Your body vs. implants - Kaitlyn Sadtler

Translator: Marta Suárez Reviewer: Servizo de Normalización Lingüística

Insulin pumps improve the lives

As bombas de insulina melloran as vidas

of many of the 415 million people with diabetes around the world

de moitas das 415 millóns de persoas con diabetes do mundo

by monitoring blood sugar, delivering insulin,

controlando o azucre en sangue, administrando insulina

and preventing the need for constant finger-pricking and blood testing.

e evitando a necesidade de picar os dedos e realizar probas de sangue.

These small machines include a pump and a needle, which can sense glucose levels,

Estas máquinas inclúen unha bomba e unha agulla que miden o nivel de glicosa,

feed back to the pump,

retroalimentan a bomba

and then calculate how much insulin to deliver through the needle.

e calculan a cantidade de insulina que se debe administrar pola agulla.

But they have a catch: they’re temporary.

Pero teñen un problema: son temporais.

Within a few days, glucose sensors have to be moved and replaced.

Despois duns días, os sensores deben moverse e substituírse.

And it’s not just glucose monitors and insulin pumps that have this problem,

E non só os monitores de glicosa e as bombas de insulina teñen este problema,

but all bodily implants, at different time scales.

senón todos os implantes corporais, a diferentes escalas de tempo.

Plastic prosthetic knees have to be replaced after about 20 years.

Os xeonllos prostéticos de plástico deben substituírse logo duns 20 anos.

Other implants, such as those used for cosmetic reasons,

Outros implantes, coma os empregados por razóns cosméticas,

can meet the same fate in about 10.

poden correr o mesmo destino nuns dez.

That isn’t just a nuisance: it can be expensive and risky.

Isto non só é unha molestia: pode ser caro e arriscado.

This inconvenience happens because of our bodies’ immune systems.

Este inconveniente ocorre por mor do sistema inmunitario do corpo.

Honed by several hundred million years of evolution,

Perfeccionadas por varios centos de millóns de anos de evolución,

these defensive fronts

estas frontes defensivas

have become exceptionally good at identifying foreign objects.

volvéronse excepcionalmente boas en identificar obxectos estraños.

Our immune systems boast

O sistema inmunitario posúe

an impressive arsenal of tools to tackle, intercept, and destroy

un arsenal impresionante de ferramentas para abordar, interceptar e destruír

anything they believe shouldn’t be there.

todo o que cre que non debería estar alí.

But the consequence of this constant surveillance

Pero a consecuencia desta constante vixilancia

is that our bodies treat helpful implants, like insulin pumps,

é que os nosos corpos tratan implantes útiles, como as bombas de insulina,

with the same suspicion as they would a harmful virus or bacteria.

coa mesma sospeita que un virus ou unha bacteria daniños.

As soon as the insulin pump has been implanted in the skin,

En canto a bomba de insulina se implanta na pel,

its presence triggers what’s known as a “foreign body response.”

a súa presenza desencadea o que se coñece como

“resposta ao corpo estraño”.

This starts with free-floating proteins

Isto comeza cando as proteínas flotantes

that stick themselves to the surface of the implant.

se pegan na superficie do implante.

Those proteins include antibodies,

Esas proteínas inclúen anticorpos,

which attempt to neutralize the new object

que intentan neutralizar o novo obxecto

and send out a signal that calls other immune cells to the site

e enviar un sinal que chama outras células inmunitarias ao sitio

to strengthen the attack.

para fortalecer o ataque.

Early-responding inflammatory cells,

As células inflamatorias de resposta temperá,

like neutrophils and macrophages,

coma os neutrófilos e os macrófagos,

respond to the emergency call.

responden á chamada de emerxencia.

Neutrophils release little granules filled with enzymes

Os neutrófilos liberan pequenos gránulos cheos de encimas

that try to break down the surface of the insulin pump’s needle.

que intentan romper a superficie da agulla da bomba de insulina.

Macrophages secrete enzymes too,

Os macrófagos tamén segregan encimas,

together with nitric oxide radicals,

xunto cos radicais de óxido nítrico,

which create a chemical reaction that degrades the object over time.

o que crea unha reacción química que degrada o obxecto co paso do tempo.

If the macrophages are unable to dispatch the foreign body rapidly,

Se os macrófagos son incapaces de desfacerse do corpo estraño axiña,

they fuse together, forming a mass of cells called a “giant cell.”

fusiónanse e forman unha masa de células chamada “célula xigante”.

At the same time, cells called fibroblasts

Ao mesmo tempo, as células chamadas fibroblastos

travel to the site and begin to deposit layers of dense connective tissue.

viaxan ao sitio e comezan a depositar capas de tecido conxuntivo denso.

Those enclose the needle that the pump uses to deliver insulin

Isto encapsula a agulla que usa a bomba para administrar insulina

e probar os niveis de glicosa.

and test for glucose levels.

Over time this scaffolding builds up,

Co paso do tempo este andamio acumúlase

forming a scar around the implant.

e forma unha cicatriz ao redor do implante.

The scar functions as an almost impenetrable wall

A cicatriz funciona coma un muro case impenetrable

that might start to block vital interactions

que pode comezar a bloquear as interaccións vitais

between the body and the implant.

entre o corpo e o implante.

For example, scarring around pacemakers can interrupt

Por exemplo, as cicatrices ao redor dos marcapasos poden interromper

the electrical transmission that’s crucial for their functioning.

a transmisión eléctrica que é crucial para o seu funcionamento.

Synthetic knee joints may give off particles as they’re worn down,

As articulacións sintéticas poden desprender partículas

ao se desgastar,

causing immune cells to inflame around these fragments.

o que inflama as células inmunitarias ao redor destes fragmentos.

Tragically, the immune system’s attack can even be life-threatening.

Por desgraza, o ataque do sistema inmunitario pode ser letal.

However, researchers are finding ways to trick the immune system

Porén, os investigadores están a atopar formas de enganar o sistema inmuntario

into accepting the new devices we introduce into our bodily tissues.

para que acepte os dispositivos novos que introducimos nos tecidos corporais.

We’ve discovered that coating implants with certain chemicals and drugs

Descubrimos que recubrir os implantes cuns químicos e medicamentos

can dampen the immune response.

pode diminuír a resposta inmunitaria.

Those basically make the implants invisible to the immune system.

Basicamente, fan que os implantes sexan invisibles para o sistema inmune.

We’re also making more implants out of natural materials

Tamén estamos a fabricar máis implantes con materiais naturais

and in forms that directly mimic tissues,

e de formas que imitan directamente os tecidos,

so that the body launches a weaker attack

para que o corpo lance un ataque máis débil

than it would if it came across a completely artificial implant.

que se atopase un implante completamente artificial.

Some medical treatments involve implants

Algúns tratamentos médicos requiren implantes

designed to regenerate lost or damaged tissues.

deseñados para rexenerar os tecidos perdidos ou danados.

In those cases, we can design the implants to contain ingredients

Neses casos, podemos deseñalos para que conteñan ingredientes

that will release specific signals,

que emitan sinais específicos

and carefully tailor our bodies’ immune reactions.

e adapten coidadosamente as respostas inmunitarias do corpo.

In the future, this way of working alongside the immune system

No futuro, esta forma de traballar ao lado do sistema inmunitario

could help us develop completely artificial organs,

podería axudarnos a desenvolver órganos completamente artificiais,

totally integrative prostheses,

próteses totalmente integradas

and self-healing wound therapies.

e terapias de autocuración de feridas.

These treatments might one day revolutionize medicine–

Estes tratamentos poderían revolucionar a medicina algún día

and transform, forever, the bodies we live in.

e transformar, para sempre, os corpos nos que vivimos.