Posts Tagged ‘Tissue’

Histidine – Essential Amino Acid for tissue Growth and Repair

Histidine is regarded as an essential amino acid during the period of growth. However, as healthy adults are capable of synthesizing it according to their requirements, it is termed a non-essential amino acid in adult life. This amino acid may also be required in the diet during old age and in those suffering from de-generative diseases. Histidine is metabolized into histamine, an important physiological substance which is normally freely present in the intestine.

- Histidine is essential for growth and repair of human tissues.
- Histidine is necessary for the conversion of glucose into glycogen in the liver.
- Histidine converted into histamine stimulates the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach.

Histidine is found in :
- Fruits such as bananas and grapes.
- Meat and poultry.
- Milk and milk products.
- Root vegetables and all green vegetables but in lesser quantities.

A deficiency of histidine can cause :
- Pain in the bony joints.
- Low urine concentration of histidine has been reported to accompany rheumatoid arthritis.

HEALING PROPERTIES
Taken orally, histidine is likely to depress the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. Histidine helps to dilate the blood vessels and has therefore, been found beneficial in the treatment of cardio-circulatory disorders. The release of histidine from body stores is considered a prerequisite for sexual arousal. Hence, histidine supplementation may prove helpful in this regard.
Histidine has also been found to be beneficial in allergic conditions, in the treatment of anemia , and disorders of the auditory nerve.

PRECAUTION:
Taken orally, histidine has a tendency to stimulate hydrochloric acid secretion in the stomach. Thus, persons who already suffer from over-abundance of acid in the stomach and those who have ulcers should avoid taking pure histidine.

| More

If you found this post informative, why not sign up to receive new posts ?
It's simple, and free, and you can even opt to receive by email:
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to Good Health Tips by Email

Introduction to Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow — the spongy tissue inside bones where blood cells are made.

- The word “acute” in acute myelogenous leukemia denotes the disease’s rapid progression and the fact that it affects immature blood cells, rather than mature ones.
- It’s called myelogenous leukemia because it affects a group of white blood cells called the myeloid cells, which normally develop into the various types of mature blood cells, such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Causes and Risk factors of AML

- Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) may occur at any age, but it primarily affects adults and children younger than one year old.
- Bone marrow failure occurs as malignant cells replace normal bone marrow.
- Patients with AML are susceptible to bleeding and infection as the normal blood cells lose their ability to fight microorganisms and decrease in number.
- Radiation, some toxins such as benzene, and some chemotherapy drugs are thought to cause some kinds of leukemia, including AML.
- Genetic abnormalities may also play a role in the development of this condition.
- Immuno-suppression following organ transplantation.
- Blood disorders.

Symptoms of AML

- Abnormal menstrual periods.
- Bleeding from the nose and gums.
- Bruising.
- Bone pain or tenderness.
- Fatigue.
- Fever.
- Paleness.
- Shortness of breath (gets worse with exercise).
- Skin rash or lesion.
- Swollen gums (rare).
- Weight loss.

Diagnosis of AML

AML is diagnosed when blood and bone marrow samples show a large number of leukemia cells. AML has eight subtypes, labeled M0 through M7. The subtypes are based on the type of blood cells affected. To find out the sub type and how well the leukemia might respond to treatment, the samples are looked at to find:
- The number of healthy blood cells.
- The size and number of leukemia cells.
- The changes that appear in the chromosomes of the leukemia cells. This is called cytogenetics.
Other genetic abnormalities, e.g., FLT3 mutation, N-RAS.
Doctors also examine the patient to find out if leukemia cells have spread outside the blood and bone marrow.

Treatment options for AML

For a patient with AML, the treatment plan may include:
- Chemotherapy — drugs that destroy cancer cells or stop them from growing.
- A bone marrow or cord blood transplant (described below).
- All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) if he or she has the subtype of AML known as promyelocytic leukemia.
- Other newer treatments that were recently developed or are still being studied in clinical trials — you can ask your doctor whether any newer treatments may be options for you.

How Are Bone Cancers Staged ?

Staging is a process that tells the doctor how wide spread a cancer may be. It will show whether the cancer has spread and how far. The treatment will depend on what stage has the bone cancer reached.
The American Joint Commission on Cancer has devised a system to stage bone cancer based on three factors.
- T stands for the size of the tumor.
- N stands for lymph node involvement.
- M stands for spread (metastasis) to distant organs.
- G stands for the tumor grade.

T stages of bone cancer :
TX: Primary tumor can’t be measured.
T0: No evidence of the tumor.
T1: Tumor is 8 cm (around 3 inches) or less.
T2: Tumor is larger than 8 cm.
T3: Tumor is in more than one place on the same bone.

N Stages :
N0: No spread to nearby (regional) lymph nodes.
N1: Cancer detected in nearby lymph nodes.

M Stages :
M0: No distant metastasis.
M1: Distant metastasis (cancer has spread to other tissues or organs).
M1a: Cancer has spread only to the lung.
M1b: Cancer has spread to other sites.

Grades :
G1–G2: Low grade
G3–G4: High grade

Once all of these stages have been determined in a particular case of cancer, the data are combined, and an overall stage is given to the disease.
- Stage IA: T1, N0, M0, G1-G2: Tumor is confined to the bone, less than 8 cm in size, and is low grade.
- Stage IB: T2, N0, M0, G1-G2: Tumor is confined to the bone, larger than 8 cm, and is low grade.
- Stage IIA: T1, N0, M0, G3-G4: Tumor is confined to the bone, less than 8 cm, and is high grade.
- Stage IIB: T2, N0, M0, G3-G4: Tumor is confined to the bone, larger than 8 cm, and is high grade.
- Stage III: T3, N0, M0, Any G: Tumor is confined to the bone but tumor cells are detected at other sites on the bone.
- Stage IVA: Any T, N0, M1a, Any G: Tumor has spread to the lung.
- Stage IVB: Any T, N1, Any M, Any G: Tumor has spread to lymph nodes and distant sites, or Any T, Any N, M1b, Any G: Tumor has spread to distant sites other than the lung.