PLANT TOXINS: Effects and Treatment

Do you ever wonder why everything has its own limitations? Why everything has dos and don’ts? Why everything has rights and wrongs?

It’s like PLANTS. Some are edible, some are tangible, and some are therapeutic... BUT some plant cannot be eaten because they are poisonous... cannot be touched because they can be irritants... and cannot be used as medicine because they have adverse effects.

PLANT TOXINS.

Toxicity is not only applicable to chemicals and other man-made substances, but also to nature especially for plants. These toxins have also unfavorable effects to human body if it is eaten, touched or smelled just like a typical poisonous chemical. But the only difference is, these plants can be found anywhere. And so, the incidence reports of plant poisoning are higher than chemical poisoning.

Actually they are hundreds of plant toxins found and secreted by a variety of plants. It’s nice to know a few of them.

MUSHROOM


POISON IVY


JIMSON WEED


TOBACCO


LILIES

As I have said above, they are like other poisons which have undesirable effects to different parts of the body.

1. The largest organ at risk – SKIN.

One point in time, we may experience itchiness and rashes when we walk along the fields. We can also experience some numbness and some stinging sensation. These were not caused by insects; they may be caused by some plants.

2. If we have eaten it - first, our MOUTH will suffer.

It’s like when Manny Pacquiao had punched your mouth – swelling and pain will occur. Plant toxins may affect us as fast as seconds when it comes contact with our body.
3. If we have eaten it – second, our STOMACH will be affected
Do you think the evilness of these toxins end in out mouth? NOPE. It will proceed to attacking our stomach by inducing vomit, nausea and diarrhea. Some toxins may not express their toxicity in the mouth, but they express it greatly in the stomach.

4. If we have eaten it – the next target, LIVER!

FAILURE, CIRRHOSIS, CANCER and DEATH – these are the fates of our liver if we have taken in some of the plant toxins. If we don’t treat the toxins earlier, it may proceed to irreversible dead ends.

5. If it had reached into the bloodstream, it will go to the – BRAIN

If you agree that Pacquiao’s fist can make you blown away, think again. Plant toxins are much greater than that! There are a lot of brain’s activity that attacked by these poisons. There will come the headaches and seizures, and then there will be excitation that will eventually cause muscle weakness. Others are hallucinations, memory lost, confusions and paralysis.

6. If it had reached into the bloodstream, it will go to the – HEART AND BLOOD VESSELS

First sign of plant toxins affecting the heart and blood vessels is WEAKNESS. This is brought by the constriction of the blood vessels. Second is when we hear that our heart is out of rhythm caused by low blood pressure and heart rate.

7. If you’re pregnant, look out for your – REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

If a pregnant woman had eaten a plant containing some toxins, it will not only harm herself, but also the offspring she’s carrying. These plant toxins may act as teratogens, or substance that can harm or produce malformations to the offspring. Or they can act as abortifacients, or substances that can induce death or abortion of the offspring.

Nowadays, the diagnosis of these plant toxin poisoning is very challenging because there are a variety of them but there only limited tests that can give a reliable result and pinpoint the specific toxin that is involved. These tests are only qualitative; it is not enough to give at least the titer of the poison that had taken in. Only clinical manifestations and history of the patient can give some clues of exposure to the plant toxins. Biopsy of the lesions can also be used but it is not practical and time consuming.

When someone is exposed to this kind of poison, one should know the treatment. Actually, the treatment is not really straightforward to the poison itself. This requires a different approach to manage the case.

• First, when the vital signs of the patients are not normal, we have to stabilize it.

• Second, we have to find out the history of the patient and then evaluate it based on the information we have obtained.

• Third, when the toxin is eaten, prevent further absorption of it before it can further damage the other organs.

• Fourth, if the poison had been specified, give the patient the antidote.

• Fifth, after preventing further absorption, hasten the elimination.

• Sixth, give the patient medication directed to the symptoms and give some supportive care.

• Finally, monitor and watch out the patient.

All of us has its own imperfections, even plants do. And so, as the general rule. We should watch out and be aware of every little things that surround us. We never know, even just a simple weed can kill us. :)

REFERENCES:
Clinical Chemistry: A Fundamental Textbook by Donald Calbreath

PHOTOS BY:
Wentloog
H. Orihashi
Foto Martien

ME in favor of Drug Testing!

In a classroom, there's always a geek, a joker, loner, early bird, latecomer, muse and escort, leader, delinquent, bully, bullied, hyper, sleepyhead... We know each student is unique and everyday they present a different personality. Now, the question is, do we know that someone is under the influence of a powerful substance?

Surely, we cannot say it only by looking at their physical appearance, signs and symptoms, and at their attitudes. Sometimes, it's too late when we finally know that they are addicted.

So why do we screen the students? Minors are the most vulnerable members of the society. They are always into something new... into something they want to try... into something they knew it's dangerous... Minors want to know why are they dangerous, that's why they try them. And that's very alarming to authorities. They begin to instruct the schools to include the education about illegal drugs so that they will have the knowledge and hints on what will happen to them if they get addicted to it.

We all know that illegal drugs affect the whole system of the body, but the most affected is our central nervous system which is in control of our daily routine. Many crimes are associated to people who are mentally distressed caused by illegal drugs. What will happen if a young person gets addicted? He/she cannot focus on lessons, may fail the subjects, may do something bad against his/her classmate, may abide the school's rules and regulations, and he/she may influence other students to try it.

This drug testing idea is not purely for students' safety, but also for the society. Society cannot achieve its serenity if its members, especially if they're still young, cannot follow and distinguish what's wrong from right. Society must shape the minors mind-sets through preventing the usage of illegal drugs.

So who's not into the drug testing? We all know it is advantageous but everybody's backing off. I hope they think about it, not twice, but in a DEEPER level.

Photos by:
Proust
doctorchan
Fact finder

Masarap ang Bawal!

One of the important lessons in life is MISTAKES exist not to make our lives miserable, but to teach, mold and make us a BETTER person.

But... sometimes life has its own twists. There’s always a possibility that someone we met introduce to us the word “TIKIM”. For me, it’s one of the very dangerous words in the world. This word tempts us to try new things we thought exciting and pleasurable. It’s like the tag line of Pringles: ONCE YOU POP, THE FUN DON’T STOP.

I noticed that people are getting wiser, more knowledgeable and more aware of what is right from wrong, of what is safer from dangerous, and of what is healthier from 'junk' lifestyle. But the irony is, they know about it but they don't know how to apply it.

They know that "Cigarette smoking is bad for your health"... that it is advised to 'Drink Moderately"... But is it enough that they only knew about it?

How come they get used to smoking and drinking alcohol? Now let's dig for answers.

1. Peer Pressure - People never get enough until they have influenced others. And that others never get enough until they tried it. And when they tried, they never get enough until they get addicted to it.

2. Media - Nowadays, I noticed that there were no, or less, cigarettes' commercials. But what shocked me is that, every brand of alcohol has its own and that they have used BIG celebrities to promote their products.

Also, teleseryes and movies are now loaded with people drinking and smoking. The more disturbing is, these media are shown early in the morning or mid-afternoon, in which minors have the tendency to watch them and later on imitate them.

3. Newspapers, magazines, posters... - These are within the reach of many people. Even if a person is illiterate, if he/she see it, eventually they will have a taste of them.

4. Insufficient Laws - Oh what's new about the Philippines' legislative system? There are many bills about preventing and prohibiting such vices, but still none of them haven't become a law. How great was that, huh?

5. Availability and Affordability - There is no sari-sari store in the Philippines that doesn't have cigarettes and alcohols to sell. And I bet there is no day in the calendar that these vendors haven't sell such things.

Who said that they are difficult to remove in our lifestyle? In fact, the number ONE reason why are these substances are abused is that WE ARE WEAK TO RESIST SUCH THINGS. We make ourselves inferior to these vices. If we have the strength to try these, we also must have the strength to fight against it.

Our lives revolves in our hands, not on the cigarettes and alcohols.

Photos by:
De Gira Por El Mundo
lanier67
espressoDOM
Brookezilla
Walker Duke
ikissfootball
pinoy_bart

Everyday TOXIC!

Whenever I hear people saying, "TOOOOOOOOOOXIC", maybe pointing to their studies, work, and even to their moms, I simply think of the word 'poison' or ‘deadly matter’.

Is it true that our assignments, tasks at work and the scolding of our mothers DEADLY? Well, there is a deadlier substance I can think of: ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.

One Saturday evening, while everybody’s having fun at a birthday party, a man had collapsed. His co-drinkers said that he was just drunk and sleepy. But when we checked his body, he was not breathing. Others said that he had vomit so much and cannot speak well. When we brought him to the hospital, the doctor said that the man is at the stage of coma.

Alcohol intoxication – that is the main problem of the story and it is scarier than everybody thinks. Beers, wines and liquors have the same composition of Ethyl Alcohol. The by-products of the breakdown of ethanol are commonly seen in body tissues. And so, intoxication is not seen when the ingestion of ethanol is small or moderate enough.

Actually, the alcoholic tolerance varies from person to person. When one is seen with the symptoms such as vomiting, cannot speak clearly, cannot normally breath, the nails are getting blue and confusion, must already stop or else a more severe situation will happen: DEATH.

As I have said before, the by-products are normally found in the body. However, the synthesis of ethanol is too slow. If the body had ingest more than what it needs, it will go out to the bloodstream and may lead to many side effects. Approximately, the synthesis of an ounce of ethanol takes 90 minutes.

Ethyl alcohol is considered as one of the most effective CNS depressants. Because of this, as one person ingests more ethanol, he/she becomes sleepy and later on, unconscious. The most dangerous part is when the breathing is low and eventually stops because the respiratory system will become depressed. And this can lead to death. Coma resulted from a plug in the lungs. When a drunken person vomits, he/she tries stop and backflow it, bringing it through the lungs which can cause of difficulty of breathing or ‘drowning’. The effects of ethyl alcohol varies depending on its amount of ingestion.

So whenever your friends plan to ‘shot’, make sure that all of you know how to drink moderately. It is because beers are more toxic than your studies, work and your mom!

REFERENCE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol#Pharmacology
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/alcohol_intoxication/article_em.htm

PHOTOS BY:
n0nah
arkworld
kparkercothag
Kuya D
duncandragon

THE PARATHYROID HORMONE TEST

There will come a time that you will sense that the world had just taken you for granted… that there are so many goals but you don’t have the vigour to reach… that everything you seem to like feels so unlikeable… that you feel like you want to stretch out on your bed during the day, but can’t sleep during the night… and the hardest part is you don’t understand why such sensation exist!

These are some of the symptoms of hyperparathyroidism. Hyperparathyroidism is a disorder in our four parathyroid glands, specifically its function of secreting hormone called parathormone. In this condition, there is an elevated secretion of parathormone, which can lead to high serum calcium which is then called hypercalcemia. Other than calcium levels, abnormalities in parathormone levels in the bloodstream affects the phosphate levels, bone matrix formation, vitamin D activation, kidneys and intestines.

Well, symptoms do not merely diagnose such disease. God made the man knowledgeable; man made the interventions. Nowadays, there are several tests in which we can definitely screen and confirm diseases. One of which is the PARATHYROID HORMONE TEST.

Ever wonder if what is this test all about?

Parathyroid hormone test is, simply put, a quantitative test that determine the parathyroid hormone levels in the bloodstream. Its method of measurement are radioimmunoassay (RIA), intact molecule assay and middle molecule assay.

Its clinical implications, as I have mentioned earlier, are hyperparathyroidism, abnormal calcium and phosphate levels, problems in the bones, kidneys and intestines, and vitamin D deficiency.

The preparation for this test is basically be a patient and be patient. Being a patient doesn’t mean you have to wait for your doctor or a medical technologist to give you instructions on how to prepare before the test. You have to be aware of what you will undergo and what reminders you should take in considerations. You have to be patient and follow the rules before taking the test.

Basically, eating or drinking (except for water) is prohibited for about eight to ten hours (some laboratories require ten to twelve hours) before performing the test. It is preferred to be done right after the patient wakes up. This is because parathyroid glands secret hormones promptly after getting up.

Venous blood is the specimen of choice. Venipuncture will be done so expect to be uncomfortable during the extraction of blood. The medical technologist should be aware of patient before-and after-care.

Normal values are variable because every laboratory has its own standards. For normal values, click here. Sometimes, results are released after 1 to 2 days.

So what does your test results mean?

Elevation in parathormone level is caused by many factors: hyperplasia in parathyroid gland, intestinal and kidney cancer, decreased calcium levels in the bloodstream, intestinal malfunction and vitamin D deficiency.

On the other hand, decreased level of parathormone happens when there is destruction in the parathyroid glands, or when vitamin D or calcium levels are in the blood so high.

---
There is a continuous and nonstop discovery and modification in the measurement of parathormone. See how man made answers to every questions, but don't forget to seek God. Because sometimes the magnificent answers do not come from man, but from God. :)

REFERENCES:
Clinical Chemistry: A Fundamental Textbook by Donald Calbreath, pages 390-391
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/parathyroid-hormone?page=3

Photos by:
Elja Vellekoop
Lori Greig
caroline_1

Parathyroid Hormone

Comic strip made by BHIE-LOGGER

Bones are not only helpful in wooing girls, but also in every activity that we do. Calcium is always associated when we talk about bones. We often heard the word ‘calcium' in many milk product commercials. It is one of the minerals that help in the bone matrix formation. But how is the calcium absorbed by the body? What is the principal hormone that is responsible for regulating such minerals?

The endocrine gland in focus is the PARATHYROID GLAND. Better watch this video clip to have a glimpse on this gland's role in our body.

Video made by dizzo95 and shared by youtube.com

Parathyroid gland is located behind of our thyroid gland. It is considered to be the ‘small but terrible' gland because it secretes the hormone that makes our bones stronger and maintains certain minerals inside our body. This hormone is called the parathyroid hormone (also called as PTH, parathormone or parathyrin) that is considered to be a polypeptide, consisting of 84 amino acids.

There are many job descriptions of PTH. All of which is connected to the bone matrix formation and regulation of mineral levels in the blood.

1. Monitoring of Serum Calcium Levels. Bones, kidneys and intestines are the target tissues of the PTH in relation to the regulation of serum calcium.

Photo by Wikipedia.org

In the bones, calcium is released by the PTH by indirect stimulation. The process involved is called bone resorption. It is the bone destruction by the osteoclast, in which it is indirectly enhanced by the PTH.

In kidneys, it is an opposite way. Calcium is reabsorbed from the distal tubules and ascending limb. It is reabsorbed together with the magnesium.

There is also absorption of calcium in the intestines. PTH absorbed calcium by elevating the activated Vitamin D. PTH stimulates enzyme that converts Vitamin D into its activated form in the kidneys. This enzyme will eventually increase the calcium reabsorption in the intestine with the help of a protein called calbindin.

2. Monitoring the Serum Phosphate. Oppose to that of calcium, the PTH reduces the phosphate reabsorption in the kidneys, specifically at the proximal tubules. The release of phosphate from the bone is slightly lower than the calcium. Activated vitamin D also helps in the phosphate reabsorption, though calcium is more dependent on vitamin D compared to the phosphate.

3. Vitamin D activation. As I have said earlier, vitamin D has an important role in the calcium and phosphate reabsorption. The question is, how is PTH activates the vitamin D in our body? PTH controls the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 1-alpha-hydroxylase, which is the enzyme that converts vitamin D into its activated form. The activated form of vitamin D is called 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, also called as calcitriol.

The parathyroid gland releases PTH in accordance with the low concentration of calcium. There will be a sudden elevation of PTH if the serum calcium is below normal. But even if the serum calcium is high, still there is a low secretion of PTH.

See how those 'small but terrible' glands are helpful in our lives. At first, we don't mind if these glands exist or not, but now we already know its functions. We should appreciate and be thankful for every glands that God had given to us.

REFERENCES:
Clinical Chemistry: A Fundamental Textbook by Donald Calbreath
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parathyroid_hormone
http://parathyroid.com/parathyroid-function.htm

Clinical Chemistry 3: An Introduction

Similar to movies and bestseller books, Clinical Chemistry is a TRILOGY subject. CC 01 is all about Routine Clinical Chemistry; CC 02 is about Special Chemistry; and lastly, CC 03 is about Endocrinology, Toxicology and Drug Testing. As they always say, the LAST part is the BEST but the BLOODIEST.

This blog is all about Clinical Chemistry 3. And for a jump start, lets define the aforementioned terms that are included in the subject.

ENDOCRINOLOGY

When people hear the word endocrinologist, they simply say that they are doctors which specialize with hormonal imbalances. Endocrinology is basically the study endocrine system, which is composed of glands that secretes hormones. It includes processes of production, their functions, and also their correlated diseases. Hormones are the principal area under discussion of this field of science.

TOXICOLOGY

Our generation is now surrounded by chemicals which can be either helpful or harmful. Chemicals are always associated with health threats. That’s why chemical hazard sign is labelled with a skull signifying danger or death. Toxicology is simply the study of the chemicals which have adverse effects to human beings. This field of science measures the risks and circumstances of these harmful chemical ranging from short to long term results.

DRUG TESTING

Cocaine, marijuana and heroin – these are some of the abused substances that had gain many issues and law-related violations in our generation. These had caused many individuals to lose their track in life, destroyed many families, and even brought disarray to our community. Usually, drug testing is very helpful to combat drug usage. Drug testing is a way to determine people who had taken specified drugs or substances. It can even quantify the amount of taken substances. This test usually includes many biological specimens like blood, urine, saliva, sweat and even hair.

REFERENCES:
Clinical Chemistry: A Fundamental Textbook by Donald Calbreath