Depression and Adolescents Essay -- essays research papers

Depression and Adolescents   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Depression. Is depression possible in young adults? Not until recently doctors thought that kids were not prone to depression. They thought that depression was purely an â€Å"adult† disease. Nowadays, every doctor knows that a child could be depressed too. The causes of adolescent depression and treatment outcomes were explored in the article by Pat Wingert and Barbara Kantrowitz â€Å"Young and Depressed† that I will discuss.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This article illustrates a couple of real-life stories of teenagers who faced depression and had to somehow deal with it. One of the teenagers, Brianne, described how she tried to kill herself because she was so depressed. She described her mental state by saying: â€Å"It was like a cloud that followed me everywhere. I couldn’t get away from it.† She started drinking and experimenting with drugs. At a certain point, Brianne could not take it anymore. Once, she was caught shoplifting at a store and after her mother brought her home, Brianne swallowed every single Tylenol and Advil that there was in the house. She was rushed to the hospital and survived. Brianne has been treated for her depression and is now in college and leads a very healthy lifestyle. She is one of the lucky kids that survived, but a lot of times, when depression in kids goes unnoticed, the outcomes are very tragic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Until about ten years ago, children’s mood swings and irritability were considered nothing but a phase that kids go through and would eventually outgrow. It has been proven that if depression in teenagers goes unnoticed and, therefore, untreated, the children gradually will turn to doing drugs (â€Å"self-medication†) and consuming alcohol, will drop out of school, will become promiscuous, and for a lot of them it even might lead to suicide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The adolescent depression is basically treated as the adult depression. Unfortunately, most of the antidepressant drugs are still not approved by the FDA for children under 18 years old. Luckily, the doctors do indeed prescribe antidepressants to adolescents that dramatically help them deal with their depression. This practice is called an â€Å"off-label† use and is not uncommon for many illnesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article also mentions that, of course, besides medication... ... done by a professional. Unfortunately, even some professionals still don’t recognize certain behavior such as violence (often mistaken for hyperactivity) as a symptom of adolescent depression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my opinion, the teachers are people who see and observe the kids for most part of their day. They should be able to somehow notice if there are any sudden changes in a particular child’s behavior. It might not be noticeable at first, but, I am sure, sooner or later some signs will be displayed. The teacher should right away meet with the parent of that particular child and advise them of his or her observations. Sometimes teachers do not exactly do this because in some cases the parents overreact and say that the teacher is just knit-picking on their child. It’s understandable because no parent suspects or even wants to think that their kid could be prone to depression or any other mental disease, for that matter. But, I think, it’s their obligation to listen to the teachers’ observations and comments and address them in a proper manner. Otherwise, their precious child might be in danger of developing a much more sever mental illness than just depression.

Compare and Contrast: “All the Years of Her Life”

The thing about synonyms is that even though they though they might seem like they are the same thing, if put in a different context they can mean something completely different. It's interesting how two characters with very similar traits, goals and morals can be so different when placed In different stories, Like when you switch a word for Its supposed â€Å"synonym†. Don Ansell and Mrs†¦ Higgins are two very salary people. Both are traditional, respected, a little on the old-fashioned side and good at being seen as proud and confident.But It's their greatest lining factor, their love for their families and communities, which divides them. Don Ansell is a proud, traditional and very well respected man who has kept up the tradition of planting a tree for every child in the village to the point where a â€Å"gnarled but beautiful† orchard had become a part of his property. And when he is confronted with the request to ask the children to refrain from playing in the orchard, he explains that it is not his choice nor his place, as â€Å"the trees do not belong to him†. To him, nothing is more important than respecting the honor of his family.And to him, every child in that village whether they're related to him or not, is his family. On the other hand, Mrs†¦ Higgins has too close of an association with her son to the point where she sees his problems as hers. She has a proud and confident facade that hides a spirit broken by reasons that are out of her control. She appears to blame herself for her son's inability to keep a steady Job and lead a good life. Like Don Ansell she closely identifies herself with her family that in her case seems to have an ill effect on her lifestyle. â€Å"You've disgraced me again and again,† she toldAlbert as they left the pharmacy. She feels as if her son's shenanigans are her fault and this causes her spirit to crumble. This isn't the first time that her family has failed her, which in her eye s translates Into falling as a mother. So as you can see, both characters have almost Identical personality building blocks. On one hand, Don Ansell has used his love and respect for family to create a bond between him and his village that lead to a tight knit community. And on the other, Mrs†¦ Higgins chose to use her tolerance and pride to create a poisonous relationship teen her son's lifestyle and her happiness.Compare and Contrast: â€Å"All the Years of Her Life† and â€Å"The Gentlemen of ROI en Media† By Leila-Gaylord can be so different when placed in different stories, like when you switch a word for its supposed â€Å"synonym†. Don Ansell and Mrs†¦ Higgins are two very similar people. Both are traditional, confident. But it's their greatest linking factor, their love for their families and failed her, which in her eyes translates into failing as a mother. So as you can see, both characters have almost identical personality building blocks.

Study of the 2009 Influenza H1N1 emergence Pandemic The WritePass Journal

Study of the 2009 Influenza H1N1 emergence Pandemic Introduction Study of the 2009 Influenza H1N1 emergence Pandemic IntroductionConclusionRelated Introduction Pandemic influenza is an epidemic of infectious disease that can spread among human population across the world. Its first appearance was in 1918 (Spanish Influenza H1N1), where it caused an epizootic outbreak in swine causing the most devastating and terrifying pandemic in history. Pandemic influenza H1N1 was then re-emerged again in 2009 (Swine Flu).   According to the World Health Organization (WHO) several factors must be present to be considered a pandemic such as:   infected droplets released into the air and breathed in by others or close contact with infected pigs. Swine influenza is caused by Influenza A virus, which belongs to family orthomyxoviridae. They are pleomorphic-enveloped viruses therefore Influenza viruses are named based on the major surface antigens: Hemagglutinins (HA) and Neuraminidase (N).   Neuraminidase is an enzyme that is responsible for releasing the progeny virus from infected cells, by cleaving sugar molecules that bind to the virus. By contrast, hemagglutinin is a lectin that mediates binding of the virus to the host cell and entry of the viral genomes into the host cell. Overall, there are at least 16 different HA subtypes named H1 through H16.  The first three hemagglutinins, H1, H2, and H3 are the main HA subtypes present in Influenza viruses. It is important to understand the emergence of 2009 pandemic influenza, for which one has to recognize its genetic origins. Influenza A viruses are composed of a protein-studded coat that surrounds a genome made up of eight single-stranded RNA segments (PB2, PB1, PA, HA, NP, NA, MP and NS).   These RNA segments of pandemic 2009 have resulted from co-mingling of genomes from two influenza viruses- N. American H1N1 and Eurasian swine H1N1. This concept helps to explain how viral genetic re-assortment has resulted in the emergence of the pandemic strain, with a mixture of swine, human and avian influenza viruses. One would predict that changes in the genetic makeup of this virus requires us to develop new vaccines on an annual basis to attempt to prevent this virus especially in those that are elderly or chronically ill, since for them, influenza can be extremely fatal.   According to CDC (Centers for disease control and prevention) epidemiological data indicates that elder people (65 years) tend to be less affected by H1N1 virus. Perhaps this explains the age-related pre-existing immunity. Figure 1- shows age groups most affected by the H1N1 influenza reported to CDC in the United States from April 15 to July 24, 2009.As can be seen, the number of reported cases per 100,000 population was highest among individuals five to twenty-four years of age group (26.7 per 100,000). Recent research on the crystal structure of the HA from the pandemic virus A/California/04/2009 has revealed the similarity of the Sa antigenic site located on the hemagglutinin molecule, in particular, of the 2009 H1N1 virus with the early 1918 human H1 viruses.   Exposure to older viruses circulating from 1918 through the 1930s or 1940s are likely elicited 2D1-like antibodies that can cross-react with the 2009 viral protein HA. As a result individuals exposed to these viruses, now over the age of 65 have some protection from swine flu by antibodies originally elicited more than 50 years ago.   Further research has shown that 2D1- antibody can bind to identical Sa antigenic site in the 1918 and 2009 pandemic and cross-neutralize both 1918 and 2009 pandemic viruses  in vivo.   Perhaps this provides a strong explanation for the age-related pre-existing immunity and the low levels of mortality rate in elder people, in the current H1N1 pandemic. Today in this 21st century, new advanced vaccines and antiviral drugs have been introduced to prevent this virus especially in those who are unable to produce immunity against Influenza viruses. Compare to the third world where only small proportion of people were fortunate to have vaccines as a safety precaution. Even then, 3% of the worlds population (1.8 billion people) at the timedied of the disease. Nowadays scientists and many health organizations such as CDC or WHO are intensely looking in to whether or not the same virus will strike again.   They have the knowledge and the discipline to get the world ready. Recently, CDC recommended a seasonal flu vaccination (trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine) as the most important step in protection against influenza viruses. This seasonal influenza vaccination has been recommended for every individual from the age of 6months onwards as not only it protects against H3N2 virus but also Influenza B and H1N1 Influenza A virus. This proves that seasonal influenza vaccine can still be used to protect against various viruses including 2009 H1N1 Influenza and H3N2. Recent research on neutralising influenza antibodies also proves that seasonal influenza vaccine can lead to increase in the production of neutralizing antibodies up to 80%. But vaccination with plasmid DNA encoding H1N1 influenza (HA) and boosting with seasonal vaccine can stimulate a greater than 50 fold increase in neutralizing antibody than that produced by one does of seasonal vaccine alone or DNA alone. Conclusion The future impact of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus is not yet possible to predict as to which strain will cause the next pandemic or epidemic.   On the one hand, the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus is still expected to continue to circulate as a seasonal influenza strain. Due to this, more people will now develop immunity to this current version of the virus. Despite of that, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned many countries including Africa and Asia to prepare for more devastating flu epidemics in the future. This concern has been promoted due to the possible mixture of swine flu viruses with seasonal strains during the winter months and can transform in impulsive ways. The best possible way for an individual to protect against 2009 H1N1 influenza virus and other influenza viruses is through defensive measures such as covering mouth when sneezing or coughing, good hygiene and vaccinations against H1N1 influenza virus when possible.