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Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis

Alzheimer’s disease is difficult to diagnose, particularly when it is in the early stages. As the symptoms of Alzheimer’s develop slowly and usually involve subtle problems with memory, people often attribute symptoms to part of the natural aging process. However, an early diagnosis can help people plan for the future and receive any treatment that may help as soon as possible.

27 Jul 2009

Alzheimer's Disease Symptoms

As a progressive condition, Alzheimer’s disease symptoms develop gradually and become more severe over time.In many people, symptoms can take as long as ten years to become severe enough to cause concern.

27 Jul 2009

Alzheimer's Disease Causes

The exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not clearly understood, but patients with the condition have been found to have abnormal protein deposits (amyloid plaques) in their brains, along with fibres called tau tangles and a chemical called acetylcholine. These disrupt neuronal messaging in the brain, which eventually becomes permanently damaged, affecting memory and cognitive processing.

27 Jul 2009

Lung Cancer Research

Researchers continue to look at new ways to combine, schedule, and sequence the use of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to treat lung cancer. For instance, in one large study, patients with non-small cell lung cancer that had spread to nearby tissues or lymph nodes took radiation and chemotherapy at the same time instead of sequentially. Their five-year survival rates rose from about 6 percent to 16 percent. Another study compared treatments given to two groups of people with small cell lung cancer. One group had chemotherapy plus two daily radiation treatments. The other had chemotherapy with only one daily radiation treatment. Researchers found that the group receiving two daily radiation treatments with their chemotherapy had better survival rates.

27 Jul 2009

Lung Cancer Treatments

Lung cancer is treated based on the type and stage of the cancer, as well as the patient’s general health status and ability to withstand the treatment. Which type of treatment a patient has will depend on whether they have non-small-cell lung cancer or small cell lung cancer. The main treatment approaches are surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or a combination of two or more of these, depending on how advanced the cancer is.

27 Jul 2009

Lung Cancer Diagnosis

Lung cancer does not usually present with symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage, which means patient outcomes are often less positive than with some other forms of cancer. Research has shown that around one in three people diagnosed with lung cancer will live for one year or more, but only one in ten will live for five years or more.

27 Jul 2009

Lung Cancer Symptoms

Lung cancer does not usually present with any symptoms in the early stages of disease, meaning it is difficult to detect and diagnose while there is the highest chance of treatment being successful.

27 Jul 2009

Lung Cancer Causes

The main cause of lung cancer is smoking, although non-smokers can also develop the condition. Smoking and other risk factors for lung cancer are described below.

27 Jul 2009

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is a common and very serious form of cancer, with more than 40,000 people diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK. The symptoms of lung cancer do not present in the early stages, but when symptoms do eventually present, they usually include the following:

27 Jul 2009

Bipolar Disorder Counseling

Treatments for bipolar disorder include medication and psychotherapy or counselling. Using a combination of these approaches may help reduce the dose of medication required to stabilize a patient's mood swings.

24 Jul 2009

Bipolar Disorder Interventions

Bipolar disorder is typically characterized by phases of depression followed by episodes of mania, with very few phases where mood is stable. A person living with the condition may experience either phase for weeks or months at a time, which may significantly interfere with their ability to manage daily activities such as working or socializing. During a manic phase, bipolar individuals tend to outperform others at work, but during a depressive phase they may find it difficult to function and perform.

24 Jul 2009

Bipolar Disorder Treatment

The treatment of bipolar disorder is focused on reducing the severity of manic and depressive episodes and helping sufferers lead an as-near-to-normal life as possible. There is no known cure for the condition and treatment usually involves a combination of medication and counselling or psychotherapy.

24 Jul 2009

Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis

Diagnosing bipolar disorder involves a detailed analysis of the symptoms of the condition. Bipolar disorder is typically characterized by mood swings that range from depressive phases where a person may feel low, lethargic and suicidal through to manic phases where they may may feel excessively active, happy and jittery. Either phase may last for periods of weeks or months at a time.

24 Jul 2009

Bipolar Disorder Symptoms

Bipolar disorder is typically characterized by mood swings that may last for several weeks to months at a time. These mood swings fall into two main categories: the depressive phase and the manic phase, with each phase characterized by distinct symptoms.

24 Jul 2009

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a mental health disorder that was previously called manic depressive psychosis or manic depression. The condition is typically characterized by a mood that "swings" from a depressive state where an individual may feel down and lethargic to a manic phase that may cause them to feel hyperactive and jittery.

24 Jul 2009

Cystic Fibrosis Questions

Some of the frequently asked questions regarding cystic fibrosis include: What is cystic fibrosis? What is newborn screening for cystic fibrosis? How can cystic fibrosis be confirmed after an abnormal cystic fibrosis screen?

22 Jul 2009

Cystic Fibrosis Screening

Cystic fibrosis screening test results are based on determination of heterogeneous circulating forms of immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT) and the most common cystic fibrosis mutation that is usually associated with severe cystic fibrosis disease, ∆F508.

22 Jul 2009

Genetics of Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder caused by the dysfunction of a protein that transports sodium and chloride across cell membranes. This protein is called the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Mutation of the CFTR gene gives rise to a protein that lets too much salt and not enough water into the cells, causing mucus to be become thick and sweat to become salty.

22 Jul 2009

Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system that affects balance, movement and vision. Multiple sclerosis is an example of a demyelinating disease, where the protective coating called myelin that surrounds nerve fibres becomes damaged.

18 Jul 2009

Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can be difficult to diagnose when a person has had just one “attack” of what appears to be MS symptoms. Other conditions share MS symptoms and a physician will need to rule those out first.

18 Jul 2009