DEPT (medicine)

Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy (DEPT) uses enzymes artificially introduced into the body to convert Prodrugs, which have no or poor biological activity, to the active form in the desired location within the body. Many chemotherapy drugs for cancer lack tumour specificity and the doses required to reach therapeutic levels in the tumour are often toxic to other tissues. DEPT strategies are an experimental method of reducing the systemic toxicity of a drug, by achieving high levels of the active drug only at the desired site. This article describes the variations of DEPT technology.

Antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (ADEPT)

ADEPT is a strategy to overcome the problems of lack of tumor selectivity. An antibody designed/developed against a tumor antigen is linked to an enzyme and injected to the blood, resulting in selective binding of the enzyme in the tumor. When the discrimination between tumor and normal tissue enzyme levels is sufficient, a prodrug is administrated into the blood circulation, which is converted to an active cytotoxic drug by the enzyme, only within the tumor. Selectivity is achieved by the tumor specificity of the antibody and by delaying prodrug administration until there is a large differential between tumor and normal tissue enzyme levels.

Medicine

Medicine (British English ⁱ/ˈmɛdsᵻn/; American English ⁱ/ˈmɛdᵻsᵻn/) is the science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. The word medicine is derived from Latin medicus, meaning "a physician". Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness.

Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others.

Medicine has existed for thousands of years, during most of which it was an art (an area of skill and knowledge) frequently having connections to the religious and philosophical beliefs of local culture. For example, a medicine man would apply herbs and say prayers for healing, or an ancient philosopher and physician would apply bloodletting according to the theories of humorism. In recent centuries, since the advent of science, most medicine has become a combination of art and science (both basic and applied, under the umbrella of medical science). While stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice, the knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science.

History of medicine

This article deals with medicine as practiced by trained professionals from ancient times to the present. Early medical traditions include those of Babylon, China, Egypt and India. The Greeks went even further, introducing the concepts of medical diagnosis, prognosis, and advanced medical ethics. The Hippocratic Oath, still taken (although significantly changed from the original) by doctors up to today, was written in Greece in the 5th century BCE. In the medieval age, surgical practices inherited from the ancient masters were improved and then systematized in Rogerius's The Practice of Surgery. Universities began systematic training of physicians around the years 1220 in Italy. During the Renaissance, understanding of anatomy improved, and the microscope was invented. The germ theory of disease in the 19th century led to cures for many infectious diseases. Military doctors advanced the methods of trauma treatment and surgery. Public health measures were developed especially in the 19th century as the rapid growth of cities required systematic sanitary measures. Advanced research centers opened in the early 20th century, often connected with major hospitals. The mid-20th century was characterized by new biological treatments, such as antibiotics. These advancements, along with developments in chemistry, genetics, and lab technology (such as the x-ray) led to modern medicine. Medicine was heavily professionalized in the 20th century, and new careers opened to women as nurses (from the 1870s) and as physicians (especially after 1970). The 21st century is characterized by highly advanced research involving numerous fields of science.

Shamanism

Shamanism (/ˈʃɑːmən/ SHAH-mən or /ˈʃeɪmən/ SHAY-mən) is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with a spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.

The word "shaman" probably originates from the Tungusic Evenki language of North Asia. According to ethnolinguist Juha Janhunen, "the word is attested in all of the Tungusic idioms" such as Negidal, Lamut, Udehe/Orochi, Nanai, Ilcha, Orok, Manchu and Ulcha, and "nothing seems to contradict the assumption that the meaning 'shaman' also derives from Proto-Tungusic" and may have roots that extend back in time at least two millennia. The term was introduced to the west after Russian forces conquered the shamanistic Khanate of Kazan in 1552. The term "shamanism" was first applied by western anthropologists to the ancient religion of the Turks and Mongols, as well as those of the neighboring Tungusic and Samoyedic-speaking peoples. Upon learning more about religious traditions across the world, some anthropologists began to also use the term to describe unrelated magico-religious practices found within the ethnic religions of other parts of Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas, as they believed these practices to be similar to one another.

Adept

An adept is an individual identified as having attained a specific level of knowledge, skill, or aptitude in doctrines relevant to a particular author or organization.

Etymology

The word "adept" is derived from Latin adeptus 'one who has attained' (the secret of transmuting metals).

Authors

H. P. Blavatsky

Madame Blavatsky makes liberal use of the term adept in her works to refer to their minor function as caretaker of ancient occult knowledge. She also mentions their great compassionate help for humanity and such lesser powers of the adept as being able to take active control of elemental spirits as well as the physical and astral (conditions of non-adepts.

Alice Bailey

In Alice Bailey's body of writing she outlines a hierarchy of spiritual evolution and an initiatory path along which an individual may choose to advance. In her works an Adept is defined as a being who has taken five of the seven initiations.

Orders

Various occult organizations have steps in which an initiate may ascend in their own magical system. Some call these steps degrees or grades.

Adept (band)

Adept is a Swedish metalcore band from Trosa. Founded in 2004, the band consists of Robert Ljung (Vocals), Jerry Repo (guitars) Filip Brandelius (bass), Gabriel Hellmark (drums) and Gustav Lithammer (guitars). They've released 3 EP's as well as 3 studio albums to date, including Another Year of Disaster in 2009, Death Dealers (which saw a shift in sound from their original post-hardcore influences) in 2011 and their latest, Silence the World, in 2013. In November 2014, they announced that their next album will be released in 2015. In November 2015, they signed to Napalm Records.

History

Formation and EP's

Adept was founded in 2004 and consists of Robert Ljung (vocals), Jerry Repo (guitar), Gustav Lithammer (guitars), Filip Brandelius (bass) and Gabriel Hellmark (drums). In their first year, they self-released their first demo, Hopeless Illusions. This was followed a year later by their first EP, When the Sun Gave Up the Sky, also self-released, and again in 2006 by another EP, The Rose Will Decay. The band soon gained prominence and was signed by the Panic & Action label.