Open Topic Posting!
Welcome to Week 10! For our last week, I want to open up the topic for you to choose. What physiology or health topic are you interested in? Why? Find a web page that you once might have thought was too technical, and look up more information on this topic. Then tell us in your own words what you have learned, and include the link.
35 comments:
There is one health topic that caught my interest which is the Behcet’s Syndrome, also called Behcet’s disease. I find this interesting because it is a disease that has no cure. The disease involves inflammation of the blood vessels, which can cause problems in many parts of the body. At a glance of the Behcet’s syndrome, there are recurrent mouth ulcers and the most common symptoms are: sores in the mouth, sores on the sex organs, skin sores, swelling parts of the eye, and pain, swelling, stiffness of the joints. Diagnosing can take a long time because they come and go. The serious symptoms are: meningitis, blood clots, inflammation of the digestive system and blindness. Behcet’s syndrome is no joke, it can lead to death of the tissues if the arteries become inflamed since oxygen supply depends on these vessels. If the brain is affected, it can cause a stroke. Not only it can cause a stroke, inflammation of the brain or meninges, can cause damage to the nervous tissue leading to impaired function of the body. When veins are inflamed, it can involve large veins that develop blood clots to loosen to cause pulmonary embolism.
The treatment depends on the severity of the location of its manifestations. The treatment focuses on reducing pain and helps preventing serious problems.
It is unfortunate that doctors do not know what causes Behcet’s. According to the website, it is rare in the United States, but it is common in the Middle East and Asia. I find it weird that it mainly affects people in their 20s and 30s.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
One health topic that I have always wondered about is Autism. My next door neighbor's son is autistic and there are a lot of disadvantages the parents face in raising their son. I find that this condition is intriguing because it causes unusual repetitive behaviors. Those with autism face characteristics involving having obsessive behaviors, problems with social situations, and problems facing verbal and nonverbal communication. Autism can be seen and found as early as when the infant is born. This occurs when the baby is unresponsive to contact or intent on focusing on one object for too long. Parents can find that their children with autism avoid eye contact and do not answer when called by their name. Autistic children usually engage in twirling or abusive behavior like head banging. Many times when I would go over to my neighbor's home, their son would often times begin smacking his fist against his head for attention or in frustration. On the website, I have found that children with autism have a higher tolerance for pain as well. Unfortunately, scientists have not found a cause nor a cure for this. My neighbors have hired many therapists to help treat their son. Hopefully in the future, there may be a cure for this condition.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm
a health topic that i am curious about is chicken pox, mainly because i don't remember ever getting it, so it was always something that crossed my mind as i got older.
most children get chicken pox before they are 15 but it is possible for older children and adults to get it as well. a few symptoms are an itchy rash that many kids find hard to endure since it is so uncomfortable. they can also get a fever or have headaches. it usually lasts 5-10 days but they can turn into a more serious problem.
a question that i always thought about, and i am sure other people have too, is the question of why chicken pox itch. i did some research and this is what i found: the red spots that appear on the body are called "vesicles" that fill up with a clear liquid which is released in the skin that "excite the nerves" to make the person itch. in a week to 10 days, the vesicles will become scabs, which means it won't itch as much anymore, which is the end of the whole chicken pox ordeal.
the idea of chicken pox seems so elementary because it is usually associated with younger kids and everybody knows that it has to do with red spots and itchiness, but to me it is something i havent experienced myself, so the information that i learned is new and interesting to me.
Something I've wanted to know is why my leg shakes sporadically. I don't think i have this but I did come across restless legs syndrome. There are four characteristics that define the syndrome:
1. an irresistible urge to shake your leg
2. symptoms become worse when resting
3. symptom is relieved when leg moves
and 4. symptoms are worse in the evening.
This is not limited to the legs but can affect the arms as well.
To treat the syndrome, vitamin B and calcium-channel blockers are taken. Also, caffeine should be avoided.
Although the exact cause of the syndrome is unknown, it is known that restless leg syndrome is hereditary and occurs more in those with anemia.
http://www.rls.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=543&srcid=477
a health topic that i am curious about is chicken pox, mainly because i don't remember ever getting it, so it was always something that crossed my mind as i got older.
most children get chicken pox before they are 15 but it is possible for older children and adults to get it as well. a few symptoms are an itchy rash that many kids find hard to endure since it is so uncomfortable. they can also get a fever or have headaches. it usually lasts 5-10 days but they can turn into a more serious problem.
a question that i always thought about, and i am sure other people have too, is the question of why chicken pox itch. i did some research and this is what i found: the red spots that appear on the body are called "vesicles" that fill up with a clear liquid which is released in the skin that "excite the nerves" to make the person itch. in a week to 10 days, the vesicles will become scabs, which means it won't itch as much anymore, which is the end of the whole chicken pox ordeal.
the idea of chicken pox seems so elementary because it is usually associated with younger kids and everybody knows that it has to do with red spots and itchiness, but to me it is something i havent experienced myself, so the information that i learned is new and interesting to me.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/chickenpox.html#cat11
One thing that we have not covered in class that deals with physiology and interests me is how bones come together and what keeps them from grinding against each other giving us pain. I researched this and found...
http://www.completerider.com/ucolorado/joints.html
Bones come together at joints. This is rather common knowledge but I did not know that it was made of cartilage and that this cartilage allows fro almost frictionless motion when muscles cause bones to move. This website offers diagrams to better describe what joints are composed of and even breaks it down into the molecular structure.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4440
One of the health topics that I am interested in is the Atherosclerosis disease. Since we are learning about blood vessels in class, I thought atherosclerosis would be an interesting topic to research about. According to the website above, atherosclerosis is a disease in the artery, especially the large and medium-sized arteries. It is caused by the build up(plaque) in an artery by fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other substances. This plaques, or build up can cause a reduction of blood flow in the artery. Plaques can also rupture, which can result in blood clots that can block blood flow. Later on, this blockage in blood vessel of the heart can cause a heart attack where blockage of blood vessel in the brain can cause a stroke. It is important to avoid tobacco smoking because it can worsen or speed up the atherosclerosis.
One health topic that I always wanted to know about is Cystic Fibrosis (CF). I heard about it while I was watching a medical documentary film about the disease. The interesting fact is that it is an inherited disease which means that it's passed down from parent to child. It causes the body to make thick, sticky mucus, which then leads to a problem in the lungs and the digestive system. Healthy lungs produce mucus, which protects the airways and makes it easier to breathe. However, if you have a CF, the mucus is thick and possively clog up the lungs. So, the bacteria will grow more easily and cause infections. Until the 1980s, most deaths from CF occurred in children and teenagers. Furtunately, with improved treatments, people with CF live, on average, to be more than 35 years old.
http://www.cff.org/AboutCF/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyperthyroidism/DS00344
The topic i am interested in learning about is "hyperthyroidism", as it is something I have but was never sure of what it really is, in terms of cause, tests, and treatment.
In simple words, "hyperthyroidism" is a disease where one's thyroid gland produces too much of the hormone thyroxine, which can significantly his or her body's metabolism, resulting in weight loss, increased heart rate, sweating, or nervousness.
Some symptoms of hyperthyroidism include fine trembling of hands and fingers and protruding eyeballs.
There are three possible reasons for hyperthyroidism, including Graves' disease where the immune system mistakes instructs the antibodies to attack the thyroid gland, hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules where one or more adenomas of the thyroid gland over produces thyroxine, and thyroidits where the thyroid gland becomes inflamed. However, as of now, there are no clear explanations for the cause of these three possible reasons of hyperthyroidism.
Some ways to test for testing for hyperthyroidism include blood tests (where if one has high level of thyroxine and low TSH means positive), radioactive iodine uptake test where high uptake indicates positive, and an thyroid scan.
Some medications include radioactive iodine which causes the gland to shrink and thus symptoms, anti-thyroid medications to prevent it from producing excess hormones, and surgery where the doctors removes part of the thyroid gland.
I have always wondered about multiple sclerosis.
I remember reading about it in a book by Lurlene McDaniels when I was in Junior High. It was a love story between a cancer patient and a MS patient. They met at the hospital, she beat her cancer but he lost to his MS. It was sad.. and I cried and ever since.. I wondered how and why this disease could produce such traumatic results.
MS is an inflamatory disease that affects the "white matter" in the brain and the spinal cord which slows down and prohibits the firing of neurons down myelin. Therefore it is a disease that afflicts the central nervous system (CNS). Everyone that has MS will experience it differently and this disease has a wide range of symptoms ranging from loss of sexual appetite to difficulty controlling breathing.
Basically, MS works like this. The white blood cells in the brain of an MS patient are drawn the the areas of "white matter" and the areas become inflammed. Inflammation strips the myelin from the axons (demyeliniation). This reduces the conductivity of the axons and can halt action potentials from traveling down. Inflammation also destroys glial cells which are maintenance cells that keep the brain clean and this leads to the appearance of lesions. After time, this will destroy all motor skills and involuntary activities such as breathing and heart beat will deteriorate over time.
http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/howms.html
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/HeartCenter/pub/women/conditions_arrhythmia.htm
I came across this website on women and cardivascular health. If I had come across this website before taking this class I would probably quickly shift my attention to a different topic because I would think the webiste is too technical.
This website is on Women and Arrhythmias. Studies show that women tend to have a faster baseline heart rate and their ECG readings may be different than men.The QT interval, which as we learned in class is the distance from the beginning of the QRS to the end of the T wave, is shorter in men than in women, beginning after puberty with an increase through the major part of adulthood. The website explains that the gender differences in QT interval may be due to the hormonal levels.
Type 2 Diabetes is very common in my family [from both my mother's and father's sides]. I had the basic understanding that people with type 2 Diabetes had to watch what they ate and had to check their blood sugar level, but I didn't know why.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus_type_2
According to wikipedia, Type 2 Diabetes has to deal a lot with insulin and glucose. By listening to lecture, I now understand what it means for type 2 to have issues with the post receptor cells; the insulin takes glucose from the blood to the cells, but the cells would ignore it. The cells are now starved from energy [glucose produces much of the body's energy through anaerobic/aerobic resperation] and since the blood is packed of glucose, people comment that their "blood sugar is high". High blood glucose levels [also known as hyperglycemia] can cause nerve, vision, kidney, and cardiac problems, including strokes.
Information also found from:
http://kidshealth.org/teen/diabetes_basics/what/high_blood_sugar.html
One thing I am interested in is Lupus because my girlfriend has it and I want to know more about it so that I can help her and be there for her when she needs me. Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system cannot tell the difference between a foreign invader and and its own skin, tissue, or bone cell. The main thing that happens to those with Lupus is inflammation on either the inside or outside of the body. There are many diseases that go hand in hand with Lupus.
http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_aboutintroduction.aspx?articleid=71&zoneid=9
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/HeartAttack/HeartAttack_WhatIs.html
A topic that catches my eye is Heart Attack. In the beginning of this year, my dad got a heart attack from his smoking habits and from excessive stress from his job. I found that a heart attack can be caused by a plaque buildup in the coronary artery and can kill a person. Some symptoms of a heart attack can be shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. If not treated within an hour, it can cause permanent scars on the heart.
I recently came across an interesting discovery in the field of health that I think we all can relate to. Recent studies have shown that blogging may actually have psychological and physical health benefits. Beyond the usual uses as a stress-coping mechanism, research shows that blogging can also improve memory and sleep, boost immune cell activity and reduce viral load in AIDS patients. There are even cases that show an increased speed of healing after injury. It is believed to have some sort of effect in the nerve firings of the limbic system. The limbic system has to do with the release of dopamine in the brain, which as we've learned can have several various effects on human behavior. They believe that what triggers these nerve firings is somewhat of a placebo effect, where patients actually initially mentally feel better about getting things off their chest, and then the body compensates with neural activity. It's really a very interesting article. I recommend that all active bloggers take a look at it.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-healthy-type
Because one of my friends has a thyroid disease I chose to research the topic. The thyroid is a small gland that rests in the middle of the lower neck. Their primary function is to control the body’s metabolism by producing hormones, T4 and T3, which tells the body’s cells how much energy to use. Hyperthyroidism is when the thyroid produces too much hormone and the body uses energy faster than it should. In contrast, in hypothyroidism the thyroid does not produce enough hormone, and the body uses energy slower than it should. Thyroiditis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Postpartum thyroiditis, iodine deficiency, and a non-functioning thyroid gland are all causes of hypothyroidism. There are also several causes of hyperthyroidism, including Grave’s disease, nodules, thyroiditis, and excessive iodine. Symptoms of hypothyroidism are fatigue, heavy menstrual periods, forgetfulness, weight gain, dry/coarse skin and hair, hoarse voice, and intolerance to cold. The symptoms of hyperthyroidism include irritability/nervousness, muscle weakness, infrequent and scant menstrual periods, weight loss, sleep disturbances, enlarged thyroid gland, vision problems/eye irritation, and heat sensitivity.
For more exciting information on thyroid disease go to: http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/2000/2011.asp
A health issue that I find interesting is Auto-immune Inner Ear Disease (AIED). In this disease, one has antibodies or immune cells that are attacking the inner ear. This attack causes dizziness and hearing loss. Having AIED causes patients to have balancing problems and patients can also have tinnitus, which is ringing in the ear.
Fortunately, AIED is a very rare disease. It is so rare that the diagnosis of the disease is based on historical records. Doctors make their diagnosis based on records, physical examinations, blood tests, and results of hearing and vestibular tests. Sadly, there are no specific tests for autoimmunity in the inner ear that are available.
To treat AIED, a four week trial of certain steroids could help. For long term treatment, chemotherapy types of medication such as Cytoxan, can be helpful. Since AIED is rare, it is hard to study what good treatments may be, but drugs to cure the disease are in the works.
The reason I am interested in diseases relating to the ear is because I have had ear problems since I was very young. I had a tumor/growth in my right ear and had to have major surgery to remove it. This was when I was in the sixth grade! This surgery caused for a partial removal of a bone and thus caused me to have some hearing loss. I really have to take good care of my ears and learning about different diseases involving the ear are interesting to me.
Here is the website on AIED:
http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/disorders/autoimmune/aied.html
The health topic I am interested in is Alzheimer's Disease. I've always had an interest in Alzheimer's Disease because my grandfather had this ever since I remember and recently my grandmother was also diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is a progressive and fatal disease. This disease destroys the brian cells and is the most common form of dimentia. Currently 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's and there is no cure. Patients with Alzheimer's tend to have low levels of neurotransmitters. There are 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's, which include: memory loss, difficulty in performing familiar tasks, problems with language, disorientation to time and place, poor or decreased judgment, problems with abstract thinking, misplacing things, changes in mood or behavior, changes in personality, and loss of initiative. Having a family member with Alzheimer's, increases your risk; however, most Alzheimer patients do not have a family history. Risk factors include age, family history, and genetics. Other risk factors preventable include head injury, heart-head connection, and general healthy aging.
http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp
one of my best friends has a heart condition called long QTs syndrome. Unfortunately her state of health has forced her to permanently hang up her basketball jersey and watch the game she to kill to play. I decided to research her heart abnormality to get a better understanding of what she was going through. With the foundation provided from our class, i was able to interpret her condition as an arrhythmia due to an accelerated heart rates of disrupted cardiac potassium channels. I also learned that LQTS does not necessarily mean that the the interval between Q and T on an EKG is extended all the time. However, it can be extended due to exercise or intense emotions. An prolongation between Q and T waves can cause unconsciousness and sudden cardiac death.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?call=bv.View..ShowSection&rid=gnd.section.142
http://ww2.heartandstroke.ca/Page.asp?PageID=1975&ArticleID=5133&Src=heart&From=SubCategory
A health topic that i'm pretty interested in is eczema, also known as dermatitis, which means inflammation of the skin. I guess, im really interested in this is because i have this skin condition and honestly, it really isn't the best. This is actually a type of skin allergy that usually appears during early childhood and persists even throughout early adulthood, sometimes even throughout a person's entire life.
eczema can be triggered by basically anything that can come in contact with the skin or even food. it basically is usually in around the inside of the joints, as in the inside elbows and behind the knees. it can also occur on the face. what happens it that skin becomes red and dry and itchy and inflammed. Usually, due to scratching, it becomes raw and bleeds and very irritated.
treatments include corticosteroids and other topical creams and basically, eczema causes really sensitive skin, so when it comes to anything that comes in contact with the skin, like lotion and body wash, people should use non-fragrant items.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/eczema/page6_em.htm
I have always had a curiosity about Tourette’s Syndrome. I have seen people who suffer from it in real life and always wondered about it, and if it has a cure.
I research the neurological disorder and found out that research is still being conducted to find out how people get it, and there is still no cure. Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological disorder where an individual repetitively suffers from involuntary vocalizations and physical movements. It is mostly noticed in childhood between the ages of seven and ten. Statistics show males are affected about 3-4x more often than women. Also 200,000 Americans have the most severe form of this disorder. Tics, which are the vocalizations and movements, are distinguished between being simple or complex. Simple motor tics include vision irregularities such as eye blinking and the head/shoulder jerking. Simple ones include sniffing and grunting sounds. An example of a complex tic is the face grimacing along with the shoulder shrugging and the head twisting. It is very unfortunate. They are often worse when the person is anxious or excited, and they do not go away during sleep- they just diminish. The cause of this disorder is unknown but research to this day infers that is has to do with abnormalities in brain regions, the circuits that interconnect the regions, and the neurotransmitters that are in charge of communication among nerve cells. It is not completely treated in any way, but medications do help eliminate the severity of the symptoms significantly.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tourette/detail_tourette.htm
I used to be on the swim team and always got these scary/annoying things called cramps. It would be scary because my muscles would lock up and hurt so I would have to grab on to the lane lines. Now that I think about it, what causes these muscle contractions that completely locks up your muscles?
Here are two most likely reasons why these things occasionally happen. I chose these two because they topics that we have actually discussed in lecture.
1.) Low potassium: Low potassium levels occasionally cause muscle cramps, although it is more common for low potassium to be associated with muscle weakness. This *might* have something to do with re-polarization of the potassium channels? The article doesn't go into detail about this but what I am thinking is that the action potentials do not travel through, causing the muscles to lock up.
2.) Contractures result when the muscles are unable to relax. The constant spasms are caused by a depletion of (ATP). This prevents muscle fiber relaxation. The nerves are inactive in this form of muscle spasm.
http://www.medicinenet.com/muscle_cramps/page2.htm
Recently my cousin gave birth to her child, and it struck me odd how she was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, yet after the birth it was said to have gone away. I didn't know diabetes could be cured, but after research on the topic I learned a lot more on the subject. According to http://www.webmd.com/baby/tc/gestational-diabetes-topic-overview
Gestational Diabetes is a temporary diesease that occurs is 2% to 7% of women during pregnancy. It typically occurs to women who have not had a previous diagnosis of any type of diabetes. What happens is when the mother eats, which is more than usual to feed 2, the food is digested into glucose. That then enters the bloodstream and becomes fuel for cells and body with the aid of insulin. Insulin is a hormone created by the pancreas. When a women is pregnant the body finds it difficult to produce insulin. And with more and more glucose being accumulated it cannot create enough insulin therefore causing a peak of glucose in the body. The peak in glucose is the cause of gestational diabetes. It is usually occurs within the 20-24 weeks of pregnancy and disappears after delivery. Symptoms are not typically common but they include increased unination, hunger and blurred vision. The effects of gestational diabetes are a larger baby being born, or a baby born with a low blood sugar. Also women who develop gestational diabetes are more likely to acquire diabetes later on in life.
I'm interested in spider veins...
My mom always complains about how her legs are so pale you can see every little varicose vein. I recently realized that I'm starting to grow some too. Varicose veins and spider veins are visible on the surface of the skin. These are due to the absence or weakness of valves in the veins, which prevent the backward flow of blood away from the heart, which may cause the poor circulation and/or any weakness in the vein walls may cause the pooling of the blood. This poor circulation usually isn't harmful and is removed for cosmetic reasons. Sclerotherapy uses a really thin needle which injects some solution into the vein that irritates the walls and swell so the blood clots. The vein then turns into scar tissue that fades from view. I think this is pretty interesting because it can be avoided by eating healthy and exercising regularly, two things of which i do not do. My mom had mentioned that it was due to standing for prolonged periods of time, but the truth is that it's due to the lack of blood circulating the body.
http://www.medicinenet.com/varicose_veins/page2.htm
I have always been interested in the causes and effects of Parkinson’s disease because it causes intense tremors in the body and it isn’t curable. Parkinson’s disease is such a common disease among the elderly. Parkinson’s disease is caused by the destroying of the nerve cells in the area of the brain that controls muscle movement. There is a decrease in dopamine production in this area, and dopamine is the brain chemical that helps send signals back and forth. I remember talking about dopamine in Bio 9G as well as the chemical that allows nerve cells to send messages to each other. Therefore, lack of dopamine results in the loss of muscle function. Because there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, the only way to deal with this disease is to treat its symptoms. The medications used to treat the symptoms usually deal with increasing the levels of dopamine.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000755.htm
Last year, my dad went to Taiwan to make a whole body examination, and the doctor told him seriously that he had high cholesterol that may block blood vessels and causes blood attack. The doctor suggested that the best way for him to avoid this is to exercise regularly, but he ignores the suggestion, and still thinks that it is not as severe as the doctor said. Therefore, I want to find out more information of the disease causes by high cholesterol, and the treatment to avoid heart attack.
The level of cholesterol is highly associated with heart disease. If people have high cholesterol, then the more possibility for them to develop heart disease or heart attack.
If the level of cholesterol is too high, then cholesterol will deposit at the wall of arteries, and this may causes “hardening of arteries” that causes arteries becomes narrow and the blood flow is being slow down or blocked. Blood carries oxygen, which is an important component for all parts of body, to all body. If the blood is being slow down or block, then this will causes damage of cells. The most severe case is when the cholesterol blocks the arteries, which results in heart attack.
Three things affect cholesterol level. The first one is diet, because many cholesterol come from the food people eat. The second is weight, because overweight causes higher cholesterol level. The third one is physical activity, because it will lower the cholesterol level.
The major factors that affect cholesterol level are smoking, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, older age, and family history that have heart disease.
There are various ways to lower cholesterol. The first one is using Therapeutic Livestyle Change (TLC) that focuses on diet, weight management, and physical activity. The second one is using drug to lower LDL cholesterol.
http://www.healthnewsflash.com/conditions/high_blood_cholesterol.php
I was interested in MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. I volunteer at a hospital and there is always a big fear and warning against it. I never knew how it was caused or why, but knew that people are more likely to get it in hospitals. The website I used is:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735
This website breaks down the disease, to make it more understandable.
MRSA are bactieral bumps, similar to pimples, spider bites or boils that are painful. They can also enter the body and become a problem for lungs, joints, bones, and get into the blood stream. The big scare about these bumps is that they are resistant to most antibiotics, which makes them very deadly.
Treatment is a very strong antibiotic, but some strains are resistant to the strong antibiotic. For other less severe cases doctors can just drain the MRSA bump rather than use drugs.
As we approach Father's Day, I would like to devote my open topic posting to prostate cancer. My father was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, fortunately, in the early stage and underwent robotic prostatectomy at UCI Medical Center by Dr. Ahlering. Dr. Ahlering is one of the leading experts in robotic prostatectomy in the United States having performed over 1000 such procedures. It is important for every male to be screen for prostate cancer with a prostate specific antigen test. For black males over the age of 40 years it is very important as well as any male with a family history of prostate cancer. Any male over age 50 should be screened as well. One important organization which has been on the cutting edge of research and financial support for prostate cancer prevention and treatment is the prostate cancer foundation. I encourage everyone to read this website and contribute whatever they can so that prostate cancer can be stopped in its tracks. Your participation is greatly appreciated.
http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/
When I was in 7th grade, I was diagnosed with scoliosis. I had no idea what it was, so it was quite a surprise. My mom took me to see a orthopedic doctor and I took an x-ray. When I had gotten my x-ray back, it showed that my spine was in the shape of an "S". It turned out that scoliosis a curvature of the spine from side to side. I never really understood why I got scoliosis, but my doctor told me that it could be a genetic disease. According to www.iscoliosis.com, 2% of women and .5% of men get scoliosis. It can often be caused by cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy and tumors. However, in 80% of cases, the cause is idiopathic, or unknown.
Treatments for scoliosis depend on the severity and the degree of curvature. The most common non-surgical treatment is bracing. This is used on patients who are still growing and will prevent their spines from curving further. There are also plenty of surgical methods such as bone-grafts or Thoracoplasty. For the most part, if the curve is not too severe, there really is no treatment. Annual checkups are the best way to keep track of the spinal curvature.
In some cases, the spine will only curve in one area leaving the person lopsided and uneven. I happen to be one of the lucky (I guess) ones because my spine curves in two areas and balances my shoulders out. Having scoliosis isn't so bad that bothers me all the time, but sometimes, it really does hurt.
Thanks Dr. Williams for a fantastic class.
A great video regarding life after a heart attack is available on the internet. A MUST SEE!
http://everydayhealth.healthology.com/hybrid/hybrid-autodetect.aspx?content_id=3547&focus_handle=heart-attack&brand_name=everydayhealth
Forgot to mention about Dodgers manager Joe Torres' brother, Frank who underwent a heart transplant and the preoperative planning. This is another good video regarding the preoperative planning stage before a heart transplant.
http://everydayhealth.healthology.com/hybrid/hybrid-autodetect.aspx?content_id=1829&focus_handle=heart-disease&brand_name=everydayhealth
A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (the genetic and more serious of the two types) so I thought I'd research the effects of diabetes on the heart and blood vessels. According to the site I found, "Type 1 diabetes reduces the normal life span by an average of five to eight years." Many of these early deaths are attributed to heart attacks and strokes that come as a result of the diabetes. 60% of the deaths of diabetics are from heart attacks. 25% of them are from strokes. This is why it is crucial that diabetics carefully watch their diets and maintain low cholesterol and blood pressure in addition to rigorously maintaining good insulin and blood sugar levels. Diabetes accelerates athersclerosis, which is why the heart attack related deaths of diabetics are so high in number. Athersclerosis can cause CAD and strokes as well. If the kidneys of type 1 diabetics are damaged, they can develop high blood pressure and children can develop hypertension. Diabetes can also cause neuropathy, which is impaired nerve function. This may cause abnormalities in the heart, which may lead to heart problems.
http://adam.about.com/reports/000009_9.htm
A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (the genetic and more serious of the two types) so I thought I'd research the effects of diabetes on the heart and blood vessels. According to the site I found, "Type 1 diabetes reduces the normal life span by an average of five to eight years." Many of these early deaths are attributed to heart attacks and strokes that come as a result of the diabetes. 60% of the deaths of diabetics are from heart attacks. 25% of them are from strokes. This is why it is crucial that diabetics carefully watch their diets and maintain low cholesterol and blood pressure in addition to rigorously maintaining good insulin and blood sugar levels. Diabetes accelerates athersclerosis, which is why the heart attack related deaths of diabetics are so high in number. Athersclerosis can cause CAD and strokes as well. If the kidneys of type 1 diabetics are damaged, they can develop high blood pressure and children can develop hypertension. Diabetes can also cause neuropathy, which is impaired nerve function. This may cause abnormalities in the heart, which may lead to heart problems.
http://adam.about.com/reports/000009_9.htm
http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/asthmaassociatedwithsuicidalthoughtsattempts.html;_ylt=AlToRjDZ_Hn5bNYT1Ddpp1uz5xcB
This website has an article that states "Asthma Associated With Suicidal Thoughts,Attempts".
I have asthma ever since I was little, therefore this article caught my attention. This article also state that smoking cigarette's also have a suicidal effects. The linkage between asthma and suicide attempts, is the the discomfort and disability of asthma. It also stated that people have thoughts of suicide because of asthma due to the fact that the asthma victim is carrying a disease that might be life-threating.
Some people would like to die and just get it over with rather than dying slowly with pain. I smoke and I have asthma, but I never think of suicide. But interesting article overall.
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