When dining out at a fancy restaurant, you may see the name sweetbreads on the menu. But did you know that you also have a thymus in your body? And this organ, according to scientific research, seems to be more important than we have always thought.
What is a sweetbread?
The sweetbread dish contains organ meat, which comes from young mammals. Usually it is veal or lamb. But this organ also occurs in humans, near the sternum and the heart. In the 1960s, scientists discovered what the last unknown organ in the human body is for. The thymus is most active in childhood and produces immune cells against bacteria and viruses. The body benefits from this until later in life. After that active phase, the thymus, also called thymus in medical terms, shrivels.
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What does the sweetbread do?
Especially in your childhood, you unnoticed benefit greatly from the thymus in your body. But what the organ does once it has grown is a matter of debate among scientists. Many of them have assumed for years that the role of the sweetbreads is over after your childhood. And that the shriveled organ has no function after that.
But a group of American researchers has taken a closer look at the thymus and has come to a different conclusion. More than 1,000 participants, whose thymus was surgically removed, participated in this study. Five years after their surgery, it appears that the risk of cancer and death has increased. In addition, without thymus, the body produces fewer T cells, which weakens the immune system. In any case, this shows that the presence of the thymus is important for our health, also in later life. Whether the organ is not only present, but also still active, must become clear after further research.
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What is Thymus Cancer?
The thymus in your body therefore stimulates the immune system and reduces the risk of diseases and disorders. On the other hand, a tumor can develop in the organ itself. This cancer is rare and is estimated to occur 60 to 100 times a year. It is difficult to detect thymus cancer at an early stage because the thymus is small and difficult to see.
Only when the tumor has continued to grow, symptoms can arise. Shortness of breath, pneumonia, constant chest pain, coughing a lot, fatigue, weight loss, and loss of appetite may indicate thymus cancer. In addition, the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis, a condition in which muscle strength decreases, is remarkably often associated with it. But because thymus cancer is so rare, not much is known about causes and cures.
(Bron: Culy, Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, RTL Nieuws, National Geographic, The Harvard Gazette, Thuisarts. Photo: Shutterstock)
2023-08-27 04:01:29
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