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How is Alport Syndrome Treated?

There are various treatments that are used to help patients with Alport syndrome to manage their condition. Most of them are used to help reduce and slow down symptoms. The benefits of the treatments are mostly realized when they are implemented early in the patient’s diagnosis with the syndrome.

31 Aug 2016

How is Alport Syndrome Diagnosed?

There are various methods of identifying whether a patient has Alport syndrome. The syndrome presents in significant ways in some patients but with less obvious symptoms in other patients, and there are several ways of determining the condition in most affected people, as outlined below.

31 Aug 2016

Alport Syndrome Signs and Symptoms

Alport Syndrome is an inherited condition, which can lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD). In CKD, a patient’s kidneys progressively do not work as well as they should and do not effectively filter out wastes from the body. It is the second highest cause of CKD after polycystic kidney disease, where fluid filled sacs develop in the kidneys and impair kidney function. The syndrome affects the kidneys by attacking the glomeruli (capillary blood vessels) that help with the filtering process.

31 Aug 2016

Why Does Morning Sickness Occur in the Mornings?

Nausea or vomiting in the early morning (also known as “morning sickness”) is so common that is usually acknowledged as a symptom of normal pregnancy. It takes place soon after waking up, often as retching rather than actual vomiting, thus it typically does not disturb the health of a pregnant women.

25 Aug 2016

How to Prevent Mold Allergies

Molds are a common type of microscopic fungi that grow in warm and moist conditions, most often in the form of multicellular structures called hyphae. There is ample evidence in medical literature that describes an association between molds and a plethora of allergic health effects.

25 Aug 2016

Gastrointestinal Disease and Skin Problems

The gastrointestinal region of the body includes organs such as the liver, pancreas, and gall bladder, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and rectum. There are several diseases that affect the gastrointestinal region that, in turn, also affect the appearance and natural function of the skin.

25 Aug 2016

Treatment and Surgery for Phyllodes Tumors

Accounting for less than 1% of all breast tumors, phyllodes tumors (PTs), which are “leaf-like” in appearance, are rare fibroepithelial tumors. They display a wide range of biological behaviors, ranging from fairly benign to highly aggressive.

23 Aug 2016

How are Phyllodes Tumors Diagnosed?

Phyllodes tumors (PTs) are fibroepithelial tumors of the breast. These are rare, presenting clinically as painless lumps. They are primarily found in women between the fourth and sixth decades of life, with a peak incidence at the age of 45. Their occurrence in men is extremely rare, but has been reported in cases associated with enlargement of the male breast due to hormonal imbalances

23 Aug 2016

Symptoms and Causes of Phyllodes Tumors

Growing in a “leaf-like” pattern, from which they acquired their name, phyllodes tumors (PTs) are fibroepithelial tumors of the breast. They may occur at any age, but occur primarily in women between 40 to 60 years old and are extremely rare in men.

23 Aug 2016

Phyllodes Tumors (PTs) - Fibroepithelial Tumors of the Breast

Phyllodes tumors (PTs) are rare fibroepithelial tumors of the breast that display a wide range of biological behaviors. They account for up to 1% of all breast tumors. They are called “phyllodes,” which means “leaf-like” in Greek, because of the “leaf-like” pattern they grow in. However, they were known by over 60 different names before receiving the official terminology of PTs (from the World Health Organization).

23 Aug 2016

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome in Children

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is of two types - the classification is based on the history of prodromal diarrhea.

23 Aug 2016

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) - Renal Disease

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a serious renal disease, and the most common etiologic factor in the development of acute renal failure in children. Most affected children are younger than 4 years old, but the disease may also occur in older children and even in adults.

23 Aug 2016

Choosing a Primary Care Provider

A primary care provider (PCP) is usually the first point-of-entry for an individual into the health system and is responsible for assessing the health of patients and making the appropriate recommendations or referrals to promote health outcomes.

23 Aug 2016

Challenges in Primary Care

Primary care is an important part of the healthcare system that helps to reduce complications and hospital admissions through prevention and early intervention. However, there are a number of challenges that are facing primary care that must be addressed to maintain the quality and benefits that primary care can provide. These challenges include, but are not limited to lack of choice, variable quality, reactive versus proactive decisions and physician shortages.

23 Aug 2016

Addison's Disease and Skin Problems

Addison's disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, is an endocrine disorder where insufficient amounts of cortisol and aldosterone hormones are produced by the adrenal glands. Cortisol is commonly referred to as the “stress hormone” and is involved in several mechanisms in the body.

23 Aug 2016

Mammary Duct Ectasia Diagnosis

Mammary duct ectasia represents a benign condition characterized by the dilatation of the mammary ducts. The diagnosis can be clinically challenging due to its complex and diversified symptoms, but also because in some cases it can mimic breast cancer.

23 Aug 2016

Intraductal Papilloma - Benign Tumors of the Breast

Intraductal papillomas are a group of benign tumors of the breast that stem from the epithelium of the lactiferous ducts (i.e., a system that links the lobules of the mammary gland with the tip of the nipple). The incidence of these changes is low and usually in the range of 2 to 3%, affecting women between 30 and 77 years of age.

23 Aug 2016

Gail Model (Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool)

The risk of breast cancer - one of the most important malignant tumors of modern society - is continually increasing across different societies of the world, with rates in developing countries (which were inherently lower) catching up with the higher rates observed in the Western world.

23 Aug 2016

HIV-1 versus HIV-2: What’s the Difference?

The human immunodeficiency virus is classified into two main types: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 was discovered first and is more prevalent worldwide, while HIV-2 is less pathogenic and is mostly confined to West Africa. So when we generally say HIV, we are referring to HIV-1. The fundamental differences between HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections lie in the mechanism of retroviral pathogenesis, which is not fully clear yet.

22 Aug 2016

Oophorectomy and Breast Cancer

Oophorectomy is a surgical operation in which the ovaries are removed. The removal of these sex organs has been practiced for over a century as part of the treatment of breast cancer. It causes a significant reduction in the production and circulation of estrogen and progesterone, the primary female sex hormones.

22 Aug 2016