scholarly journals Homo medicus: The transition to meat eating, increased pathogen pressure, and the constitutive and inducible use of pharmacological plants in Homo

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward H Hagen ◽  
Aaron D Blackwell ◽  
Aaron Lightner ◽  
Roger Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Secondary Compounds ◽  
Medical Systems ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Zoonotic Pathogen ◽  
Immune Genes ◽  
Zoonotic Infections ◽  
Stomach Ph

The human lineage entered a more carnivorous niche 2.6 mya. A range of evidence indicates this increased zoonotic pathogen pressure. This evidence includes increased zoonotic infections modern hunter-gatherers and bushmeat hunters relative to others living in the same environments, exceptionally low stomach pH compared to other primates, human-specific downregulation in ANTXR2 that would have protected against increased exposure to zoonotic anthrax, exceptional human immune responses to LPS compared to other primates, and other divergent immune genes. These all point to change, and likely intensification, in the disease environment of Homo compared to earlier hominins and other apes. At the same time, the brain, an organ in which inflammatory immune responses are highly constrained, begins to increase, eventually tripling in size. We propose that the combination of increased zoonotic pathogen pressure and the challenges of defending a large brain and body from pathogens across what would eventually become the longest lifespan of any mammal, selected for intensification of the self-medication strategies already in place in apes and other primates, resulting in a variety of plant-based pathogen defenses. In support, there is evidence of medicinal plant use by hominins in the middle Paleolithic, and all cultures today have sophisticated, plant-based medical systems, incorporate plant components high in secondary compounds (spices) into food, and regularly consume psychoactive substances that are harmful to helminths and other pathogens in the CNS and other tissues. The computational challenges of discovering effective plant-based treatments, and the economic challenges of benefiting from costly-to- acquire medical knowledge that would be more often useful to others than oneself, were selection pressures for increased cognitive abilities and unique exchange relationships in Homo. In the story of human evolution, which has long featured hunters, shamans and healers had an equal role to play.

scholarly journals The neuropeptide receptor NMUR-1 regulates the specificity of C. elegans innate immunity against pathogen infection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Wibisono ◽  
Shawndra Wibisono ◽  
Jan Watteyne ◽  
Chia-Hui Chen ◽  
Durai Sellegounder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Innate Immunity ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Adaptive Immune System ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Innate Immune Responses ◽  
Immune Genes ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Adaptive Immune ◽  
Functional Assays

A key question in current immunology is how the innate immune system generates high levels of specificity. Like most invertebrates, Caenorhabditis elegans does not have an adaptive immune system and relies solely on innate immunity to defend itself against pathogen attacks, yet it can still differentiate different pathogens and launch distinct innate immune responses. Here, we have found that functional loss of NMUR-1, a neuronal GPCR homologous to mammalian receptors for the neuropeptide neuromedin U, has diverse effects on C. elegans survival against various bacterial pathogens. Transcriptomic analyses and functional assays revealed that NMUR-1 modulates C. elegans transcription activity by regulating the expression of transcription factors, which, in turn, controls the expression of distinct immune genes in response to different pathogens. Our study has uncovered a molecular basis for the specificity of C. elegans innate immunity that could provide mechanistic insights into understanding the specificity of vertebrate innate immunity.

scholarly journals The Effects of In Vivo Exposure to Copper Oxide Nanoparticles on the Gut Microbiome, Host Immunity, and Susceptibility to a Bacterial Infection in Earthworms

Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elmer Swart ◽  
Jiri Dvorak ◽  
Szabolcs Hernádi ◽  
Tim Goodall ◽  
Peter Kille ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Copper Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Immune Genes ◽  
Host Immune Responses ◽  
Earthworm Gut ◽  
Bacterium Bacillus

Nanomaterials (NMs) can interact with the innate immunity of organisms. It remains, however, unclear whether these interactions can compromise the immune functioning of the host when faced with a disease threat. Co-exposure with pathogens is thus a powerful approach to assess the immuno-safety of NMs. In this paper, we studied the impacts of in vivo exposure to a biocidal NM on the gut microbiome, host immune responses, and susceptibility of the host to a bacterial challenge in an earthworm. Eisenia fetida were exposed to CuO-nanoparticles in soil for 28 days, after which the earthworms were challenged with the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Immune responses were monitored by measuring mRNA levels of known earthworm immune genes. Effects of treatments on the gut microbiome were also assessed to link microbiome changes to immune responses. Treatments caused a shift in the earthworm gut microbiome. Despite these effects, no impacts of treatment on the expression of earthworm immune markers were recorded. The methodological approach applied in this paper provides a useful framework for improved assessment of immuno-safety of NMs. In addition, we highlight the need to investigate time as a factor in earthworm immune responses to NM exposure.

scholarly journals Animal self-medication and ethno-medicine: exploration and exploitation of the medicinal properties of plants

2003 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Huffman
Keyword(s):  
Pan Paniscus ◽  
Intestinal Parasites ◽  
Secondary Compounds ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Herbal Remedies ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Synthetic Drugs ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
Intestinal Nematode

Early in the co-evolution of plant-animal relationships, some arthropod species began to utilize the chemical defences of plants to protect themselves from their own predators and parasites. It is likely, therefore, that the origins of herbal medicine have their roots deep within the animal kingdom. From prehistoric times man has looked to wild and domestic animals for sources of herbal remedies. Both folklore and living examples provide accounts of how medicinal plants were obtained by observing the behaviour of animals. Animals too learn about the details of self-medication by watching each other. To date, perhaps the most striking scientific studies of animal self-medication have been made on the African great apes. The great ape diet is often rich in plants containing secondary compounds of non-nutritional, sometimes toxic, value that suggest medicinal benefit from their ingestion. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) are known to swallow whole and defecate intact leaves. The habit has been shown to be a physical means of purging intestinal parasites. Chimpanzees and man co-existing in sub-Saharan Africa are also known to ingest the bitter pith of Vernonia amygdalina for the control of intestinal nematode infections. Phytochemical studies have demonstrated a wide array of biologically-active properties in this medicinal plant species. In light of the growing resistance of parasites and pathogens to synthetic drugs, the study of animal self-medication and ethno-medicine offers a novel line of investigation to provide ecologically-sound methods for the treatment of parasites using plant-based medicines in populations and their livestock living in the tropics.

Establishing a High Level of Knowledge Regarding Bioterrorist Threats in Emergency Department Physicians: Methodology and the Results of a National Bio-Preparedness Project

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adi Leiba ◽  
Nir Drayman ◽  
Yoram Amsalem ◽  
Adi Aran ◽  
Gali Weiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Rapid Diagnosis ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Medical Systems ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
Microbiological Agents ◽  
High Level ◽  
Military Physicians

AbstractIntroduction:Medical systems worldwide are facing the new threat of morbidity associated with the deliberate dispersal of microbiological agents by terrorists. Rapid diagnosis and containment of this type of unannounced attack is based on the knowledge and capabilities of medical staff. In 2004, the knowledge of emergency department physicians of anthrax was tested. The average test score was 58%. Consequently, a national project on bioterrorism preparedness was developed. The aim of this article is to present the project in which medical knowledge was enhanced regarding a variety of bioterrorist threats, including cutaneous and pulmonary anthrax, botulinum, and smallpox.Methods:In 2005, military physicians and experts on bioterrorism conducted special seminars and lectures for the staff of the hospital emergency department and internal medicine wards.Later, emergency department senior physicians were drilled using one of the scenarios.Results:Twenty-nine lectures and 29 drills were performed in 2005.The average drill score was 81.7%.The average score of physicians who attended the lecture was 86%, while those who did not attend the lectures averaged 78.3% (NS).Conclusions:Emergency department physicians were found to be highly knowledgeable in nearly all medical and logistical aspects of the response to different bioterrorist threats. Intensive and versatile preparedness modalities, such as lectures, drills, and posters, given to a carefully selected group of clinicians, can increase their knowledge, and hopefully improve their response to a bioterrorist attack.

scholarly journals Interferon-Mediated Immunopathological Events Are Associated with Atypical Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses in Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (16) ◽  
pp. 8692-8706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Cameron ◽  
Longsi Ran ◽  
Luoling Xu ◽  
Ali Danesh ◽  
Jesus F. Bermejo-Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Fatal Outcome ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Type I ◽  
Immunoglobulin Gene ◽  
Adaptive Immune Responses ◽  
Immune Genes ◽  
Adaptive Immune

ABSTRACT It is not understood how immune inflammation influences the pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). One area of strong controversy is the role of interferon (IFN) responses in the natural history of SARS. The fact that the majority of SARS patients recover after relatively moderate illness suggests that the prevailing notion of deficient type I IFN-mediated immunity, with hypercytokinemia driving a poor clinical course, is oversimplified. We used proteomic and genomic technology to systematically analyze host innate and adaptive immune responses of 40 clinically well-described patients with SARS during discrete phases of illness from the onset of symptoms to discharge or a fatal outcome. A novel signature of high IFN-α, IFN-γ, and IFN-stimulated chemokine levels, plus robust antiviral IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) expression, accompanied early SARS sequelae. As acute illness progressed, SARS patients entered a crisis phase linked to oxygen saturation profiles. The majority of SARS patients resolved IFN responses at crisis and expressed adaptive immune genes. In contrast, patients with poor outcomes showed deviated ISG and immunoglobulin gene expression levels, persistent chemokine levels, and deficient anti-SARS spike antibody production. We contend that unregulated IFN responses during acute-phase SARS may culminate in a malfunction of the switch from innate immunity to adaptive immunity. The potential for the use of the gene signatures we describe in this study to better assess the immunopathology and clinical management of severe viral infections, such as SARS and avian influenza (H5N1), is therefore worth careful examination.

scholarly journals The impact of medical knowledge on attitudes towards the use of OTC drugs

2015 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Kołłątaj ◽  
Magda Sowa ◽  
Witold Kołłątaj ◽  
Piotr Książek ◽  
Justyna Szakuła
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Symptomatic Treatment ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Otc Drugs ◽  
Maximum Period ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Medicine Analysis ◽  
Medical University ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction. In many countries, the concept of OTC drugs, among others, is defined in advance by the assumed maximum period of their use – usually 3-5 days. In fact, many patients often benefit from these opportunities too often, use medication for longer than 3-5 days and prefer symptomatic treatment rather than causal. OTC drugs give people a sense of freedom and subjectivity. Numerous doctors claim that too much freedom in this case can prove dangerous. Aim. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in attitudes towards the use of OTC drugs in medicine students as they acquire knowledge and medical experience. Material and methods. The study looked at 178 students of the Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Lublin (89 – 1 and 2 year students as well 89 – 5 and 6 year ones). A diagnostic survey was used as a tool for obtaining responses from the participants. The survey was conducted between October 2014 and November 2014. Results. Almost 90% of medical students use OTC drugs for self-medication, while only 11% of them have never used such medicine. Analysis of students’ attitudes indicate that acquired medical knowledge has no effect on the frequency using this type of treatment. Overall, students tend to use such drugs occasionally. Only some 14-23% of them use the OTC drugs on a regular basis. The motivations for the use such drugs include: convenience, the previous experiences implying the efficacy of drugs, less frequent are other reasons. Some 28% of the students participating in the study and at least 13% of graduating medical students accept prolonged use of OTC drugs. As the consequence acquisition of medical knowledge, the students are less likely to consult their self-medication attitudes with doctors, families and friends, more often and accurately read the leaflets for drugs, and are more and more reluctant to proposals for extending the assortment of available OTC drugs. Conclusions. 1. Almost 90% of medical students use OTC drugs for self-treatment. 2. 28% of polled 1-2 year medical students and at least 13% of graduating ones may have tendencies to abuse drugs. 3. Over the subsequent years of study, medical students more often read medicine leaflets, they become less reliant on the advice they receive from their family or friends regarding self-treatment or they are less willing to extend the range of available OTC drugs.

scholarly journals Self-medication with cannabidiol (CBD) and associated treatments in the self-care of anxiety in women from Mexico City: A qualitative study

Salud Mental ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 295-306
Author(s):  
Rafael Gutiérrez ◽  
Leticia Vega
Keyword(s):  
Mexico City ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Care Process ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Psychological Therapies ◽  
Medicinal Use ◽  
Hygiene Measures

Introduction. The popular use of marijuana and its components (THC and CBD) for medicinal purposes is often regarded as irresponsible and ignorant. However, in this paper, it is conceptualized and studied as medical knowledge of self-care, in which it is linked to different therapeutic knowledge from conventional and alternative medicine to treat anxiety. Objective. This article reports on a qualitative research project designed to analyze the practices and risks of self-medication with CBD, and its links with medical treatments and self-care measures for dealing with anxiety in adult women in Mexico City. Method. Eleven adult women, mostly professionals, diagnosed with anxiety, participated in the study. In-depth interviews were conducted to learn how women use therapeutic resources to cope with anxiety in their everyday lives. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using ATLAS ti 7 software. Results. Self-medication is part of a self-care process with several facets: the experience of symptoms, self-diagnosis, the use of various remedies (dosage and administration), and their evaluation. During this process, women use a range of medication, psychological therapies, herbalism, acupuncture, yoga, and sleep hygiene measures, including CBD, either as an alternative or an adjunct to biomedical pharmacology, with or without medical supervision. Certain risks were identified, such as the use of CBD that may be incorrectly labeled or interact dangerously with other self-prescribed substances. Discussion and conclusion. These results coincide with those of various authors who equate self-care with a first level of care, which has risks that could be reduced by controlling misleading marketing and developing professional medical services, which are trained and accessible to users, who could inform them about the medicinal use, scope and risks of CBD or THC for health.

Medicine

Buddhism ◽  
2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Pierce Salguero
Keyword(s):  
Health Policy ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Central Place ◽  
The Body ◽  
Medical Systems ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Islamic Medicine ◽  
Wide Range

Knowledge about physical health and disease has held a central place within Buddhist thought, and healing has remained a persistent part of Buddhist practice since the earliest times. Though there is no universally agreed-upon term, Buddhist perspectives on health, disease, healers, patients, and therapies are typically spoken of by East Asian scholars and devotees as “Buddhist medicine” (Ch. foyi佛醫 or fojiao yixue佛教醫學, Jp. bukkyō igaku仏教医学), and this terminology is used here as a convenient shorthand for a complex topic. The earliest expressions of medical doctrine in Indian Buddhist texts are closely related to ideas found in Āyurveda and have suggestive similarities with other Eurasian medical systems (including Hippocratic, Galenic, and Islamic medicine) as well. Integrated into Buddhist philosophy, meditation, and ritual, these core doctrines and perspectives were influential in India and China, and they came to be spread as far as Iran, Mongolia, Japan, and Indonesia. Healer-monks and monastic medical institutions played a major role in this dissemination, as did the large-scale translation of texts concerning a wide range of Buddhist medical topics. In the early 21st century, many of the ideas and practices imported from India continue to lie at the foundation of traditions of medicine in Tibet, Nepal, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and other parts of Buddhist Asia. At the same time that Buddhist medicine can be understood as a transnational or cross-cultural phenomenon, however, it has always been reinterpreted locally through the lenses of the many cultures that have adopted it. Historians working on Buddhist medicine have thus focused both on the transmission of medical knowledge to new cultures and societies, as well as on the unique ideological and rhetorical uses of Buddhism by medical practitioners in many specific historical and modern settings. Social scientists have studied the degree to which Buddhist values continue to inform health policy in Asian countries and the complexities of the relationship between Buddhism and biomedicine. This article includes a selective range of scholarship on the history and modern relationship between Buddhism and medicine, with a focus on the former. Scientific studies on the health benefits of meditation, health policy advocacy, and works of a nonscholarly nature geared toward practitioners and devotees are excluded. Also omitted are topics tangential to matters of physical health, such as mental health, conceptions of the body, bioethics, the science of meditation, and so forth. Many publications of all of the above types are available and are covered in other Oxford Bibliographies in Buddhism articles, such as “Buddhism in Psychology and Psychotherapy,” “Buddhism and the Body,” and “Meditation.”

scholarly journals Integrated Framework of the Immune-Defense Transcriptional Signatures in the Arabidopsis Shoot Apical Meristem

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (16) ◽  
pp. 5745
Author(s):  
Muhammad Naseem ◽  
Özge Osmanoğlu ◽  
Martin Kaltdorf ◽  
Afnan Ali M. A. Alblooshi ◽  
Jibran Iqbal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Shoot Apical Meristem ◽  
Apical Meristem ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gene Expression Omnibus ◽  
Immune Defense ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Pathogen Infection ◽  
Immune Genes

The growing tips of plants grow sterile; therefore, disease-free plants can be generated from them. How plants safeguard growing apices from pathogen infection is still a mystery. The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is one of the three stem cells niches that give rise to the above ground plant organs. This is very well explored; however, how signaling networks orchestrate immune responses against pathogen infections in the SAM remains unclear. To reconstruct a transcriptional framework of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) pertaining to various SAM cellular populations, we acquired large-scale transcriptome datasets from the public repository Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). We identify here distinct sets of genes for various SAM cellular populations that are enriched in immune functions, such as immune defense, pathogen infection, biotic stress, and response to salicylic acid and jasmonic acid and their biosynthetic pathways in the SAM. We further linked those immune genes to their respective proteins and identify interactions among them by mapping a transcriptome-guided SAM-interactome. Furthermore, we compared stem-cells regulated transcriptome with innate immune responses in plants showing transcriptional separation among their DEGs in Arabidopsis. Besides unleashing a repertoire of immune-related genes in the SAM, our analysis provides a SAM-interactome that will help the community in designing functional experiments to study the specific defense dynamics of the SAM-cellular populations. Moreover, our study promotes the essence of large-scale omics data re-analysis, allowing a fresh look at the SAM-cellular transcriptome repurposing data-sets for new questions.

Multiple Voices, Multiple Paths

2019 ◽  
pp. 517-542
Author(s):  
Rutendo Ngara
Keyword(s):  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Medical Systems ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Multiple Voices ◽  
Knowledge Brokerage ◽  
Cognitive Justice ◽  
Multiple Paths ◽  
The Right

The Western knowledge paradigm – with its ways of knowing, ways of seeing and its notions of reality - has dominated the global knowledge arena, rendering many indigenous knowledge systems as invalid, illegitimate and irrelevant. This is particularly true for indigenous medical knowledge systems, which have struggled to articulate their voices from the marginalisation imposed by colonialism, globalisation and modernity. This chapter outlines paradigmatic tenets and key conceptions underpinning Western Biomedicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional African Medicine. It explores areas of synergy and contradiction, as well as points for potential dialogue between the medical systems. The chapter suggests that if carefully excavated, explorations into such ontologies and epistemologies can make meaningful contributions to knowledge brokerage, thus promoting inclusivity and ethics in knowledge societies. It therefore makes a case for cognitive justice – ‘the right of different traditions of knowledge to co-exist without duress'.

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