Health, Disease and Treatment: April 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Hemorrhoids Treatment

Hemorrhoids is a condition in which there are enlarged veins in the anus or lower rectum. They mostly go ignored and commonly clear up after a few days but can account enduring discomfort, bleeding and pain. Hemorrhoids can be classified into two types internal and external.Internal hemorrhoids exist inside the anus or lower rectum. External hemorrhoids exist outside the anal opening. It is also possible that both types can be exist at the same time.This condition is usually known as piles.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

InjectionThis treatment can use in treating minor hemorrhoids the procedure of injecting medicine to the mucous membranes close to the hemorrhoid is adequate. It will aid to compress the hemorrhoid and its blood vessels.

Transanal Hemorrhoidal DearterialisationThis procedure is a less invasive surgery which include only internal stitches below the artery to cease the blood flow to the hemorrhoids. It is done with the help of specially designed devices like a proctoscope and a Doppler ultrasound flow meter.

Bipolar coagulationIt is a non surgical treatment of internal hemorrhoids. It acts on a directed coagulation effect of the mucous membrane around the hemorrhoid.

Infrared coagulationThis procedure includes infrared coagulation and is found to be useful in the case of bleeding internal hemorrhoids. It lasts for about ten minutes and ensures painless and urgent recovery.

HemorrhoidolysisThis procedures uses therapeutic galvanic waves straightly to the hemorrhoid and this causes a chemical reaction which eventually compresses and fluidifies the hemorrhoidal tissue. It is useful on internal hemorrhoids.

Rubber Band LigationThis is a commonly used procedure in which hemorrhoidal tissue is drag into a double sleeved cylinder and a tight rubber band is assigned over it to examine the blood flow. Just in about one week band falls off and is banished during bowel movement.

Surgical procedureAugmentation of hemorrhoids is done by abstracting the damaged part of colon or rectum This is a permanent treatment of hemorrhoid.

Increasing intake of fibre supplementsIncreasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables rich in fiber such as potatoes, cabbage, corn, wholegrains.It is the best way to tenderize and soften the stool. This will help to minimize bleeding from hemorrhoids.

Warm bathsThis procedure is a good pain reliever and it also improves the blood flow and comforts the internal anal sphincter.In this procedure the rectal area is submerged in warm water for 10 to 15 daily.

Meditation
Anusol HC Cream has hydrocortisone which is very effective in the treatment of external hemorrhoids. It aids to minimize the blisters, burning and creeping in the affected area and has mild side effects.Anusol suppositories these suppositories help in cure internal swelling and pain.

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Heel Pain Treatment

The term heel pain can simply defined as a primitive condition of older which causes softness of the heel accompliced with focal edema 1⁄2 have calcaneal spur formation expectation continuous pain or random resolution.Routine activities can cause pain in heel over time .

Work out that includes cycli movement or bouncing, standing for long periods and other such physical constricts can all cause foot and heel pain.Conditions like obesity , ankylosing spondylitis, soft-tissue sarcoma, and stress fractures also play a active role in heel and foot pain.There are many treatment options for heel pain.

Treatment

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Heartburn Treatment

Hemorrhoids Treatment

Albinism Treatment

Heartburn Treatment

The term heartburn can be defined as a sensation in the chest that can expand to the neck, throat, and face.It is the initial symptom of gastroesophageal reflux which is the activity of stomach acid into the esophagus.Sometimes it is due to gastritis stomach lining inflammation.Following are the treatment options.

Lifestyle Changes

One of the initial step which doctors advise their patients to take when treating chronic heartburn is the lifestyle changes.Large meals enlarge stomach and increase upward pressure across the esophageal sphincter. Obesity build ups abdominal pressure which can then push stomach contents up into the esophagus.Clothing that fits tightly all over the abdomen will put pressure on the stomach forcing food up against the LES and cause food to reflux into the esophagus.

Medication

Histamine Receptor Antagonists

This is a drug used for treating heartburn.This works by lowering the quantity of acid the produces in the stomach and also to treat when stomach produces too much acid or where acid enters into the esophagus and causes heartburn.

Antacids

This drug works by neutralizing acid in the stomach and relief the victim from heartburn.

Proton Pump Inhibitors

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are a set of advised medications that stop the release of acid in the stomach and intestines.Usually doctors advise PPIs to treat people with heartburn, ulcers of the stomach or intestine, or excessive stomach acid.

Promotility Agents

These agents are used to improve GERD symptoms for victims with slow gastric emptying. They boost up digestion which stops acid from staying in the stomach too long. A doctor may advise this medication for patients with GERD if H2 blockers or PPIs do not work properly for them.

Surgical Options

Fundoplication

Fundoplication is the common surgical treatment for GERD. The aim of the surgery is to lower heartburn due to acid reflex.

Radio frequency Treatment

It is a minimally obtrusive endoscopic procedure that's performed on an outpatient basis.

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Skin Cancer Deaths

Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers in the world today. Its incidences are more than lung, colorectal, prostate and breast cancer, if combined for all countries. The regrettable issue is that it’s highly preventable if properly taken treatment for, yet a large number of innocent people become victim of this ruthless killer on this planet. Important figures are given here:

Skin cancer causes 2,300 deaths in UK and 9,500 new cases arise there each year.
According to United States Public Health Service statistics, the mortality rate from skin cancer is 1.65 per cent to 1.75 per cent in the state of California and the cases observed in Visible Tumor Clinic at The University of California are 2,122 over a period of twenty years.
Majority of deaths occurred from skin cancer (about 75%) are due to melanoma, the most threatening and dangerous of all types, found to be present in all individuals everywhere on earth.
A report of WHO (World Health Organization) states that melanoma is responsible for causing 48,000 deaths all over the world, on annual basis.
In 2010, an estimated 8,700 deaths occurred in United States and 68,130 new cases were observed there, collectively in all of its parts.
Whereas from non melanoma skin cancer less than 1,000 deaths were noticed from more than 1000,000 new cases in U.S during last year (2010).
Skin cancer is diagnosed in women more than men but the rate of mortality is higher in men and women somehow survive this life-threatening disease.

Male deaths

In men the rate of death from skin cancer has been doubled in past thirty years. There is a drastic increase in deaths from malignant melanoma especially among elderly men. This finding is released by Cancer Research UK.
In 1970s less than 400 men died of melanoma that is 105 per 100,000. But today the figure is more than 3.1 per 100,000. This rise is really alarming.
During the last three decades, the rate has increased from 65 deaths in men over the age of 65, 4.5 per 100,000 to 15.2 per 100,000. This is almost four times increase in the span of time mentioned.

In Females

In women as well, the death rate has risen from 1.5 to 2.2 per 100,000.

The statistics clearly show the difference in the rate among men and women.

The facts show melanoma is more fatal than non melanoma form. Below is given a table that gives more specific and detailed numbers of deaths in 2007. The states are grouped according to similar rate per hundred thousand (0.1 million).

Deaths per 100,000	State affected
1.5 to 2.6	California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin
2.7 to 2.8	Arkansas, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Pennsylvania
2.9 to 3	Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia
3.1 to 3.9	Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming
Less than 16 cases	Alaska, District of Columbia, and North Dakota

Note: These are taken considering the population of year 2000. Source: U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. From United States Cancer Statistics: 1999-2007 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, (Atlanta, Georgia). National Cancer Institute (CRI).

As you can see, the rate is the highest in states mentioned in the row number 4. Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas…Wyoming. The capital Washington is also in this list.

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Leading Cause of Cancer Death

How cancer causes death is a crucial question and is satisfactorily answered by oncologists, researches as well as medical experts. They give results with previous researches, available content, past and current status of the disease to produce accurate findings.

Unnecessary inference with organ functioning
Any vital body organ when begins to malfunction, can bring serious health disorders. In extreme cases it can deprive the person of that organ permanently or cause death. What tumors do is, they hamper proper working of the part they develop in, leading to many complications.

Despite treatment, if there is no improvement and the interfering problem persists for a prolonged period of time, the organ completely stops working and neighboring body areas are damaged as well, especially in metastatic type.

Thus the affected person is no longer capable enough to survive, so he dies eventually. This is true of liver and pancreatic primary tumors that often block the bile ducts which consequently have toxic effect in the individual who finally is deprived of his precious life. Same is the case in lung cancer that does not allow alveoli to contract and expand properly to exchange air. The respiratory system thus badly influenced by the presence of tumor, is unable to supply ample oxygen to the body, so death occurs as a result.

Reduced blood supply
In many cases, cancer cells either decrease or totally stop the supply of the blood to other body organs. They do it by forming a network of blood vessels all around the tumor to feed it. This phenomenon is named as Angiogenesis in medical terminology. Nutrients and oxygen provision is made possible to all body organs via these vessels and waste is also disposed off.

Disturbed hormonal production
While cancer cells affect the organs, there is a sever malfunctioning and the hormones produced are either scanty according to the requirement or not secreted at all. An imbalanced homeostasis thus caused many disturbances in the patient.

Paraneoplastic syndromes
This syndrome affects almost all body organs and tissues in affected person as is a result of cancer. The onset and level of severity varies a great deal from one patient to another, but it surely stays there to bring about a big damage to the individual, sometime totally incurable by any expert or therapist, so the person had to leave this world for good. People with tumor have these disorders:

Anemia (sever iron deficiency)
Hypoglycemia (an abnormally low level of glucose)
Hypoalbuminemia(abnormally low level of albumin in the blood)
Hyponatrmia(low level of sodium in the blood)
Hypercalcemia(a higher-than-normal level of calcium)
Elevated level of ESR(Electron spin resonance)
Anorexia(loss of appetite)
Retinopathy(disease of retina, the back of the eye)
Neuropathy (disease of peripheral nerves of central nervous system)
Cachexia (lack of strength and vitality of body and mind)
Vascular system changes
Endocrine(hormonal) problems
Neuromuscular abnormalities
Bones are affected
Weight loss
Perverted immune reaction to antigens
Autoimmune disease
Genetic problems

How come a person survive with too many complicated problems occurred solely or simultaneously. When cancer cells metastasize, their killing property is drastically increased with very low survival chances of the patient.

Mutagenesis- a trigger for death causing factors
Persons born with mutation in genes are likely to get cancer more than those born with normal make up. Genetic defects further worsen the condition by helping cancer cells to leave their detrimental effects in the body thus trigger the death program. Many clinical reports have confirmed that a person with such mutation carries this gene throughout his life whereas these carry on growing in number at various stages of transformation.

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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Heart Disease Treatment

Heart disease can be defined as a series of diseases that affect the heart. The various heart diseases include diseases of blood vessels, like coronary artery disease, heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias), heart infections and heart defects which are known as (congenital heart defects)Heart diseases are also known as cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease usually mentions to conditions that include narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can surpass to a heart attack, chest pain (angina) or stroke. There are so many options for treating heart disease.Following are the list of treatments.

Style of living
By changing diet, exercise and other habits can help to slow or reduce some of the agents that cause heart disease. pushing off smoking and reducing the amounts of sodium, caffeine and alcohol usually consume can also lower blood pressure and give other health benefits.more exercise also lower blood pressure and make the heart.

Medication
There are so many drugs available for the treatment of heart diseases.

ACE which is known as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor.ACE inhibitors block the production of a chemical that causes blood vessels narrow and is used to escort control high blood pressure and for destroyed heart muscle. It may be advised after a heart attack to help the heart pump blood better.

Aspirin assists to lower the danger of a heart attack for those who are already heart patient. It also escorts to keep arteries open in those victim have previous heart bypass.

Beta blocker slow the heart beats and reduce the work load of the heart so blood pressure drops and the heart works less hard. They are also used for high blood pressure, chest pain and as a cure of repeated heart attack.

Digitalis causes the heart contract harder it also reduces some fast heart rhythms.

Diuretics reduces fluid in the body and they are used for high blood pressure.sometimes they are advised as water pills.

Thrombolic agents are also known as clot-busting drugs. They are using during a heart attack to break up a blood clot in a coronary artery to fix the blood flow.

Surgical Options
Angioplasty is a well known surgical option.Sometimes blood vessels causes the heart to become blocked or narrowed, restricting the heart's blood supply. One procedure of reopening these blood vessels is angioplasty. In this procedure surgeons insert a catheter with a tiny contracted balloon on its end into the blood vessel. When the balloon is at the site of the obstruction it is inflated to widen the artery and then removed.

Valve replacement is another procedure in this condition surgeons replace that valve which prevent the heart from functioning correctly surgeons replace this valve with a mechanical valve which is made up from human tissue or a valve from a donor.

Bypass surgery is also a surgical procedure.This procedure includes rerouting blood around a blocked portion of an artery. Surgeons abstract a portion of a healthy blood vessel often form the victim's leg or chest wall and graft the healthy tissue above and below the blockage,routing blood around the obstruction.

A pacemaker organizes the heart's rhythm by sending electrical impulses that bring about the heart to beat.

Defibrillator implant victim with severely irregular heartbeats may implant this device.This device deliver electrical impulses that counter abnormal heart rhythms.

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Endocrine Cancer - Types, Symptoms and Diagnosis

It affects endocrine tissues which have the function of secreting hormones in the body. As you know, hormones are chemical substances carried in the blood stream to perform specific task. Neuroendocrine system is a part of it.

The tumor can be benign/non-cancerous or malignant/cancerous. In previous situation, it can be removed easily without causing much side-effects but the later one is complicated and difficult to treat with a low survival rate, especially when it goes unnoticed in its earlier period and spreads to other organs.

The tumor can itself can make hormone and cause serious hormonal disturbances in the affected individuals.

Types

Several types are:

Adrenal gland tumor
Carcinoid tumors(these include gastrointestinal and lung tumors)
Islet cell tumor
Neuroendocrine tumor
Parathyroid tumor
Thyroid cancer
Pituitary gland tumor

How to make a diagnosis?
Several tests are carried out to detect whether the tumor is present or not and also its volume and status. The type of treatment is also determined after the presence of a lump is properly diagnosed. In most cases biopsy suffices but where it does not work, other methods are used which are:

Clinical examination: The doctor takes blood, urine and stool sample of the patients to look for any abnormalities in hormones, their functioning, blood glucose level and other important substances that might affect the person.

Neurological tests that include checking reflexes, sensory motor skills, mental condition, coordination and balance.

Imaging scan such as:

Endoscopy
Bone scan
CT/CAT scan (computed tomography)
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
Positron emission topography (PET scan)
X-ray
OctreoScan (radionuclide scanning)

Types of biopsy
As mentioned earlier, it is commonly used diagnosing method and is carried out in two different ways:

Fine needle aspiration: This is usually done in clinic by injecting a local anesthetic agent into the skin area near the tumor to produce numbness, prior to the actual procedure. A thin needle is then inserted into the lump to remove some fluids and cells. With two or three repeated procedures, the samples of tumor are taken. A positive report suggests the presence of cancerous cells while non-cancerous cells give a negative result. Unclear reports show that the status, volume of the tumor is not determined yet.
Surgical method: In case, the first method goes futile, the pathologist uses this one whereby the tumor is removed by surgery. It is given as an outpatient diagnostic operation and involves a general anesthesia to numb the area to be operated on.

Signs and symptoms
People suffering can show no symptoms sometimes. In a few cases these are non-specific and caused by other illnesses as well. Most common signs are:

Lump in any body part that is affected
Severe continuous pain where tumor develops
Irritability
Fatigue, weakness
Anxiety, panic attacks and behavioral disturbances
Depression
Nervousness
Confusion
Fever
Frequent headaches
Nausea, vomiting
Diarrhea
Changes in urine or bowel habits
Weight loss or gain without any apparent reason
Intestinal bleeding
Flushing face with reddishness and warmth in the area
Jaundice that makes the skin and the eye cornea yellow

Ongoing research
Various aspects are under continuous research such as:

Combination surgery and chemotherapy with the drugs oxaliplatin (Eloxatin) and irinotecan (Camptosar) given together with surgical operation.
Targeted therapy to treat several types of endocrine tumors such as thyroid cancer, islet cell as well as neuroendocrine tumors. Various drugs such as axitinib, sorafenib, pazopanib and motesanib diphosphate are tested on for the purpose
Genetic and molecular testing. Molecular biology is also being researched on along with this option.

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Diarrhea Treatment for Toddlers

Diarrhea as defined by WHO (world health organization) is having three or more loose or liquid stools per day, or having more stools than is normal for that person. This means a frequent bowel excretion or abnormal habit in such system. It may be considered just a general ailment but it can be fatal if reached to a severe level. Toddlers are sensitive to germs, unclean atmosphere and a poor diet. The care takers need to pay extra attention on their environment as well as dietary intake.

Effective treatment
In children, the treatment is given with even more attention and regular medical checkup, as they are more prone to side-effects and are unable to express any disturbance or abnormal pain felt in body. These options are mostly taken help form:

Antibiotics
Diet
Anti motility agents
Bismuth compounds
Bile acid sequestrants

Antibiotics
Most common treatment for treating diarrhea among toddlers is the use of certain antibiotics given according to the prescription of the physician or pediatrician. Since, these are beneficial in certain types of disease; these are used in specific condition, where it is highly imperative for the patient. Owing to the side-effects and other complications, prior to the treatment, it is essential to discuss with the doctor, any medical problem to the child or it can worsen the condition instead of improving it. Some bacteria especially Shigella develop antibodies resistant, so the child may not get any benefit with low potency pills.

Diet
So far, it has proven to play a key role in the cause as well as the cure of the disease. The child must be strictly kept on a healthy diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, starchy foods and other bulking agents.

Yogurt: A popular food ascribed to diarrhea treatment is yogurt that is the best remedy to cure it if caused by antibiotics. Its health-friendly bacteria help get rid of any gastroenterological problem both among children and adults alike. What to do if your child is an enemy of plain yogurt? Simply add some juicy fruits in it or mix a spoon of honey in it to improve the taste. Banana: Among the fruits, banana is the most effective of all. Don’t hesitate giving it in mashed form but carefully choose the proportion, especially in case of cough with sputum.

Cereals: Whole grain cereals such as multi-grain bread, buns, muffins and cookies can also be given as they help in making the stool firm. On the other hand, avoid pulses, chickpeas, high-fiber foods or laxatives that will cause a considerable thinning of the feces. A combination of the cereals with milk is usually given to make the texture smooth and chewable. The taste is also improved by mixing them in full cream milk.

Fluids: These are really important to provide sufficient water and liquid to the child because there is a higher chance of dehydration caused by frequent excretion. Oral rehydration solution is recommended by WHO. Rehydralyte, Pedialyte, Infalyte are some of the fluids available today. Popsicles are also a good option especially for the vomiting child.

Zinc also works well in the form of supplements but only for the infants that are six months of age not for the toddlers.

Anti motility agents
Loperamide an opioid drug is an effective agent in the treatment of diarrhea caused by inflammatory bowel disease or gastroenteritis. It has found to be more effective than diphenoxylate and bismuth subsalicylate.

Bismuth compounds
They help decrease the number of bowel movements in certain types, but the disease may persist. This is given only when blood is not present in body wastes.

Bile acid sequestrants
These cab be effective in bile acid malabsorption related diarrhea and include, colesevelam, colestipol and cholestyramine.

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Cancer research institute (CRI)

It is a leading institute for cancer immunology research all over the world. Based in New York, United States, their aim is to discover new effective approach towards the treatment with an improved immunity. It contributes through providing funds for research and other important tasks from prestigious academic centers. They provide an in-depth awareness of these things:

Making the immune system strong enough to suppress the development of any lump or tumor anywhere in the body
Antigens, the markers displayed by cancer cells in any body organ
Assessment of the treatment given to the affected person
Immune therapy that strengthen this system to prevent form the fatal disease.

Cancer vaccines

This institute is working with Cancer Vaccine Collaborative to take the research to an advanced level in order to discover a better solution to this health problem in people of all ethnicity, varied genetic history, dietary habits, lifestyle and any other health carelessness.

Goal and mission

To achieve their aim, they take help from clinical procedures and laboratory activities that are based upon immunological curing procedures, prevention of the cancer, control and long-term eradication through best possible ways.

Research is ongoing on advanced level to discover new and more result-generating vaccines and other immunological therapies. Their commitment for accurate and useful research clearly indicates their noble mission. They are looking for clinical and practical ways to make new creations instead of considering only academic based content. Unlike any other center of this sort, noble laureates are taken services from.

Strong support to the scientists working is highly essential, so they prioritize it more than any other matter. They make generous donations for world class studies from graduate school to post doctoral fellows and to the heads of department in big universities, clinics as well as hospitals.

Thus it’s made sure that the chain of studies does not break at any academic level and even afterwards. This continuity produces more refined discoveries with perfection and accuracy. The more they learn, higher are the chances of getting recovery and knowing more prevention methods. National Academy of Sciences is the main body to make all funding decisions.

Contributors

Many dedicated professional are working at CRI to help it achieve the goal. These are:

Young Philanthropists Council
Board of Trustees
Scientific Advisory council
Staff

Young Philanthropists Council is a large network of young experts who are highly committed to charitable funding and working voluntarily for the advancement. This is a group of active people with feelings of philanthropy, empathy and care for the suffering humanity without any prejudice or class segregation.

Board of trustees is responsible for all major operations there. Corporate, philanthropic and financial leaders are involved to help make improvements in the existing programs.

Scientific advisory council consists of eminent scientists from the world’s top research and health institutions. Renowned immunologists are included in them who provide ample guidance for the programs going on in CRI.

Staff has thousands or members working not only in medical areas but also for marketing, development, communications, collaboration, event planning, maintenance, provision of required facilities and other important things.

Annual report

An assessment and the list of achievement with success cases are published on yearly basis to inform people about the major advancements made during the whole of the year. Besides, it also helps to compare the progress of the institute from past years by looking at previous reports. All of them are available from 2002 to 2009 at their website: http://www.cancerresearch.org in the section Resources & Publications.

CRI is trustworthy and the most state-of-the art institute highly keen to help affected people get rid of cancer.

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Heat Stroke Treatment

Heatstroke is a severe disease that happens when human body temperature becomes 104 F (40 C) or more than this. Heatstroke can also caused by extreme environmental temperatures and by aggressive physical activity or by other factors that play a role in increasing body temperature. The victim needs instantaneous treatment to beat brain damage, organ failure or death.

Treatment options:

Following are the treatment options.

Carotid endarterectomy

carotid endarterectomy is a surgical procedure which is mostly done when the carotid artery in the neck is restricted obstruct by a fatty mass known as plaque. This procedure can abolish the acquired plaque.

Anticoagulants

This drug contain aspirin, ticlopidine, clopidogrel.This drug is used to prevent another blood clot from forming.In this treatment doctor also advice a pain killer if victim has sever headache.

Beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers

These drugs are used to manage high blood pressure.

Cholesterol-Lowering Medicines

Cholesterol-Lowering Medicines are also known as Statins. Statins escort to obstruct the enzyme which forces body to make less cholesterol. When cholesterol production is decline it signals liver to produce more LDL receptors. These receptors appeal to the LDL particles in the blood and decrease the quantity of LDL cholesterol in blood. Lower LDL levels can cause lower triglyceride levels and higher HDL levels.

Carotid artery angioplasty

Carotid artery angioplasty is a treatment during which intervention cardiologists or vascular surgeons clear the clogged arteries in the neck region to prevent or cure stroke. They usually work with a long, thin tube known as catheter that contains a balloon on its tip.

They inflate the balloon at the obstruct site in the carotid artery to flatten or compress the plaque across the artery wall. Carotid angioplasty is mostly combined with the installation of a small, metal, mesh-like device commonly known as a stent.

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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Cancer Cause of Death

Cancer is a leading cause of death all over the world, according to several researches by various institutes such as Cancer research institute (CRI) of WHO (world health organization). This report reveals many horrifying but reality-based facts. The major findings in various researches regarding this problem with statistics are stated below:

In 2008, about 7.6 million deaths occurred worldwide, that is approximately 13% or all deaths recorded.
The type of cancer and death numbers are:
- Breast 460,000 deaths
- Colorectal 610,000
- Lung 1.4 million
- Liver 700,000 and
- Stomach 740 000
- Over 70 percent of death incidences happened in low and middle income countries such as in Africa and Asia.
- It is feared that this death figure will continue increasing every passing day and will reach to more than 11 million by the year 2030, (only twenty years from now).
- Cases of cancer deaths doubled from 1975 to 2000 on global level, and will double again by 2020. And will triple by 2030.
- Infectious agents led to 20 % of cancer deaths in developing and poor world. In rich countries, it caused 9 % of the total deaths occurred due to tumors.
- There is increase in the incidence of death about 1 % each year especially in Russia, Indian and China.
- Low and middle income countries will suffer from higher rates of cancer incidences and obviously more subsequent deaths than highly developed states in the world.
- These are the reports for the deaths that were recorded. There may be more than recorded that remain unnoticed, since the patients in utterly poor areas have limited or no access to oncologists, surgeons and physicians. Many of the cases go untreated or not detected due to this very problem and the affected person passes away without ever consulting a medical expert or doctor.
- Recurrence can also be fatal, because an area of body once surgically operated is not possibly to get well with continuous such procedures as there are many side-effects.
- Another fact is that more than 30 % cancer deaths could possibly be prevented by getting proper treatment and a healthy lifestyle with proper nutrition. Other risk factors that could be well avoided are:
  - Tobacco consumption/cigarette smoking
  - Obesity
  - Considerably low intake of fresh fruits and raw vegetables
  - Alcohol- a major risk problem
  - Severely low physical activity
  - HPV (human Papilloma virus) infection that is sexually transmitted
  - Heavy air pollution in urban areas
  - Smoke arising from household solid fuels used indoors.
  - Early diagnosis can also help a great deal to minimize death chances in the patients especially with non-cancerous or benign tumors/lumps. In metastatic state, the treatment and recovery is too complicated with a less survival rate.
  - Minimizing exposure to carcinogens, infected syringes, and passive smoking can drastically reduce the chances of disease
  - Treating and removing the infections, especially viral is another precaution that can help a lot. It will make sure that the infection is no more there that could have been led to the development of tumor.

Action must be taken
To decrease the death rate by cancer, it is highly important to avoid all risk factors of the disease and never let it affect in the first place. Unluckily if it somehow occurs, immediate help should be sought form a certified oncologist and get the treatment started as soon as possible. Besides, people with a genetic history, viral infection and with tumors in the past should get a regular medical check-up, with proper screening and other clinical tests to make an early detection and stay informed with the medical condition a person has.

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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Treatment Facility of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is also sometimes known as manic depression (this mania is a distinct period of an elevated mood, depending on its severity) but these disorders are basically mood disorders; and these mood disorders does not require depression to be available to happen, this disorder can occur without depression as well but the persistent and prolonged mood disorder definitely lead towards depression. It has different levels which are generally referred as bipolar spectrum, subdivided in to bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia and other types on the basis of nature and severity.

There is no exact cause of bipolar disorder, yet the stress level is a important variable for triggering it. Some medical experts say that I may be the imbalance of brain chemicals. However the causes differ from individual to individual.

People with bipolar disorder use a type of thinking known as over generalization. Overgeneralizations that are fixed in overly negative direction. Thus a person with bipolar disorder may experience two distinct moods; very up or very down.

Treatment Facility:
The best treatment facility for bipolar disorder along with the medication is counseling/psychotherapy. However as this disorder have different levels/ subtypes, so it depends on the individuals level that which treatment will suit him/her.

For initial level; antipsychotic drugs or benzodiazepine can be given.
Mood stabilizers are also helpful to control mood swings.
And extreme cases ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) can also be used.

Depression in Bipolar Disorder:
When bipolar disorder involves an element of depression in it, then it becomes controversial. Because for treating depression antidepressants are important but for treating bipolar antidepressants can be dangerous and can lead to Hypomania which is next version of mania.

For example one a research study says that in such a situation antidepressants medications for treating depression can lead to more risk of suicidal thinking and behavior.

However combination of medication can be used. For example antipsychotic drug Zyprexa with the antidepressant Zoloft.

A study has shown that 75% of the individuals in facing the problem of depression in bipolar disorder get the treatment of electroconvulsive (ECT). Also two very important treatments can also be used for the treatment of such disorder;

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and Repetitive Transcranial magnetic stimulation (RTMS).
In bipolar disorder with depression psychotherapy alone is not sufficient to treat. It is often suggested with medication.

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Friday, April 22, 2011

Best Heart Treatment Centers

Cardiac health is of utmost importance for everyone, especially those with continuous hypertension, high-cholesterol levels and a careless lifestyle with a poor diet that puts proper cardiac functioning at a great risk. Centers for heart care are working all over the globe, but as for other great facilities, developed world enjoys a more advanced and state-of-art- curing procedures. While poor states are deprived of this great advantage. A few of the best centers are briefly described here.

Cardiovascular institute of North Colorado, U.S
This is among the leading treatment providers in the country, and offers these services:

Cardiac rehabilitation
Cardiovascular care unit (CVCU)
Prevention and support
Overall wellness
Diagnosis
Surgery
Non-surgical procedures
CT heart score screening and
Telemetry services

Clinics run under this institute are:

Vein Clinic
Heart Failure clinic
Cardiology clinic
PAD clinic
Cardiac thoracic surgery clinic

Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Echocardiography department Cambridge, U.K
There are many required treatment facilities that are:

Cardiology tests including invasive monitoring
Day-surgery
Heart failure treatment and
Diagnostic procedures

It has very strong links with Pap worth hospital that gives facilities to the patients admitted or under normal treatment. It is also affiliated with national British Heart Foundation (BHF) groups which organize sessions for Heartstart and Heartbeat in Cambridge. The owner is heavily investing for staff development and high standard patient care, to make sure the facilities provided are the best with a higher recovery rate in the entire region. Most of the inpatients here have these medical problems:

Unstable angina
Heart failure
Cardiac arrhythmias
Heart attacks(mycocardial)

The heart center, Salt Lake City,
Founded in 1990, this is the largest group of cardiology having multiple hospitals across the area with many eminent cardiologists in town. Services offered are:

Diagnostic tests
Evaluation of chest pain, edema, shortness of breath, palpitations and cardiac risks
Angiogram
Angioplasty
Cardioversions
Ablations
Pacemakers
Stenting
Transesophageal echo
Coronery bypass
Aneurysm repair
Heart valve replacement

The treatment for:

Hypertension
Coronary artery disease
Cardiac arrhythmias
Cardiomyopathy (heart attack)
High cholesterol
Arterial fibrillation and other related disorders.

Cardiology Associates, (Venture, Oxnard, Santa Paula) California. U.S
This is a leading and highly technological comprehensive adult heart treatment program and is cost-effective as well. Services they provide are the cure for:

Arrhytmia (palpitation)
Claudication, dizziness
High cholesterol
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Shortness of breath
Angina , chest pain
Congestive heart failure

Their official website is http://www.cardiacadvantage.com

Hall-Garcia Cardiology, Houston, Texas, U.S
With numerous treatment options, it is striving day and night to help the patients in distress by these procedures:

Cardiac Catherization and coronary angiography
Angioplasty and stenting
Carotid angiography and intervention
Aortic endovascular aneurysm repair
Peripheral intervention
Non-invasive heart risk stratification and stress testing
Echocardiography
Cardiac resynchronization
Laser lead extraction
Electrophysiologic study
Radiofrequency ablation
Defibrillators and peacemakers

The cardiologists and other staff are highly trained here to provide the best treatment facility possible. The website is: http://www.hgcardio.com where detailed information is given about all the procedures, services, contact number, news & events, the physicians working there.

Washington Hospital (WH) Center, Washington, U.S
They offer a unique program with advanced procedures with a multidisciplinary approach which makes them highly recognized in United States. According to U.S News & World Report it comes at top 20 best heart treatment centers in the country. The web address is: http://www.whcenter.org

Several other centers are working for decades to bring peace in the lives of thousands of heart patients.

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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Facts About Appendix Cancer

Also known as appendical cancer, this is a slow-growing cancer that originates in the appendix, a pouch-like organ attached to the colon (the first part of the large intestine). When this disease occurs, the cells in the appendix start to multiply uncontrollably and in an abnormal way to form a tumor (growth of tissues). The tumor can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous) in severity level and aggression. In later case, it can easily spread to other organs.

Signs and symptoms
The symptoms can be non-specific sometimes; it means these can also occur in other diseases as well. Most common of these are:

Appendicitis
Bloating in lower abdomen
Severe pain in pelvis or the affected area
Fluid in the abdomen(Ascites)
Bowel function disturbance
Infertility (not being able to conceive)
Increase waistline size that may or may not make the naval (belly button) protruded.

How to diagnose?
Several tests are carried out for detecting purposes. These include:

Biopsy
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
Ultrasound
OctreoScan (Radionuclide scanning)
CT scan (computed tomography scan)

These things are considered while diagnosing the disease:

The type of staging of the cancer
Results for previous tests
Severity of the symptoms occurred
Age of the individual
General health and medical condition

What treatment options are available today?
The size and the location of the tumor determine the type of treatment given to the affected person. The greater the size and spread to other parts of the body, the serious is the management. It makes the procedures more complicated and with low recovery rate in this situation. A team of doctors works together to figure out the best and the most effective cure suitable for the patient. Standard treatments include:

Surgery
Appendectomy
Chemotherapy that can be:

Intraperitoneal/local chemotherapy
Systemic chemotherapy

Debulking surgery
Hemicolectomy
Removal of the peritoneum
Radiation therapy

Research is ongoing regarding new curing methods such as:

Combination chemotherapy that is about combining different drugs to make them work more effectively and faster than currently used procedures.
Hyperthermic intraoperative peritoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which is similar to local chemotherapy but, the method of implementing is different from the other.

Post treatment phase
A follow-up care plan is highly essential after the patient has fully recovered from the disease. It includes:

Regular medical check-ups
Avoiding betel nuts, paan and some dietary items
Staying physically relaxed all the time
Refraining from climbing stairs, walking too fast, jogging, running, aerobics, cycling, swimming and other rigorous movements
Staying away from tobacco smoking and alcohol
Maintaining the right body weight
A healthy diet
Having cancer screening tests

By considering these things, it is made sure that the tumor will not reoccur and any vomiting, nausea, bleeding or other disturbances are kept away after the therapy.

Major risk factors
Some risk factors can have a deep impact upon the cancer but all of them are not necessarily a definite causative agent for this ailment. There are many cases observed so far, where people have all such factors but luckily do not get any cancer, while the others with no such risk develop this disease.

The purpose of creating awareness about the things that might increase the occurrence of cancer is to convince people to bring positive changes in their health care plan and lifestyle. It surely will help a great deal in the reduction of new cases. It mostly affects people at the age of 40 or above.

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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Headache Treatment

A Headache is explain as a pain in the head or upper neck. It is one of the most general locations of pain in the body and has many causes.The treatment of the headache depends on the type of headache following are the types and treatment of headaches.

Tension-type headaches
This is the most common variety of headache.In this condition the victim Often feels like a tight band around head.This condition may be triggered by stress, neck pain, missed meals or lack of sleep, Can last from 30 minutes to an whole week

Most alternate tension-type headaches are easily treated by medications which includes the following:

Aspirin
Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others)
Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others)

Migraine Headache
A migraine headache is a type of vascular headache. Migraine headache is bring about by vasodilatation which is expansion of blood vessels that account the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around the large arteries of the brain. Expansion of these blood vessels , boosts the nerves that coil around them and causes the nerves to release chemicals.

The chemicals causes inflammation, pain, and further expansion of the artery. The increasing expansion of the arteries results in the form of pain.Migraine headache are three times common in women than in men .In this condition victim often suffers from nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light or sound.This condition may affect only one side of head.This condition may cause pain that diminishes with routine activity.

The treatment of this headache include the following:

Over-the-counter medications
Prescription medications
sleep in a quiet, dark room
Hot or cold compresses to your head or neck
Massage and small amounts of caffeine

Cluster headaches
These are a infrequent type of headache affecting 0.1% of the population. It more frequently affects men in their late 20s though women and children can also suffer these types of headache.This headache occurs off and on for weeks at a time. During a cluster period, which can last for several months, victims may experience one or more cluster headaches in a day.

The treatment of this headache includes the following:

Inject-able medications like sumatriptan (Imitrex, Sumavel Dosepro, others), for quick relief during an attack
Prescription triptan nasal sprays like zolmitriptan (Zomig) or sumatriptan (Imitrex)
Inhalation of 100 percent oxygen by a mask
Pacing because most people experience restless during a cluster headache.

Chronic daily headaches
If a person have a headache for more days its mean the victim is experiencing a variety of head pain known as chronic daily headaches.

The persistent nature of chronic daily headaches makes them among the most cripple headaches. Aggressive initial treatment and stable long-term treatment may decreases the pain.

Treatment for any latent diseases or conditions often impediment chronic daily headaches. When no latent diseases or conditions are present treatment aims on preventive medication.

Medication extreme usage headache
This can affect any person who has migraines, tension-type headaches or other chronic headaches and uses pain killers most of the times a month.These are also known as rebound headaches.

The only cure to stop medication extreme usage headaches is to reduce or stop taking the medication which are contributing to these headaches.

Uncommon primary headaches
These can take place as a effect of exercise, sex, disorders of coughing or other activities. Before identifying a primary headache doctor may advise tests like MRI in order to know that nothing serious is causing headaches. Each type of these headaches has its own characteristics. Sex headaches may begin as a weak ache, with the pain increasing just prior to orgasm, may be existing just at the moment of orgasm.Cough headaches are commonly sharp in quality.It may affect both sides of the head.

Aberrant primary headaches are unusual but if headaches are chronic doctor may advise preventive medicine.

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Monday, April 18, 2011

Male Breast Cancer

This is relatively a rare cancer in men (about one percent of all breast cancers) that is formed in breasts. Men also have breast but the tissues are not fully developed as in women. These are devoid of any milk ducts also. According to an estimate, about 1,910 new cases are diagnosed every year in United States, and in UK the figure is 300. The deaths caused by this cancer in U.S are 440. It is recently observed that the incidence of male breast cancer is increasing now. The tumor can affect man at any age but typically in later years, above 60.

Risk factors
The risk factors in males for breast cancers may be:

Genetic history
Exposure to radiation
Excessive alcohol intake
Estrogen. Exposure to female hormone may occur due to liver disease, family history, obesity and certain medications
Klinefelter syndrome

Diagnosis
Male breast cancer is detected through various techniques such as:

Self-exam
Ultrasound
Mammography
Needle biopsy
Excisional biopsy
Histological examination estrogen
Progesterone receptor studies
HER 2 test

Stage of male breast cancer
Mainly four stages are known.

Stage 1
This is initial level where the tumor is not more than 2 cm in length and the lymph nodes are not affected. It is an invasive breast cancer that is comparatively easy to treat than metastatic forms.

Stage 2
It is further divided into two stages:

Stage 2-a in which the tumor is 2 cm long and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes but not to distant places.
Stage 2-b in that tumor is larger than 5 cm in length and has spread to the lymph nodes but not to the distant sites.

Stage 3
It has three sub-stages:

3-a, in which axillary lymph nodes are clumped together or stuck to other body structures.
3-b, in that tumor spreads to the chest skin and breast bone.
3-c, in this the tumor spreads to the chest skin and lymph nodes above or below the collar bone.

Stage 4
This is the most severe type since it is metastatic cancer, a form in which it spreads to other organs especially lungs, bone, liver or brain.

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Is it possible to prevent breast cancer?

Yes, it is. Breast cancer prevention refers to the action take in order to lower the chances of getting affected by this serious cancer. Prevention in turn lowers the new cases of the cancer that as a result decreases the number of deaths that would have been occurred by this disease.

Prevention, better than cure
As the saying goes, ‘ prevention is better than cure’; it is highly imperative to not getting attacked by the cancer in the first place, rather than suffering later on, once it is detected in person. Who would like to spend thousands of dollars on different therapies for getting the cancer treated or feel the excruciating pain and suffer the severe side effects. So, it is a wise option to prevent any fatal disease such as breast cancer from developing.

How to act?

Avoid the main causes
Many people have no idea about how to prevent breast cancer. The answer is simple for them. Just study or ask a health expert to explain risk factors and the causes of this disease in detail. Obviously, one will be recommended not to adopt those things that can put them at risk of getting this cancer. Keep in mind that some risk factors can be prevented and others not. For instance, smoking and genetic history are both in the list of breast cancer risk factors. A person can avoid from smoking in order to prevent this disease but not the genetic problem. Still, it is sufficient to control those things that possibly can be.

Medical screening
Get the proper breast cancer screening every year to know the relative facts. The greatest advantage of a regular checkup is, the chance of occurrence can be determined in advance, thus the disease can be prevented.

Lifestyle
Next step is to change lifestyle and eating habits. Take a diet rich in anti-oxidants, and healthy nutrients. Eat raw vegetables, fresh fruits, cereals and legumes. Drink enough pure drinking water every day. Avoid any drugs or medications that can trigger the growth of the lump.

By taking some solid practical measures, it is very likely to prevent breast cancer from occurring.

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Breast cancer - screening methods

Breast screening includes the medical screening of a healthy woman for breast cancer to make an earlier diagnosis. Several tests are carried out for the purpose that may be:

Clinical and self breast examination
Ultrasound
Genetic screening
Mammography
MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging)

Clinical or self breast exam
In clinical breast exam (CBE), the breast is felt for any lump or abnormal shape or growth. This was mostly done by a health expert, but now it is controversial in terms of usefulness and a definite diagnosis. So it is not recommended any more due to its ambiguity and unclear results.

Ultrasound
Medical ultrasonography is an imaging technique is used to see any lump or tumor in the breast. Sound waves with a frequency above the normal human audible range are used ranging from 2 and 18 MHz. Since the results are clear and almost definite; this test is widely used to detect the presence of any abnormalities in the breast. Ultrasound is also used in pregnancy and other tests.

Genetic screening
This test just reveals if there is a chance or a tendency of developing a cancer in an individual. It does not detect any type of cancer. It is however, a convenient way to know whether the person can have cancer later on. So precaution before hand is made possible. Women with a family history of breast cancer should have this examination.

Mammography
This is a commonly used screening method as is available all over developing countries and is much faster. It is a kind of X-ray radiography that is used on the breasts. It is mainly of two types:

Diagnostic mammography: To help make an early diagnosis in woman who is experiencing the symptoms
Screening mammography: The medical screening of a healthy woman to prevent is in advance.

Breast MRI
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) helps detect those cancers that remain invisible through mammograms. The main advantage of an MRI test is it diagnoses the cancer with a very high level of certainty. But is has been found to be less specific than mammography.

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Breast cancer awareness programs

These programs are planned to make an effort to raise awareness of about this cancer among general people. This helps in prevention or reduction of the disease and a proper management in those who already suffer from it. The campaigns give an insight about the diagnosis, treatment and prevention methods. The purpose is achieved through various techniques which are:

Advocacy
Event organizing
Pink ribbon
Media
Advertisements through various means
Specific products

Advocacy
This is a type of health advocacy that raise funds and lobby for more care, knowledge and prevention. Various educational campaigns are carried out to provide such services free of cost. Social movement organizations and women health advocates all participate in it.

Events
In many countries, October is celebrated as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). The campaign is called as Pinktober. It is supported by government of those states. The media and cancer survivors are also actively involved. In 1985, American Cancer Society and AstraZeneca a huge pharmaceutical company began NBCAM (National breast cancer awareness month). Two cancer drugs tamoxifen and Arimidex are manufactured by this company. The main purpose of celebrating this month is to promote mammography and other diagnosis methods among common people who are generally not much aware of all these processes and options. The events included in NBCAM are:

Foot races to raise funds
Bicycle rides
Walk-a-thons

The participants of all games donate sufficient amount for the charity related to this cancer. It also helps in physical fitness, entertainment and a social connection between different people, groups and organizations interested.

Pink lights are illuminated at several landmarks to divert the attention of the public to this disease. American football games use pink supplies and tools to raise awareness. Moreover, ‘pink day’ is celebrated in private companies around the globe to promote it. Employees and staff members wear pink clothes at that day in favor of the patients in distress.

Global pink hijab day is observed that first began in United States. The aim of this event is to encourage the affected women to get proper medical care and not take this cancer as a stigma. It also works for the reduction of this serious disease among the Muslim women.

Besides, male breast cancer week is also celebrated in the third week of October by some organizations. Most of the events are warmly liked by all but some are of controversial nature like the painting of Pink Bridge, in West Virginia, U.S. because these events rather exploit the people instead of promoting or raising awareness.

‘Pink ribbon’ a universal symbol
Pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Patients diagnosed with this cancer, put on pink ribbon as an honor. These ribbons are also sold by some fund raising bodies on Remembrance Day. Pink ribbon tries to inculcate optimism in the patients suffering from breast cancer. However, it is also controversial and considered futile by many owing to its zero practical benefits and no considerable advantages at any level. The onset of disease persists whether it is there or not.

Media
It is the most effective way to create awareness in every nook and corner of the world. Electronic media is widely used. TV channels broadcast advertisements, discussions and related programs to influence the minds of the people in an effective way. A number of magazines publish relevant valuable content. Doctors as well the patients both express their views through women magazines.

Apart from all these, there are specific products such as, pink ribbons and awareness bracelet. Let’s hope the efforts will bear fruit some day and help the entire suffering humanity get rid of this problem for good.

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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Breast Cancer and Alcohol

For years, alcohol is known to be a risk factor for breast cancer. An estimate suggests that among the women who drink two units of alcohol daily have eight percent higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who drink lesser.

According to a research conducted on 1,280,000 women, every additional drink regularly taken every day increases the occurrence of breast cancer by 11 per 1000. Sadly, there are about 6 percent of breast cancer cases that could have been prevented if the women reduce alcohol consumption to a very low level. The statistics also reveal that sixty percent of alcohol related cancers among women are breast cancers.

How does alcohol harm?
Cancer caused by binge drinking can be because the alcohol causes:

Increased damage to DNA
Enhances metastatic chances of breast cancer cells
Elevated androgen and estrogen levels
An increased susceptibility of the mammary glands to carcinogens

The severity of the breast cancer depends upon the amount of alcohol intake.

Additional factors
Alcohol-attributed breast cancer is worsened by poor dietary habits with iron deficiency, lifestyle, hormone replacement therapy and some biological characteristics such as hormone receptor expression in the cells of tumor. In the women affected by breast cancer, even a little alcohol drinking every day increases the volume of the breast tumors.

Genetic risks
Many studies suggest that the female babies of the drunk mothers are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer later in their lives, especially if a woman is in a habit of binge drinking during pregnancy. During pregnancy, consuming alcohol even in a small amount can increase estradiol level by reducing melatonin or other mechanism.

The breast cancer can reoccur in drunk women, once they have fully got rid of this disease by proper treatment.

Conclusion
There are a hundred and one side-effects of alcohol consumption, the major being cancer. Breast cancer is also one of those cancer types. It is better not to drink whether one is affected with the cancer or not. Why risk your health that is priceless and has no alternate.

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Neuroblastoma - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

This cancer originates in immature nerve cells and is the most common cancer among children and infants with an estimated 650 new cases annually in United States only. This is a neuroendocrine tumor that arises from neural crest element of the SNS (sympathetic nervous system). Most often it occurs in one of the adrenal glands but can also develop in the nerve tissues of neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis.

Symptoms of Neuroblastoma
This cancer has vague symptoms in its initial stage that makes the diagnosing task really difficult. At later stages it has these signs:

Loss of appetite
Joint pain
Fatigue, weakness
Swollen tummy and constipation due to the presence of a tumor, if it affects abdominal region
Breathing problems due to tumor in chest nerves
Tumor in bone around the eyes can cause noticeable swelling and bruising
Pallor from anemia can be caused due to infiltration of the bone
Inability to walk, stand or crawl because of the presence of tumor on spinal cord
Pain in legs and hips or limping due to bone lesions in that area

Rare symptoms are:

Ataxia ( in 1.3 percent of the cases)
Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (1.3 percent of cases)
Treatment-resistant diarrhea (4 percent)
Homer’s syndrome (2.4 percent)
Hypertension(1.3 percent of the cases)
Transverse myelopathy (tumor spinal cord compression) that occurs in 5 percent of the total neuroblastoma cases.

What are the causes of neuroblastoma?
It is really important to be well-informed about the major causes of this cancer of the nervous system. It is not clearly understood why it affects a person. It can be caused due to various factors such as:

Genetic history
Exposure to chemicals in some industries
Excessive alcohol intake
Smoking
Drug and some medications taken by the mother during pregnancy
Infection
Hormones
Fertility drugs
Hair dyes
Atopy

How is neuroblastomy diagnosed?
Several techniques are used to detect this cancer. These are:

Imaging
Biochemistry
Screening

Imaging
Neuroblastoma is diagnosed with the mIBG scan (meta-idobenzylguanidine) that is carried out in 90 to 95 percent of all neuroblastoma patients. mIBG is done on sympathetic neurons which reveals the presence of tumor there.

Biochemistry
There is an increase level of catecholamine or their metabolites in the blood or the urine in 90 percent of the patients affected by neuroblastomy. So it is a strong indication of the presence of this cancer. Dopamine, VMA (vanillylmandelic acid) and HVA (homovanillic acid) are included in catecholamine and their metabolites.

Screening
Healthy infants with no symptoms of neuroblastomy are given a screening test at three weeks, six months and one year in many developed and health conscious countries since 1980. But recently it was not practiced in some parts of the world due to zero reduction in the deaths caused by neuroblastoma. Among the infants, it made diagnosis that would have gone without treatment of any sort. But the children were operated on with surgery or chemotherapy unnecessarily.

How to treat neuroblastomy?
At beginning, when the tumor is not widely spread, this cancer is quire curable with long-term positive results and a high survival rate. These are the options to treat this disease:

Chemotherapy
Radiation therapy
Differentiation agent isotretinoin (also known as 13- cis-retinoic acid)
Stem cell transplant
Immunotherapy
Anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody therapy

The combination of all these is termed as multi model therapy. The treatment depends upon the age of the child, the severity level of the cancer, genetic factors and microscopic appearance.

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Diarrhea Treatment for Elders

Diarrhea may be caused because of wrong eating habits, mental stress and inflammation or the infection. There are some drugs known to be another causative factor. These are iron and digitalis. Among the elder people, it is severer and can put life at a threat, so it must be treated the moment it affects a person.

How to cure?
Usually the underlying cause is considered and then treatment process begins. The correction of the problem that is disturbing will in turn help get rid of the disorder. Consider these important things:

Reduced dietary intake
Restricted foods
Medications
Infection removal
Lifestyle improvement

Reduced dietary intake
The best way to address the issue is to let the entire system take rest by not giving the stomach do the task of digestion. How can this be achieved? Simply by minimizing food portions as much as possible. Since, there is more burden than the capacity of tummy; it results in various related illnesses. In severe cases, the physician also recommends to remain at fast for longer hours and take only water or certain fluids. This practice will not only keep the function go well but also provide relief sooner than expected.

Restricted foods
The next step towards improving any digestive disorder is to have only those foods that do not aggravate the situation. These can be yogurt, bananas, apples, whole grain cereals such as oatmeal, digestive biscuits, bread, buns; meat, fiber-containing foods, rice, broth, fluids and certain pulses. Herbal teas cooked with raspberry leaves, chamomile or blackberry leaves are an excellent home remedy. These are also commercially prepared in coarse powdered form but not so effective as pure ones are, because there are preservative, artificial flavorings and colors lavishly added into them. On the other hand, the edibles having laxative effects to treat constipation are completely prohibited for the patients. Prevention is better than cure, so avoid taking the disturbing foods in excess to remain safe from the disease in the first place. After it somehow occurs, still the same rule can be followed. Careless diet plan leads to many other serious ailments, so it should be well-balanced.

Medications
There are certain drugs specifically manufactured to decrease intestinal motility. Paregoric is one of them and is an opium derivative. Another commonly prescribed is Lomotil that is widely available. Loperamide can also be taken in appropriate dosage. Metamucil is also popular and provides bulk to the stool making it less watery and thin in consistency. Since adults can tolerate such strong medicines, these can be safely given to them but under a continuous supervision of an expert doctor or gastroenterologist. To get the maximum benefit out of these formulae, it is better to take any of these, one hour or at least half an hour before a meal time. A combination of more than one should be made only if the physician prescribes, as there are some side-effects.

Infection removal
If the diarrhea has occurred due to a viral infection, this must be treated and the problem will fizzle out gradually. Seek help from a certified pathologist or a physician to make sure s/he makes the right diagnosis and suggests the most effective treatment procedures to minimize or completely take the infection away. Same can be done with any inflammatory incidences. Antibiotics are given in the form of pills or syrup to the affected individuals.

Lifestyle improvement
No doubt, living a stress-free healthy life is the most inexpensive treatment ever. When under depression, there are certain hormones that are activated and start working the way they are not supposed to, leading to considerable malfunctioning and disruptions in the smooth mechanism.

Just consider these factors and the disorder will be in complete order. The disease will be converted into ease.

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Treatment Facilities for Depression

Depression is basically feeling of sadness, but it becomes disorder if it lasts longer, it depends on the person how he/she tackles this feeling of sadness, but if a person is unable to cope it, it becomes disorder which requires proper medication and treatment.

And when it comes to medication then in a micro perspective every person and in a macro perspective every culture has different responses and has different risks of side effects for the medication used to cope depression.

Generally the severe depression diseases, particularly those that are recurrent, require antidepressant medication, along with psychotherapy for the best outcome.

Some times variety of antidepressants or combination of medications are required to be tried out, according to the effectiveness for the patient.

The selection of any medication pre-requires determining, patient’s age, his/her other medical conditions and medication side effects. However some of the common Antidepressant medications which are commonly prescribed, for the treatment of depression are for example:

Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI): This medication increases the amount of neurochemical serotonin in the brain, which is generally low in depression. SSRI works by selectively reuptaking the block which is generally occurred where the brain cells (neurons) are connected. It has few side effects, is well tolerated.

As all patients are unique biochemically, therefore the occurrence of side effects or the lack of satisfactory results does not mean that this medication will not be beneficial. One more important thing is if in the patient’s family had already used this and have positive response, so then for the patient it will be preferable to try out this one.

Dual-action antidepressants: medical dictionary says the biochemical reality is that all classes of medications that treat depression have some effect on norepinephrine and serotonin, as well as on other neurotransmitters.

So the antidepressants which have robust effects on both the norepinephrine and serotonin systems are dual-action antidepressants, these medications are helpful for treating more severe cases of depression.

Atypical antidepressants: These antidepressants work in variety of ways and are effective in treating depression for many people. As they increase the level of neurochemical in the brain synapses. Brain synapses is a term used for the location in the brain where nerves communicate with each other.

However such type of antidepressant is also being used in the studies for treating Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs): These are the earlier developed antidepressants. These antidepressants increase the levels of neurochemicals in the brain synapses (where nerves communicate with each other), by inhibiting monoamine Oxidase. Monoamine Oxidase is the main enzyme that breaks down neurochemical, such as norepinephrine. When Monoamine Oxidase is inhibited, then the neurochemicals are not broken down, and their amount is increased.

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs): These antidepressants are called Tricyclic because their chemical structures consist of three chemical rings. TCAs work by increasing the level of neurochemicals such as norepinephrine in the brain synapses (where nerves communicate with each other). These are generally used to treat moderate to severe depression.

These antidepressants are safe and well tolerated when taken properly, however over dose of these antidepressants can be life threatening.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): This is basically an electric current which is passed through the brain to produce controlled convulsions. It is useful for those who cannot take or have not responded to a number of antidepressants and have a severe depression. Last remedy to cure severe and chronic depression.

Psychotherapies: there are various forms of psychotherapies which are used to help depressed people, including some short term therapies. These are for example:

Talking Therapies; helps to resolve problems through verbal conversations with the therapists.

Behavioral Therapies; helps to gain satisfaction through actions.

Interpersonal Therapies; focus to help disturbed personal relationships.

Cognitive/behavioral therapies; helps to change negative style of thinking.

Psychodynamic therapies; focus on resolving internal psychological conflicts which are typically rooted in childhood.

Other than these treatments there are certain stimulants which are used primarily for the treatment of depression that is resistant to other medications. These are most commonly used with other antidepressants or other medications and are rarely used alone because they may induce an emotional rush and they are potentially addictive drugs.

These were some of the most common treatments used for coping depression. Other than that there are certain precaution that must be taken by those who are prescribed by the physicians to use such treatments, for example if a depressed person is taking more than one medication for depression for any other medical problem then his doctor should be aware of the other prescriptions because multi treatments can interact competitively with the liver’s biochemical clearing systems.

Antidepressants medications are not habit forming, and the patients must not stop their medication too soon, especially when they begin feeling better because there is a risk that depression will quickly return back.

Some antidepressants especially MAOIs require food restrictions, so a complete list of prohibited foods should be obtained.

Finally there are various treatment facilities available to cure depression, so these facilities along with the precautions, a person victimized by depression should seriously opt to cure depression.

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