Non-Infectious Diseases

• Non-infectious diseases are caused by factors other than pathogens, such as genetic, environmental, or nutritional factors
• Three examples of non-infectious diseases are Diabetes, cancer, and autism
• Genetic diseases are caused by altered or incorrect expressions of genes, leading to disruptions in gene expression and protein production
• Nutritional diseases are caused by an imbalance of nutrients or having too little or too much of needed nutrients in the body
• Environmental diseases are caused by mutations or reactions due to environmental factors or an overreaction of the immune system to antigens
• Autoimmune diseases involve a combination of environmental and genetic factors, where the immune system attacks the body's own cells, leading to inflammation and damage
• Cancer involves unregulated and abnormal cell growth and division, caused by mutations that increase cell division rates or suppress programmed cell death
• Incidence is the rate of new cases of a disease in a population in a given period, also known as disease risk
• Prevalence is the total number of cases existing in a population in a given period, also known as disease burden
• Mortality is the number of deaths due to a disease in a population in a period of time
• Lead poisoning and type 2 diabetes are both environmental, non-infectious, and treatable diseases
• Treatment of infectious diseases involves reducing the symptoms of the disease
• Prevention of infectious diseases includes actions taken to prevent oneself or unborn children from contracting the disease
• Management of infectious diseases involves keeping the condition under control
• Causes of lead poisoning include gold mining, lead in plumbing, food, leaded paint, and leaded petrol
• Symptoms of lead poisoning include loss of hearing, blindness, and slow brain development
• Sickle cell anaemia is a disease where red blood cells are sickle-shaped, leading to less oxygen carrying capacity and potential blockages in capillaries
• The incidence of sickle cell anaemia is higher in Nigeria due to high rates of malaria, protection from cerebral malaria, and passing the disease to offspring
• Prevention of non-infectious diseases involves preventative measures, education, protection, quarantine/lockdown, treatment, and preventing the disease in the first place
• Vitamin A deficiency is a significant issue for humanity, causing preventable deaths, especially in children
• Golden rice is a genetically modified rice injected with beta carotene gene, which is an example of genetic engineering and a GMO to increase Vitamin A intake
• Epidemiological studies are important to find disease origins, develop treatment plans, prevention strategies, and disease control to prevent pandemics
• Epidemiology is the branch of science dealing with disease incidence, distribution, control, cause identification, prevention, management, and control in populations
• Organizations like the Centre for Disease Control carry out epidemiological studies due to being well-funded, reliable, unbiased, trusted by the government, and working on a global scale
• Epidemiological studies can identify major disease causes, methods for infectious and non-infectious diseases, but have limitations like cost, inability to measure all disease aspects, and difficulty in collecting data in emergencies
• Common symptoms of West Nile fever include encephalitis, headaches, fever, confusion, body aches, joint pain, and some individuals may not experience symptoms
• Control is not relevant for non-infectious diseases as they do not involve pathogens that need to be stopped from spreading
• Prevention for non-infectious diseases involves removing, avoiding, or altering factors causing the disease
• Prevention methods for non-infectious diseases include education programs, genetic counselling, genetic engineering, and population screening
• PAP smears are effective in preventing cervical cancer by detecting early changes in the cervix before cancer develops
• The new cervical screening test is more effective in preventing cervical cancer as it also tests for HPV, a risk factor for the disease
• Prevention of non-infectious diseases involves removing, avoiding, or altering factors causing the disease, while prevention of infectious diseases focuses on stopping pathogen entry or using the immune system to destroy pathogens
• Prevention is a better option than treatment for diseases due to cost-effectiveness, permanent side effects of some diseases, and some diseases being untreatable
• Receptors detect changes, effectors counteract changes, and the CNS processes information and sends messages to effectors
• Resting potential is when a nerve fibre is not conducting an impulse, with low sodium and high potassium concentrations in neurons
• Action potential occurs when sodium ions enter and potassium ions leave a neuron, creating a nerve impulse lasting about 1 ms
• Neurons carry electrochemical impulses through the body to target cells via action potentials
• Disorder is when normal tissue in the human body is changed, altering its structure or function
• Parts of the eye include vitreous humour, aqueous humour, lens, iris, pupil, cornea, retina, ciliary muscles, fovea, and optic nerve
• Rods and cones are both found in the eyes, with rods detecting black, white, grey, and movement, while cones detect red, green, and blue colors