood cells to create a vaccine. Sounds kind of weird right? In order to effectively explain what T cell and dendritic therapy is, I think we need to first discuss what a dendritic cell and a T cell are and how they are related. Basically, dendritic cells are white blood cells and they become antigen presenting cells when there is something like bacteria present in the body. Once they are activated, they migrate to secondary lymphoid organs to activate T cells. T cell are needed in our bodies as they ultimately kill off infected cells especially cancer cells. Scientist use these cells to create a variety of treatments, one being to help kill off cancer cells!

Cancer is a very serious disease that infects millions of people. Cancer occurs when the abnormal cells divide uncontrollably and begin spreading throughout the body. This disease is very difficult to treat; However, T cell therapy could be on its way to help stop this fatal disease. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T- cell therapy is a cancer therapy. Scientists take a sample of your blood, separate out the T cells found in the sample, and then return the blood back into your body. The T cells are then genetically altered by putting specific receptors, CAR, on them to recognize cancer. Then, the CAR T cells are put back into the patient’s body where they multiply and begin to kill cancer cells. This is a type of personalized medicine because scientists are using a person’s own T cells to better improve their effectiveness in killing off cancer! I find this fascinating- like how could someone even think to do this?

CAR T-cell therapy is specifically used to treat lymphocytic leukemia. Leukemia is a type of cancer that produces abnormal white blood cells. With T-cell therapy, this could help cure patients with leukemia! All patients including children and adults can be treated with CAR T-cell therapy. However, there are some pretty major side effects including cytokine release syndrome which is very similar to the flu. Other side effects include low white blood cell counts and neurologic events. Here’s the craziest part—each infusion is $373,000!!! Like what! That’s a ton of money in general plus all the risky side effects!

Tuberculosis is caused by an organism caused Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They grow very slowly and are very hard to kill due to their resistance against drying, disinfectants, and strong acids. This is actually one of the most interesting organisms I have studied because it actually can live and grow inside macrophages. Macrophages? What? A macrophage is a type of white blood cell in your body that eat bad bacteria and viruses in your body. Their purpose is to protect your body from infection. But if Mycobacterium tuberculosis can grow inside macrophages, the cells trying to kill harmful organisms in your body, that leads to a big problem.

Tuberculosis affects your lungs, but sometimes the disease is latent, meaning that a person does not experience any signs or symptoms. And that’s the scary part. You get this disease from coming in contact with another person who has Tuberculosis. If that person isn’t showing signs and symptoms, they can be spreading the infection all over the place! Unfortunately, this disease has high mortality and morbidity rates throughout our world today. It is a treatable disease, however it is killing people mostly in low to middle income countries, those who are immunocompromised, the elderly, those in crowded living situations, and those with HIV. We need to find a way to better help those infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis due to the fact that it is killing millions of people.  

As you probably know, March 24 was World Tuberculosis Day! The goal of this day to raise awareness of how Tuberculosis is a major disease affecting thousands of people each day. The main proposal of World TB Day is that it is time to end this disease. There are many recommendations to prevent and control the spread of the Tuberculosis such as environmental controls and administration measures. But, the World Health Organization has issued only oral treatment to treat those with active Tuberculosis. The actions that the healthcare world is taking will hopefully eliminate this fatal disease. Stay safe!

Wow. I have no words for what is going on in our world right now. There has never been anything like this before. Hasn’t the world taken a complete turn? Just a few weeks ago we were discussing how the coronavirus was beginning to spread. Not only has every university in the United States moved to online classes, but restaurants, churches, stores, and more have shut down! Unfortunately, school has simply been canceled and I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty sad. I miss seeing my friends, being on a daily schedule, and my independence. I don’t think anyone was ready for this. Although this is not the ideal situation, I am proud of all the efforts our nation has taken to help prevent the spread of the virus.

What is my world like now? Despite feeling sad from leaving all my friends, classes, and Chapel Hill, if I had to describe my lifestyle right now in one word it would be healthy. Probably a bad word to choose during this craziness, but it’s true! I have been sleeping in, exercising A TON, and doing courses at my own pace. Seriously, I have never exercised so much in my life. The shift to online classes has been a journey for sure. I have no technology wizard unfortunately, so it did take me a minute to get used to working on zoom. The hardest part for me is sticking to a schedule. It is tough, especially with how nice it has been outside, to find the motivation to study and get things done. I thrive on making schedules for myself and writing down everything I need to get done each day. So that has most definitely helped me stay on top of my course work. Even though my work load has not gone down, I do feel a little less stressed just from being home. I know it has been hard for all the teachers to switch to being online as well. We are all going to get through this together!   

On top of it all, I have gotten to spend lots of time with my family. I have been able to play outside with my younger brother and sister and it feels as if I am a kid again (that makes me smile). While the world is one scary place right now, I am cherishing this time and all the memories we are making as a family. The scariest part of it all is the unknown. We do not know when this is going to end and what is going to happen. I am so thankful that I have the comfort of my family and being at home during this worldwide crisis. Everyone, please stay safe!

Oh man, here we go. Coronavirus. Every conversation I have had, especially this week, has been about this virus. Are we going to get it? Are we going to die? The world has gone into an absolute COMPLETE panic! I have never seen anything like this before. I personally do not think we should worry because worrying about it will not help. We just need to wash our hands and not touch our faces! This disease is rapidly changing and has definitely changed since the last time I blogged about it because now it is in the United States. Hospitals are slammed because this disease is spreading so quickly. We need to keep our healthcare workers healthy in order for them to effectively treat infected individuals. If we can take precaution and slow down the transmission, we will be perfectly fine.

The coronavirus appears to cause symptoms similar to a common cold. It can cause a fever, muscle aches, a cough, respiratory distress, and more. These symptoms can appear as mild or severe depending on your age and current state. I think the scariest thing about this disease is how long the incubation period is. You could have this disease for as long as 14 day. Can you think of everywhere you have been and everything you have touched in the last 14 days? Yeah, me either. Like all of those things you have touched and all of those people you have seen are likely to get and spread the disease as well. It seems as if this novel virus is unavoidable. It may be, but the main factor is how quickly it is spreading and how severe each case is. We need to slow down the transmission level before it is too late!

The United States cases have recently begun. A man traveled from Wuhan, China, where the novel virus began, and he brought it to the United States. This just shows how connected our world is. All of this has spread across the country in a matter of months, it is crazy! Ever since he tested positive for the disease, there have almost been 3,000 people in the United States that have confirmed they now have the virus. States have been very active against this disease where they have banned large gatherings, concerts, schools, and more! Unfortunately, this disease is likely to get worse before it gets better. Luckily, us younger folks will not be affected. We may only show these cold like symptoms. It is the elderly and those who are immunocompromised who we are worried about. If we can continue to practice social distancing, washing our hands constantly, and not touch our faces, we can make decrease the transmission rates. This will help hospitals not be as slammed with severe cases. We are community, lets help each other!

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are all around us and they are very difficult to treat! Most people, especially at this day and age, are unaware of how scary these diseases can be. The chances of getting an STD are very likely, especially if you are having unprotected sex. Many of y’all are probably thinking “Well I am completely fine. I am always safe.” But, what I find the scariest is that these diseases can be asymptomatic. This means that people can have the disease and not show any signs or symptoms! Yikes! This person could appear completely clean and normal but turn out to have a serious sexually transmitted disease. If they don’t know that they have it, they could leave the infection untreated which can lead to very serious health issues! That is why I am here to inform you all about how these diseases are transmitted and prevented.  Since most sexually transmitted diseases cannot be cured, lets prevent them as much as we can!

Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. This is considered one of those diseases that can be asymptomatic. It is usually spread through vaginal, oral, or anal sex. The rates are the highest for teenagers and young adults. Chlamydia can be spread vertically meaning that a pregnant woman can spread this disease to their child during birth. Common risk factors include having multiple sex partners and not using protection. To prevent this disease, it may seem fairly obvious- limit your sex partners and use condoms! However, this is serious. Chlamydia trachomatous can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, prostate infections, infertility, arthritis, and much more! The antibiotics to treat this disease include doxycycline and azithromycin, however these antibiotics can strongly damage your gut microbiome. Why damage your normal microbiota when you can use the precautions listed above? I encourage every one of you all to use these precautions so we can decrease transmission and the sequelae associated with this disease.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a very common sexually transmitted disease. This disease causes genital warts to appear on external and internal genitalia, the anus, or the oral cavity; However, this disease can be asymptomatic. Again, your partner could be infected without you even knowing. You do not have to have warts to be shedding the virus. HPV is spread by sexual intercourse. There are many different strains of this virus and four of them cause cancer because they have oncogenes. Obviously, this is a very serious disease and luckily there is a disease to prevent it. The Gardasil vaccine is what is given in the United States to protect against most strains of HPV. Since the only reservoir is humans, we could wipe this disease off the face of the earth! We know that HPV causes cervical cancer, so if everyone gets vaccinated, there would be no more cervical cancer! So like can we all work together and get rid of these diseases?? Thanks!