3 September 2009

 

Six Killers: “They are the leading causes of illness and death in the United States today:

• heart disease,

• cancer,

• stroke,

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / chronic lung disease

• diabetes

• Alzheimer's disease, in that order.

 

Together, they account for 25 percent of the nation's annual health care expenditures, said Jonathan Skinner, a health economist at Dartmouth College. The outlook for them is improving - people are getting the diseases later in life, and death rates are falling. Yet, in many instances, patients are undertreated or treated inappropriately. In some cases, science has not offered answers, but in others, the medical system has been unable to turn proven remedies into everyday care.”

 

Six more from a different perspective:

 

One World Health: Developing medicines for children and families suffering from preventable and treatable diseases of poverty in the developing world. “According to the Global Forum for Health Research, every year more than US $70 billion is spent worldwide on health research and development by the public and private sectors. An estimated 10% of this is used for research into 90% of the world's health problems. This is what is called "the 10/90 gap". The consequences of that profound inequity are visible around the world. According to Doctors Without Borders, of the 1393 new drugs approved from 1975 to 1990, just 13 drugs—barely one percent––were for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world."

• Visceral leishmaniasis:

• Tuberculosis

• Diarrheal disease / rotaviruses:

• Malaria: .

• Chagas disease:

• Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH):

 

Your role tonight:

1. We will go into IT 265 (Computer lab). IF you have your own computer with you, invite a group to stay with you in IT 252.

2. Work in a group of 4-5. Your team projects will be in a group of 4-5, but you do NOT have to start organizing your team yet. Think of this as a “trial run”

3. Do some quick research about TWO of these diseases, one from each list. For each one, try to find the answer to some basic questions:

 

 

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	1.	2.
Definition
Etiology (an aberrant protein, a parasite, a virus?)
Cellular process affected or Organs affected
Possible therapeutic target         Other notes?

 

 

 

.........................................................Copyright Kathleen A. Marrs 2009