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Heritability of TB...!
http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8314
Author:  Tor [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 12:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Heritability of TB...!
It seems that EBD might not have been as far off the mark as I thought regarding the Robin being at risk of 'inheriting' a pre-disposition to TB from mother,

Research has shown ones genetic makeup may effect whether you actually become ill with the disease after infection.

Of course, in this scenario, the last you'd want to do with a susceptible individual is repeatedly expose them to the risk of infection (i.e. by moving them even closer to a place where there is a high density of TB patients....!)
Author:  Alison H [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 12:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
It's quite depressing how many things you can be genetically susceptible to (if that makes sense). I've been having some problems with sore gums recently, and my dentist said that it's something something you can inherit a tendency towards (which makes sense as my dad has the same problem), so even though I'm very careful about brushing my teeth properly I've got the problem anyway. OK, sore gums aren't the end of the world, but so many more serious problems can be hereditary: it's like one of those depressing 17th century arguments about everything being predestined :( .

Sorry, that was a very depressing post! &, yes, it seems very odd that Robin, and Gillian and Joyce whose mother also had TB, should be in such close proximity to the San and to Jem and Jack who were working with TB patients all the time :roll: .
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 12:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
Tor wrote:
Of course, in this scenario, the last you'd want to do with a susceptible individual is repeatedly expose them to the risk of infection (i.e. by moving them even closer to a place where there is a high density of TB patients....!)


Though this seems a little bit of a circular argument to me; if she's closer to somewhere with a higher density, it would also make sense that she's closer to the specialist help that would naturally gravitate to such an area, which might help to prevent it in the long run...
Author:  Tor [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 12:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
Once you are ill, you want to be near specialist help to aid recovery. But before this, minimizing risk of infection would be paramount.
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 12:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
Ah, well - I'm very distinctly not medically minded in any way, shape or form, so I'm happy to be corrected!
Author:  Fiona Mc [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 1:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
TB is hereditary in my family and when they were doing immunisations years ago at high school, I couldn't be immunised and had to have X-rays every year instead. Years later, when I first became a nurse, I had the Mantoux test and they found I didn't need to be immunised as I had developed antibodies to the illness. whew- no needle required.

I do come accross a lot of young people having heart attacks, who do all the right things, but simply have the genetic predisposition for it. But because they do do all the right things to prevent a heart attack, it does mean they recover quicker and don't have to try and make lifestyle changes with diet and exercise etc and their hearts are usually in great shape still.

One quirky fact is your more likely to inherit something from your father's line than your mothers. It's 7% from Dad's and 3-4% from Mum. I don't know why either
Author:  MJKB [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
In Ireland in the 30's and 40's, TB was the equivalent of AIDs in the 80's. Even if you recovered you were treated like a pariah; No man would marry a girl who'd developed the disease, and many families hid TB sufferers away.
Author:  MaryR [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 8:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
Fiona Mc wrote:
TB is hereditary in my family and when they were doing immunisations years ago at high school, I couldn't be immunised and had to have X-rays every year instead. Years later, when I first became a nurse, I had the Mantoux test and they found I didn't need to be immunised as I had developed antibodies to the illness. whew- no needle required.

That doesn't necessarily mean that you have antibodies or are resistant to it, Fiona. The same happened to me with the Mantoux test - but I developed TB in my late twenties, though they think I had had it for several years, as I lost a great deal of weight and went down to just over 7 stone from 11 stone, but so gradually it didn't seem worrying. I just thought my metabolism had changed. The constant tiredness I put down to teaching. It was only when we went for infertility tests they discovered I had TB in my uterus - so I had no resistance to it at all. :cry: It is a common cause of infertility, which shocked me.

And the cure was worse than the disease. I felt constantly nauseous for 9 months on the cocktail of antibiotics they give you. Some days all I could do was lie down and wait for it to get a little better, though I never actually missed a day's work.
Author:  cal562301 [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 8:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
My youngest brother was diagnosed with TB glands in his stomach when he was about 11, so that was the early 70s. The doctor decided what he needed most was a tonic, so he prescribed Guiness!

Presumably he was anaemic too, as I believe that it contains lots of iron.

We thought it highly amusing at the time, as obviously he was well under the legal age for drinking alcohol.

Forty years later, he's as strong as an ox and is never ill.

Edited once, as my maths is terrible! :D :roll:
Author:  Alison H [ Sat Aug 28, 2010 7:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
Just to overlap with the "updating" thread, I think the subject of TB and what a huge issue it was, certainly in the pre-war (I think the use of antibiotics to treat it came in just after the end of the Second World War?) books, is something that merits a note in the books for new young readers.

I remember once, c. 1990, the bus company sent a rather elderly bus for us (probably because kids at our school had a reputation for bad behaviour on buses so they thought they'd sent the oldest, grottiest one they'd got!) and there was a "No spitting" notice on it, and most kids thought this was hilarious and just didn't "get" how big an emphasis there'd've been on "No spitting" and "Coughs and sneezes spread diseases" when this bus was first in use. & this was in an area - urban, industrial area, dampish climate, and (not sure if this is a medical fact or a local myth?) particular susceptibility to lung diseases because so many people worked in the coal and cotton industries and inhaled a lot of dust) - where TB was the biggest killer for a long time.

It can be quite hard to get your head round the genuine fear for Robin's health (although no-one ever seemed that bothered about other girls whose relatives had/had had TB); just what a bigwig Jem, one of the world's leading TB specialists, was; and the whole obsession with fresh air and having windows open and drinking lots of rich, creamy (and hopefully pasteurised!) milk if you're a child in an era when TB is no longer something people are that aware of, and it's such an important part of the books.

[/end of essay!]
Author:  Cosimo's Jackal [ Sat Aug 28, 2010 10:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
Tor wrote:
Of course, in this scenario, the last you'd want to do with a susceptible individual is repeatedly expose them to the risk of infection (i.e. by moving them even closer to a place where there is a high density of TB patients....!)


Or get peeved when someone who's lived (and just travelled across Europe) with a mother who's seriously ill with TB doesn't give the said susceptible individual a goodnight kiss!

But then I've always thought the Robin's susceptibility is more about creating plot tension and making Joey-related drama than anything to do with medical accuracy - but interesting to know Jem may have had a point.
Author:  judithR [ Sat Aug 28, 2010 12:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
Alison H wrote:
most kids thought this was hilarious and just didn't "get" how big an emphasis there'd've been on "No spitting" and "Coughs and sneezes spread diseases"


IIRC the "No spitting" bylaw is still in force. There are times I could wish it was enforced.
Author:  Alison H [ Sat Aug 28, 2010 1:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
Me too! Two people spat (on the ground, not at anyone, but it was still disgusting!) whilst I was waiting for a tram this morning :shock: .
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Sat Aug 28, 2010 2:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Heritability of TB...!
Me three! I absolutely despise it as a habit (having been regularly spat on every morning waiting for the bus for a couple of years) and would love it to be enforced again.
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