My
name is Raymond Wu and I am currently an undergraduate student at San Francisco
State University currently majoring in biology with concentration in
physiology. I enjoy learning about new scientific methods and the potential
practicality in which they can be applied. Among them is the topic of
atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis
is the thickening of arterial walls created by the buildup of plaque. Although this terminology may be new to some, it is
the major cause of human related deaths in the United States. This disease even
peaks over cancer and tobacco death rates. Atherosclerosis itself does not
immediately kill its host, but is the leading cause of cardiovascular problems
which develops gradually into a hazardous health problem. So why is this important?
Simply because each and every single individual has this disease gradually
building up despite how healthy you may appear, but is only a matter of time
when it peaks the allowed blockage of your arteries and you can no longer send
fresh oxygenate blood throughout your body. Then BAM! You are either having a
stroke, or you probably do not know it because you are already dead.
The
purpose of this blog is to discuss the practicality of potential treatments of
atherosclerosis. Currently I understand that although atherosclerosis is not
curable, but rather only treatable.
Treatments include:
·
Medications that lower
the arterial pressure by inducing changes in the heart with calcium-channel or
beta blockers, and angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitors
·
Surgery
which involve angioplasty and stent placement, endarterectomy, and bypass surgery.
Potential treatments
still under research:
·
Synthestic blood
vessels
I would like this blog to discuss
the opinions of the best potential treatment, or a combination of treatments,
for atherosclerosis. Personally, I prefer the idea of a synthetic blood vessel
that may be transplanted into the affected area without having to perform a
bypass surgery of removing a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body
to replace the clogged one.
If you agree with me about the synthetic blood
vessel, what would be your opinion of the best material to be used to construct
the vessel. The idea of embryonic stem cells from the actual patient that needs
the vessel being used to synthesize their own blood vessel may probably reduce
the chance of the body rejecting the
newly implanted tissue.
What is your opinion on the subject
matter?
References:
Aronow, W. S. (2011). Osteoporosis, osteopenia, and atherosclerotic
vascular disease. Arch Med
Sci. , 7(1), 21-26. doi:
10.5114/aoms.2011.20599
Butcher, M. J., & Galkina, E. V. (2012). Phenotypic and functional
heterogeneity of macrophages and dendritic cell subsets in the healthy and
atherosclerosis-prone aorta. Front
Physiol, 3, doi:
10.3389/fphys.2012.00044
Li, J. (2011). Inflammation in coronary artery diseases.Chinese
Medical Journal, 124(21),
3568-3575. Retrieved from http://www.cmj.org/Periodical/paperlist.asp?
Mercando, A.D., et al (2012):. Reduction in atherosclerotic events: a
retrospective study in an outpatient cardiology practice. Arch Med Sci. . 8.1, 57-62. Retrieved from
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3309438/?tool=pubmed>.
Niessner, A., & Weyand, C. M. (2009). Dendritic cells in
atherosclerotic disease. Clin
Immunol, 134(1), doi:
10.1016/j.clim.2009.05.006
Twigg, M.W., K. Freestone, et al( 2012):. The LOX-1 Scavenger Receptor
and Its Implications in the Treatment of Vascular Disease." Cardiol Res Pract.. 2012.
Retrieved from
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3290926/?tool=pubmed>.
Widmaier, Eric P., et al (2011). Vander's
Human Physiology: The Mechanisms of Body Function. 12th ed. New York:
McGraw Hill, 2011. 414-16.
Zacharias, D. G., and et al. (2012). Humanin, a cytoprotective peptide,
is expressed in carotid artherosclerotic plaques in humans. PLoS One, 7(2), Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3273477/?tool=pubmed
Personally I agree with you on doing the synthetic blood over performing a bypass. From what I know, a relative passed away while doctor was performing the bypass surgery and he died of complication. However I do not know much about what method is best to use for synthetic blood :(
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reply, my greatest sympathy towards your family member. Hopefully, time will provide us with technological advances that will minimize potential risks that may be fetal.
DeleteRegarding the surgical approach, there's always a large chance that more harm can be done than good. As with all surgeries, the patients are potentially exposed to harmful agents if the surgeon is not careful in his handling of the procedure. It may not be a safe solution but if it's the only option, then it must be done.
ReplyDeleteAre there any risks to the synthetic blood vessel option? While it may appear to be a better option than taking a healthy blood vessel elsewhere and replacing the clogged one, I'd like to know more about what goes into constructing a synthetic blood vessel and how it replaces the clogged vessel. That'd help out a lot.
Thank you for your reply, I will mention more about synthetic blood vessels in the next post.
Delete