Cancer

Epilepsy is an ancient disease that has fascinated and frightened scientists and laymen alike. Before we acquired a working knowledge of the central nervous system, seizures were shrouded in mystery. In antiquity, the disease was accredited to gods and demonic possession, causing those with epilepsy to be feared and isolated. Epilepsy patients continued to face discrimination through the mid-20th century. This discrimination ranged from lack of access to health insurance, jobs, marriage inequality, and even forced sterilizations. Despite the strides that have been made, there are still many misconceptions globally regarding epilepsy. While there has been substantial progress, more work needs to be done to educate people across the globe about the pathology of the disease, its causes, and mechanisms. Studies show that patients with epilepsy living in communities that understand the pathology and cause of seizures are generally more successful in social and educational environments. In this book, beyond current treatments that may include anti-epileptic drugs (also called anti-seizure medications), neurosurgery, neurostimulation, lifestyle modifications, and dietary changes, I will discuss the recent modalities of gene therapy, immunotherapy, and neutrophil therapy, and will outline more advanced research options, some of which remain to be pursued. I will also posit that the root cause of epilepsy is an autoimmune disease that had gone rogue, damaging the brain's normal functions and leading to neurodegenerative diseases, including epilepsy. Under this theory, the seizures are but the symptoms of that disease. Brain function being highly non-linear, it is not too surprising that anti-seizure/anti-epileptic drugs that assume a linear brain function have been only partly successful. In all these endeavors, the well-being of the patient is foremost, and that is why I will also include suggestions, recommendations, and available supporting resources for patients and their caregivers, how they can live and cope with their epilepsy, and what they can do about it.

Cancer is one of the oldest diseases seen in human specimens, quite possibly the oldest, the quest for its cure having begun some 4,000 years ago. However, it was fleetingly rare, hidden by other illnesses such as cholera, dropsy, leprosy, plague, pneumonia, smallpox, and tuberculosis. As these diseases were vanquished, and as the human lifespan lengthens, cancer has emerged. Many diseases are lumped together under the denomination "cancer," because they share a fundamental biological feature, namely abnormal cell growth. However, cancer is not a single disease. It is a multiplicity of diseases caused by the uncontrolled growth of a single cell unleashed by mutations. Cancer cells can grow faster, flourish more profusely, adapt better, recover more rapidly, and repair faster than normal cells. They are in effect more perfect versions of normal cells, and can even become immortal! We naively thought that cancer could be defeated by either preventing mutations from occurring in normal cells or else finding the means to eliminate the mutated cells without compromising normal growth. Unfortunately, this view did not take into account the pernicious genetic intertwining of normal and cancerous growths. Woven into our genome, the mutated genes are but distorted versions of the normal ones; they are braided together, and unbraiding them continues to be the most formidable undertaking. Fortunately, the vast majority of cancer cases are due to environmental risk factors, many of which being controllable lifestyle choices, and thus preventable. In developing cancer, individuals differ in both their inherited tendency and exposure to the environment. This book presents the nine major recent developments in cancer treatment, which provide great hope for the future. These include innate immunotherapy with neutrophil-mediated drug delivery for the suppression of postoperative malignant glioma recurrence; synthetic immunotherapy using either chimeric antigen receptor T-cells or programmed-death inhibitors; DNA origami/Trojan technique to foil drug resistance in solid tumors; enzyme mnk-2 conversion to overcome drug resistance in breast, lung and colon cancers; antiangiogenesis to cut off the blood vessels alimenting the cancer cells; self-eradication of cancer during meiosis; combating inflammation to limit tumor invasion, progression, and metastasis; electropermeabilizing the cancer cell membrane to deliver drugs to the cell's interior; and employing nanochemotherapy to deliver nanoparticles encapsulating cytotoxic drugs to tumors.

The history of human medicine traces the approaches followed by different societies regarding diseases from ancient times to the present. By contrast, perhaps for the first time, this book traces the odyssey of humanity's diseases viewed differently through the lenses of epigenetic and ecogenetic modulations across ancestry, inheritance, ethnicity, environment, culture, and behavior. Many of the diseases considered result from gene-environment interactions and, in some instances, even gene-gene-environment interactions. Not being driven and predetermined by our inherited genetic code, we have a tremendous amount of control over how our genetic traits are expressed and, therefore, on our health and lifespan. Our genes do not control our lives and we are not victims of our heredity! How much control do we have over our lives and health has puzzled many since the beginning of time. The emerging science of epigenetics/ecogenetics offers us some answers that put a large degree of control within our reach. Owing to its scope, this book has been divided into three volumes that should interest the educated lay reader interested in this different perspective on humanity's diseases, but also to students and healthcare professionals. From such a perspective, a more illuminating and engaging view of medicine and the health sciences could be obtained. This Volume 2 addresses the topics of genetics and race and race and health (notwithstanding their surrounding controversies), ancestry and disease in the genomic era, the genetic diseases of several selected human population isolates, and environment, lifestyle, and development effects on diseases.

The history of human medicine traces the approaches followed by different societies regarding diseases from ancient times to the present. By contrast, perhaps for the first time, this book traces the odyssey of humanity's diseases viewed differently through the lenses of epigenetic and ecogenetic modulations across ancestry, inheritance, ethnicity, environment, culture, and behavior. Many of the diseases considered result from gene-environment interactions and, in some instances, even gene-gene-environment interactions. Not being driven and predetermined by our inherited genetic code, we have a tremendous amount of control over how our genetic traits are expressed and, therefore, on our health and lifespan. Our genes do not control our lives and we are not victims of our heredity! How much control do we have over our lives and health has puzzled many since the beginning of time. The emerging science of epigenetics/ecogenetics offers us some answers that put a large degree of control within our reach. Owing to its scope, this book has been divided into three volumes that should interest the educated lay reader interested in this different perspective on humanity's diseases, but also to students and healthcare professionals. From such a perspective, a more illuminating and engaging view of medicine and the health sciences could be obtained. This Volume 3, the final in the trilogy, brings us to the modern era where exciting new developments are happening in nanomedicine, personalized/precision medicine, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases including HIV/AIDs, human gene therapy, stem cell therapy, and others. It behooves us to keep abreast of these new medical and biotechnological developments.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic debilitating demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. It is caused by an autoimmune attack resulting in the progressive loss of the myelin sheath on neuronal axons. The resultant decrease in the speed of signal transduction leads to a loss of functionality that includes both cognitive and motor impairment depending on the location of the lesion. The progression of MS occurs due to episodes of increasing inflammation, which is proposed to be due to the release of antigens such as myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, myelin basic protein, and proteolipid protein, causing an autoimmune response. This sets off a cascade of signaling molecules that result in T-cells, B-cells, and macrophages to cross the blood-brain barrier and attack myelin on neuronal axons leading to inflammation. Further release of antigens drives subsequent degeneration, causing increased inflammation. MS presents itself as a spectrum based on the degree of inflammation. A majority of patients experience early relapsing and remitting episodes of neuronal deterioration following a period of recovery. Some of these individuals may transition to a more linear progression of the disease, while about 15% of others begin with a progressive course on the onset of MS. The inflammatory response contributes to the loss of the grey matter and, as a result, current literature devotes itself to combatting the auto-inflammatory aspect of the disease. While there are several proposed causal links between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the HLA-DRB1*15:01 allele to the onset of MS - they may contribute to the degree of autoimmune attack and the resultant inflammation - they do not determine the onset of MS.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne bacterial infection affecting humans and animals. It can be very serious as it can involve the joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Known in Europe since the early-mid 20th century, it was identified in the U.S. only in 1975 after a mysterious outbreak of what appeared to be juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in children who lived in Lyme and Old Lyme, Connecticut, for which it was originally (mis)named. Although early recognition and treatment lead to resolution of the illness, there are many persons who live with debilitating symptoms and persistent infection. Yet, after these several past decades, Lyme and other tick-borne diseases remain poorly understood and often undiagnosed, misdiagnosed or over-treated. There still are controversies and challenges as to diagnosis and treatment! This book elucidates these diseases and addresses the associated controversial and challenging issues. While the scientific evidence continues to evolve, it must be recognized that many in the greater medical community may not be sufficiently versed in it, giving rise to misconceptions about the disease. Beyond strongly encouraging patients to be actively involved in decisions affecting their medical care, I also describe ways they can do something about it in addition to seeking medical treatment.

The history of human medicine traces the approaches followed by different societies regarding diseases from ancient times to the present. By contrast, perhaps for the first time, this book traces the odyssey of humanity's diseases viewed differently through the lenses of epigenetic and ecogenetic modulations across ancestry, inheritance, ethnicity, environment, culture, and behavior. Many of the diseases considered result from gene-environment interactions and, in some instances, even gene-gene-environment interactions. Not being driven and predetermined by our inherited genetic code, we have a tremendous amount of control over how our genetic traits are expressed and, therefore, on our health and lifespan. Our genes do not control our lives and we are not victims of our heredity! How much control do we have over our lives and health has puzzled many since the beginning of time. The emerging science of epigenetics/ecogenetics offers us some answers that put a large degree of control within our reach. Owing to its scope, this book has been divided into three volumes that should interest the educated lay reader interested in this different perspective on humanity's diseases, but also to students and healthcare professionals. From such a perspective, a more illuminating and engaging view of medicine and the health sciences could be obtained. This Volume 1 deals with diseases and their modes of transmission since the beginning of the 13th century BC, provides primers on some basic sciences, follows human evolution from its historical evidence, and reviews the evolution of disorders and diseases.

The history of human medicine traces the approaches followed by different societies regarding diseases from ancient times to the present. By contrast, perhaps for the first time, this book traces the odyssey of humanity's diseases viewed differently through the lenses of epigenetic and ecogenetic modulations across ancestry, inheritance, ethnicity, environment, culture, and behavior. Many of the diseases considered result from gene-environment interactions and, in some instances, even gene-gene-environment interactions. Not being driven and predetermined by our inherited genetic code, we have a tremendous amount of control over how our genetic traits are expressed and, therefore, on our health and lifespan. Our genes do not control our lives and we are not victims of our heredity! How much control do we have over our lives and health has puzzled many since the beginning of time. The emerging science of epigenetics/ecogenetics offers us some answers that put a large degree of control within our reach. Owing to its scope, this book has been divided into three volumes that should interest the educated lay reader interested in this different perspective on humanity's diseases, but also to students and healthcare professionals. From such a perspective, a more illuminating and engaging view of medicine and the health sciences could be obtained. This Volume 1 deals with diseases and their modes of transmission since the beginning of the 13th century BC, provides primers on some basic sciences, follows human evolution from its historical evidence, and reviews the evolution of disorders and diseases.