Gilbert Syndrome

Spoiler alert! Avoid your eyes if you haven’t seen Kung Fu Panda before. Return to the dark cave from whence you came.

Just as Oogway becomes dust, red blood cells die and puff out bilirubin. This is shunted to the liver, which does the necessary cleaning job, removing the unwanted bilirubin from the bloodstream through glucuronidation. This forms conjugated bilirubin. After Liver Kondo has done its thing, the product is pumped out to the intestines, then away it goes.

Gilbert Syndrome is an autosomal recessive condition where the UGT1A1 gene is most commonly affected. This gene makes an important enzyme for the bilirubin detoxifying process, so the result is raised bilirubin. Specifically, it would be unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia and possibly jaundice, often not requiring treatment except in stress-affected situations.

References

  1. Mayo Clinic (2025). Gilbert syndrome. [online] Mayo Clinic. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gilberts-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20372811.
  2. Grant LM, Faust TW, Thoguluva Chandrasekar V, et al. Gilbert Syndrome. [Updated 2024 Oct 5]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470200/.
  3. Hamoud AR, Weaver L, Stec DE, Hinds TD Jr. Bilirubin in the Liver-Gut Signaling Axis. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Mar;29(3):140-150. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2018.01.002. Epub 2018 Feb 3. PMID: 29409713; PMCID: PMC5831340. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5831340/.
  4. MedlinePlus (n.d.). UGT1A1 gene: MedlinePlus Genetics. [online] medlineplus.gov. Available at: https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/ugt1a1/.

Xerox In Biology

Circular definitions are a trap. It’s good to avoid traps.

Hence, in simple terms, here are some useful explanations.

Genes are the computer coding for people, because we all know people are actually robots. (Click. Whirr. This is a joke.)

A genotype is the total computer code print-out for a person. It’s relevant to inheritable diseases. A disease is a state of poor health, by the way. It has to be significantly abnormal enough for it to be classed as diagnosable, given these things are based on artificial cut-offs. They can be somewhat arbitrary, but generally there’s a reasonable basis underneath them.

A phenotype is the outside casing of the computer product, which is distinct from its wiring inside. It represents how matters surface in the material world.

A phenocopy is a materialised appearance of things that doesn’t actually have the relevant genotype. That is, it looks like that computer coding output, but the computer coding is different from what it’s expected to be. It resembles a syndrome but without the genetic basis for it.

The phenocopy situation can occur in Huntington’s disease, where the autosomal dominant CAG-repeater mutation isn’t apparent but similar clinical manifestations arise.

References

  1. Moore RC, Xiang F, Monaghan J, Han D, Zhang Z, Edström L, Anvret M, Prusiner SB. Huntington disease phenocopy is a familial prion disease. Am J Hum Genet. 2001 Dec;69(6):1385-8. doi: 10.1086/324414. Epub 2001 Oct 9. PMID: 11593450; PMCID: PMC1235549.

Luria’s Test

Fist, slap, slice! Or fist, cut, slap! Fist, cut, slice?!

It can be tricky to recall the order of Luria’s 3-step test for frontal lobe function.

Here’s a business-minded way to remember it.

GIVE MONEY NOW!

Give

Make a fist.

This represents the aggression of forcing someone to give you something.

Money

Make the slicing motion.

This emulates the handshake of a business deal.

Now!

Slap the hand with the palm facing down.

This is like being a demanding gangster and banging on a table to intimidate your enemy.

References

  1. PsychDB (2021). Luria Sequence (Luria’s Test). [online] PsychDB. Available at: https://www.psychdb.com/neurology/neuro-exam/luria.

Parenting Styles

There are 4 theoretical parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and uninvolved.

Authoritative: the dream. Warm and boundaried.

Authoritarian: overly controlling. Too much discipline.

Permissive: too enabling. Laissez-faire.

Uninvolved: neglectful. Too much freedom.

2 of the above have similar-sounding names. Just as people confuse psychology with psychiatry and optometry with ophthalmology, there must be a way to demystify this likeness. There is!

Here’s how you remember which one is good and which one is bad.

Authoritative: positive.

Authoritarian: barbarian.

Bibliography

  1. Sanvictores T, Mendez MD. Types of Parenting Styles and Effects On Children. [Updated 2022 Sep 18]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK568743/#