Archive for November, 2007

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a medical condition that refers to any disorder of movement and posture that develop before birth [birth defects], during delivery or immediately after birth.

It is non-progressive, in other words, the damage to the brain don’t get worse over time.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), doctors use the term cerebral palsy to describe a group of chronic neurological disorders permanently affecting body movement and muscle coordination.

It occurs in the early stages of life, usually during development of fetus; before, during, or soon after birth; or during childhood.

The term cerebral refers to the affected area of the brain, particularly in this case to the outer portion of the cerebrum called the cerebral cortex, the largest part of the brain that is responsible for muscle movement; palsy refers to the disorder of the body movement (the loss of motor function).

The doctors suggest that the cerebral palsy is a result of oxygen deprivation to the brain, which damages the sensitive tissues of the brain that control movements. The damage to the brain is not repairable and the abnormalities that result from brain damage are permanent.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed!

Sinusitis refers to an inflammation of sinuses.

Sinuses are the air-filled cavities of the facial bone and skull, lined by a mucus producing membrane called mucosa.

The mucosa cells lining the sinuses have tiny hair called cilia, which normally sweep the mucus into the nose through tiny openings called ostia, a way for the mucous to slide down from the back of the throat to the stomach.

This mucus helps moisten the sinuses, clean the nose by trapping dust, germs and other airborne particles and slides down from the back of the throat to the stomach, where the stomach acids destroys the mucus and associated bacteria.

Normally, the healthy sinuses will be more sterile with no bacteria or other micro organisms and remains open allowing a very little amount of mucus to drain from sinuses into the nose and also allow the air to circulate in and out.

However, when the inflammation of the sinuses (sinusitis) sets in, due to common cold or an allergy sinus, the mucosa cells lining produces bounteous mucus fluid and the ostia get obstructed by swollen mucous membranes causing the mucus to be accumulated in the sinuses.

Scarlet fever is an exotoxin-mediated disease caused by group A streptococcus, which also causes strep throat.

This is a contagious disease. You can be infected with this disease if you get in contact with the sick person who has streptococcus infection, as this germ will be carried in the mouth and nasal fluids.

Keep away children from those who are infected with scarlet fever, which is similar to strep throat in order to prevent this disease.

Rash is the primary symptom of scarlet fever with high fever and chills. The other symptoms include swelling of the neck glands, flushed face with paleness around the lips, sore throat, and strawberry tongue.

It is a benign course to diagnose and treat scarlet fever. If it is treated appropriately and promptly, rarely you may experience serious complications. On the other hand, if you neglected to treat or if the treatment is unsuccessful, it may lead to have severe complications.

The major late complications of scarlet fever if untreated are rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis.

Rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis with untreated scarlet fever:

Rheumatic fever is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease which develops after infection with group A streptococcus like scarlet fever and strep throat. It is estimated to be three percent for development of rheumatic fever in the patients with untreated streptococcus infection.

A colonoscopy is an endoscopic examination of the colon (large intestine) using an instrument called a colonoscope, a small camera attached to a flexible tube.

According to Frederick Cason, MD, associate professor of surgery at The University of Toledo, the best way to check for colorectal cancer is through colonoscopy.

Colorectal cancer is also known as colon cancer or bowel cancer.

It is one of the most common cancers in the United States affecting 140,000 people every year. This type of cancer usually develops in the colon or the rectum. The colon and rectum are the parts of the digestive system, which is called the gastrointestinal (GI) system.

A colonoscopy is normally performed to visually check the entire colon and rectum for the presence of any abnormalities.

“Colonoscopy enables the physicians to check for and remove potentially cancerous polyps or tumors and to locate the invasive cancers at an early stage” says Dr. Cason.

According to Isam Daboul, MD, chief of gastroenterology, the patients can fall into one of the three categories: average-risk, moderate-risk or high-risk.

The American Cancer Society recommends everyone to begin routine colonoscopy screening for colorectal cancer at age 50 or earlier.

You cannot distinguish certain colors if you have color blindness. This condition is mostly inherited.

The most common form is red/green color blindness and you cannot distinguish red and green colors. Rare color deficiency is blue/yellow.

Color blindness more prevalent in men:

According to the latest research, one in 12 men and one of 225 women is color blind. The color blindness is more prevalent in men because it is carried on the X chromosome of which men have only one copy.

In men, red or green cones work improperly or not at all work. Genes for red and green receptors are altered in men. These genes lie near each other on the X chromosome. The red/green type affects 8 to 10 percent of men

Ishihara color test

Ishihara color test is conducted to test for red-green color deficiencies. Ishihara color test consists of number of colored plates, each containing a circle made with dots of different sizes with slightly different colors and these dots are spread in random manner. A number is differentiated only by color within the dot pattern.

Visible number indicates the form of color blindness. For full test, thirty eight plates are required, but to find out the deficiency, not more than four plates are required.

High energy rays are used in radiation therapy to stop cancer cells from growing and dividing.

Radiation therapy is used to treat cancer because cancer cells grow and divide more rapidly than normal cells around them.

Radiation therapy for breast cancer:

Radiation therapy is used to destroy breast cancer cells which are remaining after the surgery in the chest wall, breast, or axilla area.

Sometimes, the therapy is used before surgery to shrink the tumor size. If your breast cancer is in early stage, breast conserving therapy (BCT) is used.

Breast lump (lumpectomy) and surrounding margin of normal breast tissue are surgically removed with breast conserving therapy. Radiation therapy is given for at least six to seven weeks after BCT.

Radiation treatment begins one month after surgery because the breast tissue need time to heal. Radiation therapy is also recommended for women after mastectomy to destroy remaining cancer cells.

Radiation therapy for prostate cancer:

Radiation therapy is used as an initial treatment for prostate cancer.

External beam radiation therapy: The tumor cells are located with the help of CT scans and MRIs and x-rays are targeted on those areas. Prostate tumors are located exactly with 3D conformal radiotherapy so that the highest radiation dose can reach the cancer cells within the gland.

All most all of us experience skin infection at some point in the life.

Scabies is the one among those skin infections. Scabies is a parasite.

This skin infection develops as tiny itchy bumps and wounds.

This is due to tiny mites that hideout under the top layer of your skin to lay down the eggs.

Sometimes these burrows become visible as darkened lines, reddish, short or wavy on your skin’s surface. Particularly they appear around the wrists and in between the fingers.

This disease is usually transmitted from person-to-person from skin contact or sexual contact. Scabies spreads more easily in crowded places and where there is a close contact with other persons.

Scabies causes severe itching and it becomes worse during the night or after a hot water bath. The bumps will break when you scratch at that place. Your skin becomes thick and scratch marks will appear at that place.

Children who are affected with scabies have the high risk of developing kidney disease in their later life. Skin infections also cause rheumatic heart disease.

In North America one out of five has this irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

IBS is a disease even though your doctor considers it as functional disorder.

This disease will usually affect the person who is around 20 and it will be most commonly seen in women than men.

This syndrome will cause considerable discomfort and pain in stomach, but it does not cause any damage in your digestive system.

IBS will disturb the normal functions of colon, particularly how the muscles in the intestine work and causes a lot of embarrassment and pain in your stomach.

There is no particular cause for this irritable bowel syndrome. The treatment is also unknown for this disease. But, by controlling diet or by following proper diet you can control IBS. Many people who suffered with this irritable bowel syndrome have successfully controlled these symptoms with simple changes in diet.

The foods which make irritable bowel syndrome better:
The foods which are high in fiber will reduce the constipation associated with IBS. These high fiber foods will make the stools soft and easier to pass. Some people who have more sensitive nerves will feel a bit abdominal discomfort because of adding fiber in their diet.

1. Peanut allergy is a type of food allergy that is caused due to overreaction of the immune system. The most severe peanut allergies can result in anaphylaxis, which is a life threatening condition.
2. Milk allergy is caused when the immune system reacts against one or more of the proteins found in milk.
   The symptoms of milk allergy are skin rash, vomiting, hives, wheezing, constipation, and diarrhea and the symptoms can occur within few minutes after exposure or after hours.
3. Soy allergy is an abnormal response of the body to the proteins found in soy. The symptoms of soy allergy are rhinitis, asthma, hives, eczema and digestive disturbances.
4. Gluten is a protein found in grains like barley, wheat and rye.
   The main role of gluten is to make the dough made of these grains bind, which is important in the process of making baked breads.
   This protein is known to cause allergy in some people called gluten allergy.
   The symptoms experienced by the person with gluten allergy are hives, abdominal pain, swelling, vomiting and difficulty in breathing.

The word pica came from the Latin word magpie. Magpie is the name of the bird which is known for its large and indiscriminate appetite.

Pica is the eating disorder and this problem will be mostly seen in the people who have developmental disabilities such as autism and mental retardation.

This disorder is mostly seen in the small kids. The children who are around 2 to 3 years and who are younger than 18 to 24 months can try to eat nonfood items.

This cannot be considered as abnormal at that age.

This disorder can also be considered as the behavior that may also surface on the children who’ve had a brain injury which affects their development. This problem of pica can also be seen in some pregnant women and the people with epilepsy.

The nonfood items that will be consumed by the people who are suffering with pica are:
Dirt, Paint chips, Clay, Chalk, Plaster, Laundry starch, Cornstarch, Coffee grounds, Baking soda, Burnt match heads, Cigarette ashes, Feces, Cigarette butts, Glue, Ice, Buttons, Hair, Sand, Paper, Soap and Toothpaste.