Throughout this weeks reading
we have journeyed into a world of evolutionary health issue such as chronic
diseases. The most popular health narratives have been in the form of discussing
chronic heart diseases. Origins of chronic diseases are imbricated due to a
host of factors (as discussed in this weeks readings) like genetics, improper
nutritional intake, sedentary life styles that has been embodied by Western
society.
In the Article that I
researched via Science News, “Heart Disease Linked to Evolutionary Changes That
May Have Protected Early Mammals from Trauma” Perelman School of Medicine at
the University of Pennsylvania explores rationales for the evolution of heart
diseases in mammals. In this article there is a belief that, “The same features
of blood platelets that may have provided an evolutionary advantage to early
mammals now predispose humans to cardiovascular disease” But can we really
blame natural selection for chronic diseases?
Thus, there is a belief that via an evolutionary lens that platelets are
uses as clotting factors in case of injury and or trauma (Platelet- A small
colorless disk-shaped cell fragment without a nucleus, found in large numbers
in blood and involved in clotting) which the research believe is why
individuals have heart disease. In this article it is said that, “Platelets are
required to prevent excessive bleeding following traumatic injury, but they
also form clots at sites of atherosclerotic plaques in the blood vessels that
lead to stroke and heart attack”. This is interesting because we do use blood
thinners such as Coumadin, Aspirin, heparin, and other blood thinners to
prevent heart attacks and stroke, but are platelets really the source of heart
disease? And what will happen to mammals if we lacked platelets? Dr. Khan do believe
that platlets give humans an advantage
It was interesting to learn in this article that mammals have platelets
but no other mammal do. And maybe we truly can blame evolution for chronic heart diseases, but also take ownership of other factors that cause hear disease as well.
Source:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111018211341.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment