Report flags risk of fortified rice for some
Report flags risk of fortified rice for some
Subject: Science & Technology
Section: Disease
Context: ‘Excess iron in fortified rice may lead to adverse health effects in specific population’
Content:
Sickle cell anemia: A group of disorders that cause red blood cells to become misshapen and break down.
With sickle cell disease, an inherited group of disorders, red blood cells contort into a sickle shape. The cells die early, leaving a shortage of healthy red blood cells (sickle cell anaemia) and can block blood flow causing pain (sickle cell crisis).
Infections, pain, and fatigue are symptoms of sickle cell disease.
Treatments include medication, blood transfusions and rarely a bone-marrow transplant.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation in both copies of a person’s HBB gene. This gene encodes a component of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. The mutation causes hemoglobin molecules to stick together, creating sickle-shaped red blood cells.
Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. It normally has two alpha chains and two beta chains. The four main types of sickle cell anemia are caused by different mutations in these genes.
- Hemoglobin SS disease is the most common type of sickle cell disease. It occurs when you inherit copies of the hemoglobin S gene from both parents. This forms hemoglobin known as Hb SS. As the most severe form of SCD, individuals with this form also experience the worst symptoms at a higher rate.
- Hemoglobin SC disease is the second most common type of sickle cell disease. It occurs when you inherit the Hb C gene from one parent and the Hb S gene from the other. Individuals with Hb SC have similar symptoms to individuals with Hb SS. However, the anemia is less severe.
- Hemoglobin SB+ (beta) thalassemia affects beta globin gene production. The size of the red blood cell is reduced because less beta protein is made. If inherited with the Hb S gene, you will have hemoglobin S beta-thalassemia. Symptoms are not as severe.
- Hemoglobin SB 0 (Beta-zero) thalassemia: Sickle beta-zero thalassemia is the fourth type of sickle cell disease. It also involves the beta-globin gene. It has similar symptoms to Hb SS anemia. However, sometimes the symptoms of beta zero thalassemias are more severe. It is associated with a poorer prognosis.
Hemoglobin SD, hemoglobin SE, and hemoglobin SO
Thalassemia (thal-uh-SEE-me-uh) is an inherited blood disorder that causes your body to have less hemoglobin than normal. Hemoglobin enables red blood cells to carry oxygen. Thalassemia can cause anemia, leaving you fatigued. If you have mild thalassemia, you might not need treatment.
The main cause of thalassemia: Thalassemia is an inherited (i.e., passed from parents to children through genes) blood disorder caused when the body doesn’t make enough of a protein called hemoglobin, an important part of red blood cells.
Types of thalassemia: The specific part of hemoglobin that is affected (usually either “alpha” or “beta”), or the severity of thalassemia, which is noted by words like trait, carrier, intermedia, or major.
- Hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to all cells in the body, is made of two different parts, called alpha and beta.
- When thalassemia is called “alpha” or “beta,” this refers to the part of hemoglobin that isn’t being made.
- If either the alpha or beta part is not made, there aren’t enough building blocks to make normal amounts of hemoglobin. Low alpha is called alpha thalassemia. Low beta is called beta-thalassemia.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from person to person through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes A potentially serious infectious bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs.
The bacteria that cause TB are spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Most people infected with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis don’t have symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they usually include a cough (sometimes blood-tinged), weight loss, night sweats, and fever.
Treatment isn’t always required for those without symptoms. Patients with active symptoms will require a long course of treatment involving multiple antibiotics.
What causes tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick.
Which food is good for TB patients?
Foods Rich in Vitamin A, C, and E
Fruits and vegetables like orange, mango, sweet pumpkin and carrots, guava, amla, tomato, nuts, and seeds are excellent sources of Vitamin A, C, and E. These foods must be included in the daily diet regime of a TB patient.
Can TB medicine reduce iron?
Iron supplementation is commonly used to treat anaemia in TB patients, but may be unnecessary if inflammation is the cause. Body iron sequestered by TB inflammation can be mobilized during treatment and used to correct the anaemia.
Potential sources of host iron for Mtb. TB are contracted via inhalation of Mtb into the lungs. Mtb is primarily an intracellular organism, residing in the phagosome of lung macrophages during initial infection.
What is the concern about giving supplemental iron to patients with tuberculosis?
The low levels of iron in blood were linked with an increased risk of treatment failure for all patients and tuberculosis recurrence in HIV-infected patients. The high levels of iron were associated with an increased risk of death in all patients.
Thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, and malaria are conditions where there is already excess iron in the body, whereas TB patients are unable to absorb iron. Consumption of iron-fortified foods among patients with these diseases can reduce the immunity and functionality of organs.
The Right to Food implies the right to food at appropriate nutritional levels and the quantum of relief to those in distress must meet those levels in order to ensure that this right is actually secured and does not remain a theoretical concept.