Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

AFP is a plasma protein that is normally produced by the fetus. It serves as the basis for some valuable tests. AFP is manufactured principally in the fetus’s liver and gastrointestinal (GI) tract besides the yolk sac, a structure temporarily present during embryonic development. The AFP level is typically high in the fetus’s blood. It decreases in…

An illicit hallucinogenic drug related to tryptamine. Street names for alpha-ethyltryptamine include: Alpha-ET; ET; Love pearls; Trip (also refers to LSD). Many agents in the class of tryptamines are hallucinogenic substances that exist naturally in some plants, fungi, and animals, but also can be produced synthetically. These hallucinogens have been placed in Schedule I of…

Street name for alpha-ethyltryptamine.

A family of potent antibiotics made within the body by neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) and macrophages (cells that can engulf foreign particles). The defensins play important roles against invading microbes. They act against bacteria, fungi and viruses by binding to their membranes and increasing membrane permeability. On a chemical level, the defensins are small…

An inherited disorder characterized by a lack of the alpha-1 antitrypsin protease inhibitor. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency leads to damage of various organs, especially the lung and liver. Symptoms may become apparent at a very early age or anytime later, manifesting as shortness of breath due to emphysema or as liver symptoms such as jaundice, fatigue, fluid in the abdomen, mental changes, or gastrointestinal bleeding. Treatment options include, for…

Short for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

A blood disorder, thalassemia is not one disease but rather a group of disorders that have a single feature in common: they all have a genetic defect in the production of hemoglobin, the protein that enables red blood cells to carry oxygen. All forms of hemoglobin are made up of two molecules: heme and globin. Globin is made up of…

One in a family of structurally related proteins that are prominently expressed in the central nervous system. Aggregated alpha-synuclein proteins form brain lesions that are hallmarks of some neurodegenerative diseases (synucleinopathies). The gene for alpha-synuclein, which is called SNCA, is on chromosome 4q21. Defects in this protein are believed to be related to the development of Parkinson disease.

A tiny mass of material composed of two protons and two neutrons. Alpha particles do not travel very far from their radioactive source. They cannot pass through a piece of paper, clothes or even the layer of dead cells which normally protects the skin. Because alpha particles cannot penetrate human skin they are not considered…

An honor society, the medical school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa of undergraduate school.