Acute Pancreatitis Quotes

I have acute pancreatitis." "I thought it was just average looking.

Mutations litter the chromosomes. In individual specimens of breast and colon cancer, between fifty to eighty genes are mutated; in pancreatic cancers, about fifty to sixty. Even brain cancers, which often develop at earlier ages and hence may be expected to accumulate fewer mutations, possess about forty to fifty mutated genes. Only a few cancers are notable exceptions to this rule, possessing relatively few mutations across the genome. One of these is an old culprit, acute lymphoblastic leukemia: only five or ten genetic alterations cross its otherwise pristine genomic landscape.* Indeed, the relative paucity of genetic aberrancy in this leukemia may be one reason that this tumor is so easily felled by cytotoxic chemotherapy. Scientists speculate that genetically simple tumors (i.e., those carrying few mutations) might inherently be more susceptible to drugs, and thus intrinsically more curable. If so, the strange discrepancy between the success of high-dose chemotherapy in curing leukemia and its failure to cure most other cancers has a deep biological explanation. The search for a “universal cure” for cancer was predicated on a tumor that, genetically speaking, is far from universal. In

Cyanogenic Glycosides. Hydrogen cyanide, which is highly toxic, is released from cyanogenic glycosides when plants that contain them are chewed and digested (through an enzyme that is also present in the plant). Cassava (also called manioc, yucca, and tapioca and a major ingredient in fufu flour), sorghum, lima beans, almonds, bamboo, corn, yams (but not sweet potatoes), chickpeas, cashews, stone fruits (like peaches and apricots), and fruits from the apple family are all food sources of cyanogenic glycosides. In most cases, the amount of these compounds can be greatly reduced using traditional preparation methods, which involves soaking (often grinding and then soaking) or fermenting followed by thorough cooking. Excess cyanide residue from improper preparation is known to cause acute cyanide intoxication and goiters (because cyanide binds to iodine and depletes iodine from the body—hence its status as an antinutrient) and has been linked to ataxia (a neurological disorder affecting the ability to walk). It has also been linked to tropical calcific pancreatitis, leading to chronic pancreatitis. You can minimize your exposure to cyanogenic glycosides by not eating the pits or seeds of stone fruits and fruits from the apple family, by eating only canned bamboo if you’re eating bamboo, and by avoiding fresh cassava (unless you know how to prepare it traditionally, which involves soaking it for at least twenty-four hours before thoroughly cooking it).