Injections of Medical Insights

Precocious puberty is when a child’s body undergoes puberty too early. The definition of precocious puberty in girls is the occurrence of puberty before the age of 8 and before the age of 9 in boys.  Puberty includes the rapid growth of bones and muscles. Hence, a bone age test is done to diagnose precocious puberty. For patients of precocious puberty, the age of the bones is much older than that of the child. For example, the bones could be that of a 11 year old while the child is only 8 years old.  The process of precocious puberty starts with the production of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH is responsible for the release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH) in the anterior pituitary gland. Consequently, the production of FSH and LH leads to the production of oestrogen and progesterone / testosterone and thus, the onset of puberty.  Precocious puberty can be caused by several different factors. These include the presence ...

Jaundice is the yellowish discolouration of the skin due to the presence of bilirubin, most commonly seen in infants.  Bilirubin is a yellow compound that occurs in the normal catabolic pathway that breaks down haem in vertebrates, which is a necessary process in the body’s clearance of waste products that arise from the destruction of aged or abnormal red blood cells. Bilirubin in the blood is normally removed by the liver. However, because the livers of some infants are not yet fully developed, bilirubin is not broken down, resulting in jaundice. Consequently, newborns that are born prematurely have greater incidences of jaundice.  Although generally harmless, extremely high levels of bilirubin can be harmful to the newborn. When bilirubin levels are high, there is a risk of bilirubin entering the brain, resulting in acute bilirubin encephalopathy. As bilirubin is toxic to brain cells, there is a possibility of permanent brain damage in the infant, otherwise known as kernict...

A knee ligament injury is typically a tear or a sprain of a ligament in the knee. The knee consists of 4 ligaments: anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL).  As a knee ligament injury occurs, the person may hear a ‘pop’ sound, followed by the leg buckling when trying to stand on it. Typically, swelling of the knee will occur after a few hours.  Each ligament in the knee are injured in different ways. The ACL is often stretched/torn during a sudden twisting motion, as such there is greater risk of injury when playing basketball or football. On the other hand, PCL injuries typically occurs with sudden and direct impact, such as during a car accident. The collateral ligaments are usually injured by a blow to the outer side of the knee.  Knee ligament injuries are categorised based on the severity of the injury.  Grade I ligament sprains involve a small amount of stret...

Whooping cough, also known as machine gun cough and pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection. It gets its name from a high pitched intake of breath (whoop) followed by a severe hacking cough.  Whooping cough is caused by a bacteria, Bordetella pertussis , and is most commonly seen in children under five years old.  At first, whooping cough starts off like any ordinary cold, but tends to worsen with periods of uncontrolled coughing that can last months. Hence, it is also given the name 百日咳 (hundred day cough). In the most severe cases, the coughing may cause vomiting, nosebleeds or broken blood vessels in the eyes.  Erythromycin, an antibiotic, is given to treat whooping cough. However, it is not as effective once the whooping cough has developed. Hence, it is most commonly administered to close contacts of a patient of whooping cough, to ensure the cough does not spread. As for the patient, it is up to the immune system to fight the bacteria.  Va...

Marfan syndrome is a heritable genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue. A mutation in the gene responsible for the production of fibrillin-1 occurs, resulting in problems in connective tissues throughout the body.  About 1 in 5000 people have Marfan syndrome. These people are usually tall and thin, and display hyper-extensibility of joints. Marfan syndrome can also lead to eye complications such as lens dislocation, retinal problems and early-onset glaucoma as well as skeletal issues such as scoliosis.   However, the most dangerous complications of Marfan syndrome are the cardiovascular complications. Patients diagnosed with Marfan syndrome are at higher risks of aortic aneurysms and aortic dissection, both of which can be fatal.  Due to problems with the body’s connective tissue, pressure of the blood leaving the heart can cause the wall of the aorta to bulge out, resulting in an aneurysm. For most people with Marfan syndrome, this occurs at the root o...

Savant syndrome is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calculation, artistic ability, map making, or musical ability.  As many as 1 in 10 persons with autistic disorder have remarkable abilities to varying extents. These savant abilities are usually linked to having an exceptional memory. That being said, not all persons with mental disabilities are savants, and not all savants suffer from mental disabilities.  A famous savant is Kim Peek who memorised over 12,000 books including the Bible over his lifetime. Kim could read two pages at once; his left eye read the left page while his right eye read the right page. Consequently, he only took 8 seconds to read and memorise two pages of a book.  Another famous savant is artist Stephen Wiltshire. At a young age, Stephen was unable to communicate ver...

Immunotherapy is a relatively new form of cancer treatment which has seen promising results in recent years. Immunotherapy boosts the body’s natural immune system, allowing it to find and destroy cancer cells.  There are many forms of immunotherapy, which include monoclonal antibodies, oncolytic virus therapy, and cancer vaccines. These forms of treatment treat cancers including colorectal cancer, cervical cancer and many others.  Monoclonal antibodies are man-made proteins that act like human antibodies in the immune system. The monoclonal antibodies generally bind to the target antigens, which prevents the cancer cells from replicating and spreading. In some cases, these antibodies are also combined with a chemotherapy drug to enhance the effectiveness.  An oncolytic virus is a virus that infects and kills cancer cells. Upon destroying the cancer cells, new virions are released to help destroy the remaining tumour.  Cancer vaccines are also commonly used to prevent...