Support Your Local Immune System
Lately there has been a lot of talk about the immune system and various “immune system boosters”. But do most of us really know what the immune system is?
Where is the immune situation located in the body? What is it made up of? How does is work? How do we know when it is working and when it’s not?
First of all, the immune system is not one thing, or one organ within the body. It is an amazing collection of mechanisms inside your body. These mechanisms protect the organism from disease by identifying and destroying foreign agents such as parasites, viruses, and bacteria. In order to function properly the immune system needs to be able to identify and destroy those things and that may harm the organism. The immune system can fail either by failing to identify and destroy pathogens (something in the body that causes disease or illness) or by falsely identifying healthy cells and tissue as something to be attacked and destroyed.
Disorders in the immune system can cause disease. When the immune system is less active than it should be it fails to identify and kill those foreign invaders that it should thus allowing the body to become ill. Also, pathogens are constantly changing thus making it possible for them to avoid detection by the immune system.
When the immune system goes crazy in the other direction and becomes hyperactive it can start attacking normal cells and tissue. Diseases, which result from a hyperactive immune system, are called autoimmune diseases. There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases these include multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
What are some of these mechanisms of the immune system? The immune system consists of many different cells, proteins, organs and tissues working together. Lymph glands and white blood cells are part of this system.
The bottom line is that our immune system protects us from viruses, bacteria and many diseases. We need to support and strengthen this system in order for our bodies to remain healthy. Although all the factors involved in strengthening or weakening the immune system are not known we do know that as our bodies get older our immune systems can weaken.
However, there are things we can do to enhance our immune systems. These are often called immune system boosters. Sleep, exercise, healthy foods and proper supplements are all important immune system boosters.
A good night’s sleep allows the body time to recuperate and repair itself from the demands of the day.
A regular exercise program strengthens and empowers your immune system as well as just about every other bodily system including your cardio-vascular system.
Proper immune system boosting foods include fresh fruit and vegetables, garlic, mushrooms and onions. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water.
And a very important way you can support your local immune system is to take supplements that act as immunity enhancers. These include such things as vitamins C & E and B-complex, amino acids, hormone enhancers (IE: HGH secretagogues and HGH precursors), antioxidants, probiotics, balanced minerals and herbs.
Marshall Swerman, a successful business person, has been studying and working in the area of nutritional solutions, aging and the effects of proper supplements on quality of life and anti-aging. Go to http://www.renuva.net and find out about his high-grade supplements and their effect on aging.
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Most Effective Treatments Applied to Help With Acute Leukemia
There are several common treatments for leukemia patients. The information that follows is not intended as comprehensive, but rather provides a broad overview of options available to the medical community.
Leukemia is a type of cancer that begins in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. From there, the disease quickly moves into the blood where it can spread to other parts of the body. It typically chooses the liver, lymph nodes, spleen, spinal cord, brain and even the skin. Acute leukemia means the disease develops quickly and can be fatal within a few months.
To learn more about the different types of treatments used to treat acute leukemia, read on.
Radiation
Radiation therapy is used for two purposes. The first is to actively treat and kill leukemia cancer cells in the spinal fluid and the brain. The second way in which radiation therapy is used is as a prevention method - essentially to prevent the cancer from returning to different parts of the body after chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy Courses
Chemotherapy is the primary treatment used to address leukemia. There are three major stages of chemotherapy for leukemia patients and these are induction, consolidation and maintenance. Essentially, induction is the phase intended to kill the majority of cancer cells. Consolidation is designed to kill any remaining cells, and maintenance is a low dose phase designed to prevent recurrence of the leukemia.
Remission Induction Therapy
Patients who are diagnosed with AML (acute myelogenous leukemia) will typically undergo remission induction treatments which involve cytrabine and an anthracycline. Because remission induction is so intensive, it’s often undergone on an in-patient basis.
Typically, a course of remission induction will only last between 5 and 7 days. However, because most of the body’s healthy bone marrow cells have been destroyed over the course of the treatment, the patient must endure a lengthy hospital stay following treatment.
Patients diagnosed with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) will typically undergo remission induction treatments which involve anthracycline, prednisone and vincristine. Generally, bone marrow damage is less significant, and ALL patients can expect shorter hospital stays.
Consolidation Chemotherapy
After the initial remission induction, the patient will undergo what is called consolidation therapy. This is designed to destroy any remaining cancer cells and therefore prevent a recurrence.
Maintenance Therapy
Patients with ALL might have to undergo ongoing maintenance therapy. Essentially, it is a course of oral medications that can typically be done on an out-patient basis.
Central Nervous System Prophylaxis
Some ALL patients may receive methotrexate, a drug used to treat leukemia, through a spinal tap. This is done to prevent ALL from recurring in either the spinal fluid or the brain.
Transplantation of Stem Cells
Stem cell transplantation is sometimes used in younger patients after remission induction, particularly if they have a poor prognosis. It’s also part of standard treatments for leukemia patients under 50 who have seen their leukemia relapse.
Leukemia is a deadly disease requiring both aggressive and persistent treatment. Fortunately there are several options from which the medical profession attempt to counter it.
For helpful information on various cancers, please visit cancerinfotips.com, a popular site providing symptom and treatment insights, such as treatments for Leukemia, Chemotherapy effects, and many more!
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