I

Select a term to view the definition:
  • IgE Antibody

    Professional Description:

    A type of immunoglobulin. Levels of IgE antibody are elevated in individuals with atopic conditions such as asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis. IgE antibodies are produced against specific allergens and determined by both genetic factors and exposure to allergens. Allergens will trigger an allergic response, in sensitized individuals, by attaching to IgE antibodies bound to mast cells. This results in mast cell release of inflammatory mediators, which trigger acute tissue inflammation.

  • IgE mediated

    Professional Description:

    Immunological hypersensitivity due to formation of excessive amounts of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in response to otherwise innocuous antigens (allergens) in the environment or in food.
    Immediate-type hypersensitivity, type 1 hypersensivity and allergic sensitivity can be synonymous

  • Immunoglobulin E

    Professional Description:

    Abbreviated IgE. A class of immunoglobulins that includes the antibodies elicited by an allergic substance (allergen). A person who has an allergy usually has elevated blood levels of IgE. IgE antibodies attack and engage the invading army of allergens

  • Immunoglobulins

    Professional Description:

    Immunoglobulins are proteins found in blood and in tissue fluids. Immunoglobulins make up gamma globulin; all antibodies are immunoglobulins. There are five classes (IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM) of immunoglobulins which differ in the structure of their polypeptide heavy chains. Immunoglobulins are produced by cells of the immune system called B-lymphocytes. Their function is to bind to substances in the body that are recognized as foreign antigens (often proteins on the surface of bacteria and viruses). This binding is a crucial event in the destruction of the microorganisms that bear the antigens. Immunoglobulins also play a central role in allergies when they bind to antigens that are not necessarily a threat to health and provoke an inflammatory reaction.

  • immunomodulation

    Professional Description:

    Adjustment of the immune response to a desired level

  • Immunomodulatory drug or agent;

    Professional Description:

    An agent that specifically or non-specifically augments or diminishes immune responses i.e. an adjuvant, immunostimulant, or immunosuppressant

  • Imputed

    Professional Description:

    (nutrient data), a process whereby missing nutrient data may be estimated using nutrient data from comparable similar foods (e.g. same biological plant family)

  • In vitro

    Professional Description:

    outside the living body and in an artificial environment

  • in vivo

    Professional Description:

    in the living body of a plant or animal; in a real-life situation

  • Inadequacy of Nutrient Intake

    Professional Description:

    Intake of a nutrient that fails to meet the individual's requirement for that nutrient.

  • Incidence

    Professional Description:

    The rate at which new diagnoses occur within a given population over a defined time period; a prospective measure of disease occurrence in a defined population.

  • Indicator of Adequacy

    Professional Description:

    "Indicators of adequacy" are criteria that can be used to determine a requirement for a nutrient. Examples include absence of clinical deficiency signs and symptoms; biochemical parameters reflecting the function or storage of the nutrient; circulating levels of a nutrient; etc. For each nutrient, different intakes are required to meet different indicators of adequacy. For example, more iron is needed to maintain iron stores (for which the indicator of adequacy would be a defined level of serum ferritin) than to prevent anemia (for which the indicator of adequacy would be a defined level of hemoglobin).

  • Indirect calorimetry

    Professional Description:

    Calculation of the energy expenditure in the form of heat production based on respiratory gas exchange.

  • Individual Requirement

    Professional Description:

    The lowest continuing intake level of a nutrient that, for a specified indicator of adequacy, will maintain a defined level of nutriture in an individual.

  • Infant dyschesia

    Professional Description:

    a condition that occurs during the first few months of life when an infant strains and screams during prolonged attempts to defecate, lasting for up to 20 minutes, until soft or liquid stools pass. This can occur several times a day. Symptoms resolve spontaneously in a few weeks.

  • influenza

    Professional Description:

    Influenza, commonly called the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses which can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Influenza usually starts with a cough, headache and chills; followed by fever, loss of appetite, muscle aches and fatigue, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and throat irritation. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are uncommon symptoms in adults but may occur in children.

  • Informed consent

    Professional Description:

    Informed consent means voluntarily agreeing to participate in something after having gained a thorough understanding of the risks and benefits that participation would involve.

  • INR Results

    Professional Description:

    Normal INR is 0.9 to 1.2; INR 2.0 - 3.0 is the therapeutic range maintained with warfarin; INR less than 2 is associated with minimal bleeding; INR 3 -4.5 is associated with excessive bleeding.

  • Insoluble Fibre

    Professional Description:

    Insoluble fibre is generally resistant to bacterial fermentation in the large bowel and thus increases stool bulk (e.g. wheat bran)

  • Insulin Analogue

    Professional Description:

    Insulin is primarily produced by recombinant DNA technology and is formulated as either chemically identical to human insulin or as a modification of human insulin (insulin analogue). This modification results in improved pharmacokinetics. There are currently insulin analogues for short-acting insulin (called rapid-acting insulins) and analogues for longer-acting insulins (basal insulins).

  • insulinemic index

    Professional Description:

    A measure of postprandial insulin rise.

  • Integrated Pest Management

    Professional Description:

    A process that combines biological, cultural, physical and chemical methods to manage pests so that the benefits of pest control are maximized while the risk to human health and the environment are minimized. IPM ensures that pesticides are only used when needed and that they are used responsibly as part of an overall pest management strategy (22).

  • Intense Sweeteners

    Professional Description:

    Intense sweeteners impart greater sweetness and contribute less energy than sugar. The term nutritive intense sweeteners usually refers to the sugar alcohols, which provide some carbohydrate and energy, but less than sugar. Non-nutritive intense sweeteners impart sweetness in extremely small quantities and deliver no energy or an insignificant amount of energy. Some of the intense sweeteners are also referred to as artificial sweeteners, while some are naturally occurring.

  • Intensive insulin therapy

    Professional Description:

    Multiple daily injections (MDI) consisting of intermediate or long-acting insulin, or extended insulin analogue as the "basal" insulin and fast-acting insulin or rapid-acting insulin analogue as the "bolus" insulin for food intake at each meal. This type of regimen also includes continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) or insulin pump therapy.

  • Interactive behaviour change technology

    Professional Description:

    computer based tools and systems to enhance behaviour change e.g. web-based behaviour change programs, CD-ROM interventions using touch screen kiosks, interactive voice response technologies (automated telephone disease management systems), personal digital assistants (PDA's) or other handheld devices, electronic medical records or registries that include behaviour change information.

  • Internal consistency

    Professional Description:

    The degree to which every test item measures the same concept in a measurement tool.

  • Internalization

    Professional Description:

    In psychology, internalization refers to the unconscious mental process whereby characteristics, beliefs, feelings, and attitudes of others are integrated into the self.

  • International Normalized Ratio

    Professional Description:

    International Normalized Ratio is the prothrombin time ratio that would be obtained if a standard reagent was used in a prothrombin time determination. The prothrombin time ratio is derived for a working reagent in the laboratory with the use of a parameter designated the international sensitivity index and is expressed as an individual’s prothrombin time divided by the mean of the prothrombin time reference interval.

  • Interstitial cystitis

    Professional Description:

    The accepted criteria for diagnosis of interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome is the presence of pain related to the bladder, usually accompanied by frequency and urgency; and the absence of other diseases that could cause the symptoms.

  • Intolerance

    Professional Description:

    Commonly applied to non-immunologically-mediated hypersensitivity reactions
    An adverse food-induced reaction that does not involve the immune system. Lactose intolerance is an example.

  • Intravenous therapy

    Professional Description:

    Intravenous administration of Ringers lactate solution or normal saline at a rate of 20 mL/kg over 1 hour. Larger quantities or more rapid administration may be required

  • Intrinsic factor

    Professional Description:

    A substance produced by the normal gastrointestinal mucosa that facilitates absorption of vitamin B12

  • Introverts

    Professional Description:

    People who think things through and focus on the inner world of ideas.

  • Intuitors

    Professional Description:

    People who are imaginative, concept-oriented and focus on meanings and possibilities.

  • Iron deficiency

    Professional Description:

    the second stage in the development of iron deficiency anemia in which the supply of iron to the functional compartment (bone marrow) is low (low transferrin saturation, high FEP) due to depleted iron stores (low serum ferritin), but not yet low enough to impair production of hemoglobin.

  • Iron deficiency anemia

    Professional Description:

    hemoglobin is below the normal reference range for age as a result of depleted iron stores. Mean cell volume is also decreased.

  • Iron depletion

    Professional Description:

    the first stage in the development of iron deficiency anemia in which storage levels of iron are low, reflected by serum ferritin levels below the normal reference range for age. Levels of iron in transit, reflected by transferrin saturation or total iron binding capacity, and levels of hemoglobin are not yet affected.

  • Irritable bowel syndrome

    Professional Description:

    Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, chronic gastrointestinal disorder of gut-brain interaction with no identified structural pathology and a symptom-based diagnosis.

  • Isokinetic exercise

    Professional Description:

    Exercise performed with a specialized apparatus that provides variable resistance to a movement so that movement takes place at a constant speed regardless of how much effort is exerted.

  • Isometric contraction

    Professional Description:

    A contraction in which the muscle does not shorten, due to the load being too heavy, but internal tension increases.

  • Isotonic

    Professional Description:

    Having the same or equal osmotic pressure.

  • Isotonic contraction

    Professional Description:

    A contraction in which the muscle shortens and muscle tension remains constant.