Brandy Santa Cruz - BIOL1090, Chapter 19 - Critical Thinking Assignment
March 2014
All questions were researched in Human Biology, 2nd Custom Edition for SLCC, published by Pearson
and there are additional references listed below each answer.
1. What is Multiple Sclerosis? Why does neuronal demyelination matter? Why would a stem-cell therapy
be the most promising therapy for MS?
Multiple Sclerosis is a degenerative and an autoimmune disease that is diagnosed when immune cells
attack cells in the brain. Neuronal Demyelination matters because detection of this can lead to an
earlier diagnosis of MS. ND is a condition that results in damage of the myelin sheath, which is like a
protective covering for the nerves that surround the brain and spinal cord. Stem-Cell therapy would be
most promising because there is currently no real cure for MS and the new, fresh cells would allow the
myelin sheath to regenerate and re-protect the nerves.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23365095
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19525897
http://www.mayoclinic.org/demyelinating-disease/expert-answers/faq-20058521
2. Using tobacco and tobacco based products can lead to cancer. List the 3 most common cancers
caused by tobacco. Explain briefly how tobacco causes cancer.
Three most common cancers caused by tobacco are: lung, throat and mouth.
Smoking is linked as a risk factor in almost every type of cancer. Just the smoke from tobacco contain
more than 20 known cancer-causing substances, known as carcinogens, which can cause mutations and
malfunctions in normal cells. It damages the lungs, the primary site of gas exchange in the body which
obviously hinders it functions, which are some of the most important in maintaining homeostasis.
Almost every function in the body is impaired by smoking, from the beating of your heart (increased
blood pressure) to your urinary system, there is a dramatic spike in bladder cancer (three times more
common in smokers).
Side note: I quit smoking after I read Chapter 15 of our book, I've been tobacco free for over 1 month!
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/tobacco-related-cancer-fact-sheet
3. Mr. Bernard is suffering from an extreme stomach ache. His physician has diagnosed it as liver
cirrhosis. What is this disease and is there a cure? Talk about the role of alcohol in causing liver cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis is when scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue, the scar tissue hinders/blocks the normal
blood flow in the liver and impairs its functions. There is currently no cure for cirrhosis, treatments just
manage the symptoms and complications. Liver transplant can be performed, but there is an extremely
long waiting list and usually is only done when the condition has become fatal. Alcohol causes
unnecessary swelling and injuries in the liver, the amount of alcohol that causes damage varies.
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Liver_disease_cirrhosis
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis_ez/
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cirrhosis/Pages/Treatment.aspx
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa19.htm
4. The USFDA released a safety information about Zolpidem tartarate in January 2013 requesting
pharmaceutical manufacturers to make changes in the medication labels. What is this drug and why
should women be more cautious about taking this drug?
The current brand name for Zolpidem Tartrate is Ambien, a drug that is used for the treatment of
insomnia, it may also be referred to as a sleeping pill. Women are more susceptible to next-morning
impairment for activities that require complete mental alertness because they do not process or
eliminate zolpidem as fast as men. Women are at a higher risk for middle of the night awakenings. The
FDA released additional information on 05-14-2013 regarding the difference in dosage amounts for men
and women.
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm352085.htm
http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm334033.htm
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyRelatedDrugLabelingChanges/ucm119272.htm
5. Every state in the United States is mandated to have "Clinical Guidelines for prescription of opioid for
pain management". Why has this been necessary? How can prescription medications be "dangerous"?
This has become necessary because of the high abuse risk associated with opioids, people of all ages are
impacted by addiction to pain pills. Opioids mixed with other mind altering drugs and/or alcohol are
even more fatal. In the state of Utah, pain medication is the number one cause of unintentional death.
They can be dangerous for a number of other reasons such as depression, sexual problems, nausea or
vomiting and breathing problems. If someone becomes an addict, it can drastically change their
behaviors and lead to forging prescriptions, excessive visits to the ER, even stealing or borrowing drugs.
These types of behavioral changes can result in felony charges and heavy fines (as they should).
http://health.utah.gov/prescription/pdf/guidelines/final.04.09opioidGuidlines.pdf
http://www.ghc.org/all-sites/guidelines/chronicOpioid.pdf