Health Problems News

Epidemiology of spina bifida provides useful information that can help medical researchers to identify risk factors for the disease, health systems to implement policies of prevention and mother’s to take precautions to avoid complications. The incidence of spina bifida varies among different populations throughout the world and is on the decline in most regions due

Pick’s disease, also known as Pick disease or PiD, is a rare neurodegenerative disorder involving the progressive destruction of brain cells. It is a type of frontotemporal dementia and is characterized by symptoms of dementia and aphasia. Causes Pick’s disease occurs due to changes to the neurons in certain areas of the brain. Tau proteins

Stroke was the term used for apoplectic seizures from as early on as 1599. Johann Jacob Wepfer in his 1658 book called "Apoplexia," described the cause of apoplexy as bleeding in the brain. Stroke is a medical emergency that commonly causes death and disability all over the world. In the Western world, for example, stroke

Approximately half of all cases of ear pain reported by children resolve in three days without treatments and 90% within a week. As a result, treatment is not always needed and may simply be used to manage symptoms whilst the body heals itself. Pain Relief For acute otitis media, the pain can be quite severe

Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong condition that affects people in several ways. Eventually, a persistently high blood sugar level leads to several complications that can significantly impair quality of life. Managing the disease carefully by regularly monitoring blood glucose, taking medication on time and adhering to diet plans and exercise regimens can reduce the

A Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) is a phenomenon caused by a temporary disruption in the blood supply to part of the brain. Unlike a stroke, the circulatory blockage is brief and there is no brain tissue death (i.e. permanent damage) as the blockage breaks away and dissolves. A TIA is similar to a stroke and

Insulin is a hormone that is important for metabolism and utilization of energy from the ingested nutrients – especially glucose. Insulin chemistry and etymology Insulin is a protein chain or peptide hormone. There are 51 amino acids in an insulin molecule. It has a molecular weight of 5808 Da. Insulin is produced in the islets

Lymphoma is cancer that effects the lymphocytes. Lymphoma is usually suspected based on the presence of symptoms and is confirmed in the laboratory when blood or tumor biopsies are analysed. Some of the symptoms of Hodgkin's lymphoma include: Swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, the armpits and groin areas. This is called lymphadenopathy.

The management and treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding depends on several factors which include: Severity of bleeding Cause of bleeding Site of bleeding (upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding) Age and general condition of the patient Treatment is initially focused on fluid resuscitation in order to replenish the bodily fluids lost through bleeding and prevent hypovolemia or

The symptoms of hemophilia may not develop for many years and they vary in severity depending on how deficient clotting factors are. However, the main symptom is prolonged bleeding after an injury. Children who have mild hemophilia often do not present with symptoms until a particular event arouses suspicion that a bleeding disorder is present.

History has suggested that syphilis is a disease of early times. The disease might have been prevalent among the indigenous peoples of the Americas before Europeans travelled to and from the New World. “Pre-Columbian theory” The "pre-Columbian theory" holds that syphilis was present in Europe before the discovery of the Americas by Europeans. The disease

An expression system refers to the factors that work  together to yield a particular gene product such as a protein, ribozyme or RNA particle. The expression system is made up of a gene, which is encoded by DNA, and the machinery needed to make mRNA from the DNA and translate that into a protein. In

Cytokines are immuno-modulating cell signalling molecules. They are low-weight molecular proteins that mediate their effects when they bind to specific cell surface receptors. On binding to a receptor, a cytokine stimulates the receptor to send a signal to the cell that alters its function or phenotype. The cytokines can trigger the up regulation or down

Psychosis has four typical features with the two main ones being hallucination and delusion. The symptoms of psychosis include: Hallucinations This is a feature of psychosis where the person hears, sees or even smells things that are not present in reality. Voices heard in the head or auditory hallucination is the most common type of

Chromosome 1 is the largest of the 23 chromosomes, containing a greater number of nucleotides at its 85 loci than all other chromosomes. There are an estimated 4220 genes on chromosome 1, as discovered during the Human Genome Project around twenty years ago. The short arm (p) of chromosome 1 The genes present on the

Tuberculosis is a preventable and a curable disease if detected and treated early. It has a low prevalence in developed nations including the United Kingdom and the United States. This means people living in these countries and areas with low prevalence need not take precautions to prevent the infection. However, some measures of prevention are

Ribavirin (known under brand names such as Rebetol, Copegus, Ribasphere and Virazole) is an analog of guanosine and a synthetic nucleoside antiviral agent. It is a stable, white crystalline compound with a maximum solubility in water of 142 mg/mL at 25°C and only a slight solubility in alcohol. Its empirical formula is C8H12N4O5 and the

There have been several reports to suggest that the swine flu vaccine may cause narcolepsy in rare cases, due to its stimulating effect on antibodies that disable sleep-regulating brain cells. Narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a chronic disorder of the central nervous system that affects the ability of brain cells to regulate sleep cycles as normal. A

Nicotine and its association with several mental health disorders including schizophrenia is a widely studied area. The association, however, is not clearly understood. Studies have been carried out to isolate the nicotine metabolites present in both animal and human brains, but particularly in people with schizophrenia. Cognitive effects Certain studies have shown that nicotine could

All types of diabetes have similar symptoms because the symptoms usually arise from high blood sugar. Main symptoms of diabetes There are three cardinal features of high blood sugar and diabetes. These include: Polydipsia – increased thirst Polyphagia – increased hunger Polyuria – increased frequency of urination particularly at night. Other symptoms of diabetes In