PORPHYRIA: The vampire disease

Have you ever admired of those vampires of Twilight and Vampire Diary? Yes, of course you would have. You might even have thought whether they exist today. Yes vampires are real. But as you think they are not such blood sucking creatures as you see in movies and serials. It is a disease called PORPHYRIA. It is a rare inheritable genetic disorder. This disease is preset for about many years but only few know about it.

Porphyrins are chemicals present in our body, which help in the production of  hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a very important element of our blood cells , which helps in carrying oxygen to other parts of our body. Porphyrin Precursors are converted to hemoglobin with the help of certain enzymes. This process of conversion takes place in various steps.

In Porphyria , there is a deficiency of these enzymes. As a result of which Porphyrin and their precursors are produced in excess and they accumulate in the body. This accumulation is toxic.

There are two types of PORPHYRIA i.e., Acute Porphyria and Cutaneous porphyria.  Acute Porphyria affects the nervous system as a result of which the patient suffers from severe abdominal pain, vomiting, acute neuropathy, muscle weakness, seizures, and mental disturbances like hallucinations, depression, anxiety, and paranoia etc. Whereas Cutaneous porphyria affects the skin and makes the skin photosensitive, blisters, necrosis of the skin and gums, increase hair growth etc..

I have already mentioned some of the symptoms above yet there more symptoms like high sensitive to light, reddish-brown urine and teeth, mutilation of
the nose, ears, eyelids, and fingers, an excess of body hair, and anemia. In extreme case the victim suffers from heart palpitation and rapid heart beat. Acute Porphyria can be fatal. Doctors widely advice the patients to take a diet with high quantity of carbohydrates. Mostly drugs like Hematin and Haem Arginate are prescribed by doctors of USA and United Kingdom for Porphyria. But these drugs are effective only if taken at the starting stage.

 

 

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The Secret Of SLEEP WALKING

Sleep walking is an arousal disorder in which the afflicted person walks and does many things  during as sleep, but looks like he is awake. Somnambulism is the alternate name for sleep walking. This disorder falls under Parasomnia group.

It generally occurs in nonrapid eye movement sleep.

Your most likely to suffer from somnambulism in childhood as well as in adulthood , if u have a family history of somnambulism. Because it is a genetic disorder.It can also be caused due to certain mental disturbances and psychiatric disorders like multiple disorder, trauma, etc..

It can be diagnosed by combination of observation and history. But you would require full support of your family members and friends. You must closely observe you actions , so that you can know the reason for it. It is mostly caused due to distress, anxiety etc. .

But you can prevent yourself from danger by locking the door well, keeping a door alarm, coving the glass windows with hard cover, removing obstacles from the way etc..

Stop taking alcohols , reduce stress and avoid sleep depressants can also play some part in curing you.

Record you actions during sleep walk . Show it to sleep specialist as it is  one of the most effective way to help the doctors cure you.

Specific therapies are given to cure somnambulism. Benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants are found to be useful medications. Moreover relaxation techniques, mental imagery and anticipatory awakening are proffered long term treatments .

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Alien Hand Syndrome ! ! ! (AHS)

It is a very rare and interesting neurological disorder. I don’t know whether you would love to read about it, but I really love to write about it. So, lets go to the topic. The affected individual would have full sensation of his hands , but their hand would not be in their control. Moreover, they won’t feel their hand as a part of their body.

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Their hand will have it’s own mind, as it will work on it’s own, the owner do not have any ownership or control over it. As you know our brain is responsible for voluntary and involuntary actions.

AHS is very dangerous and life risking, as the afflicted hand may even kill the afflicted individual itself. A new study says that neural activity is restricted to the primary motor cortex during the unconscious motor activity seen with AHS.

It is caused due to certain brain injury like stroke, trauma etc., it can also be a side effect of a brain surgery , of patients having two lobes of brain separated to relieve severe epilepsy. Or it can also be caused due to a damage of corpus callosum.

There is no treatment for AHS. But it can be prevented by placing some objects in the afflicted hand to keep the afflicted hand busy.

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Can DIABETICS be a cause of death ???

 Diabetics is one of the most common disease in the world. Today, i am going to discuss about diabetics in detail.

Diabetics is also called as diabetes mellitus. It is a metabolic disorder.The affected individuals would have high level of blood sugar level. It is either because pancreases fail to produce insulin or the cells fail to respond to the insulin produced.

There are about three types of diabetics.

• Type 1 diabetics:

This type of diabetics occurs when our own body immune system destroys the insulin producing pancreatic cells i.e., beta cells. Symptoms and signs of type 1 diabetics are dehydration, weight-loss, increased thirst, frequent urination, they would experience extreme hunger, fatigue, blurred vision etc.

• Type 2 diabetics:

It is also called as non-insulin dependent diabetics. According to the latest new about 90% to 95% of people around the world are affected by this type of diabetics.The affected individuals would mostly experience all the symptoms and signs same as type 1 diabetics, but they also suffer from two more symptoms i.e., slow healing wounds or frequent infection and appearance of dark path on skin.

• Gestational diabetics:

This type of diabetics is only seen in pregnant women.The blood sugar level becomes very high during pregnancy and goes back to normal after delivery. This can cause problem to the baby , as baby can grow very large. It would become a great risk for you and your baby.

Certain test like urine analysis , fasting blood glucose level, hemoglobin A1c test, oral glucose tolerance test etc., will be conducted by your physician these tests will help you confirm the type of diabetes your suffering from.

But there is no cure found for this disease. In future it may be cured. But certain researches show that, if proper care is taken during childhood , diabetics can be controlled i.e., by having a balanced diet to keep blood sugar level, cholesterol etc., normal.

Yea, of course if not treated well Diabetics can be a great cause of death. The diabetic patients life expectancy gets reduced , the more careless they are. The cause of death can be kidney failure, heart attack, peripheral passage damage leading to stroke , they are caused because the high level of sugar destroys the blood vessels everywhere in the body. The more high the blood sugar level, more is the damage caused.

Do you know? Diabetics is the seventh leading cause od death in US death certificate. As bout 68% diabetic patient die of heart attack and stroke. The overall risk is double than the people affected by diabetics.

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STROKE ! ! ! The Brain Attack ! ! !

Stroke can also be called as “Brain Attack” or  Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA). Stroke is a condition in which the blood flow to the brain is blocked due to ruptured blood vessels or blood clot. Stroke can also be caused due to a serious injury in head.

There are two types of stokes Ischemic Stroke and Hemorrhagic Stroke. Ischemic Stroke is caused due to blood clot in an artery or due to a blood clot formed somewhere else and bursts to become free floating, when these free floating are carried along the blood stream to the brain, there they can block the blood passage , whereas Hemorrhagic Stroke is caused due to the rupturing of the blood vessels , which results in filling the space between the brain and skull with blood.

Almost 90% of people get Ischemic Stroke. Any one can get stroke , but the risky group includes people with high cholesterol, smoking habit, obesity, cardiovascular disease, a family history of stroke, use cocaine , alcoholic addicts, people over 55 yrs of age etc. Women and children can also get stroke.

Symptoms of stroke includes problem in speaking, dizziness, trouble in walking, loos of balance, numbness, weakness, paralysis of one side of the body, sudden severe headache, blurred , blackened or double vision.

But small stroke i.e., silent stroke does not have any symptoms, yet they damage the brain tissues. Various diagnostic methods are done my the physician like Physical assessment (various test like blood test and BP test are done to know the level of cholesterol, sugar and amino acids), Ultra sound, Arteriography, CT scan, MRI, Angiography and Echocardiography.

And suitable medications and treatment methods are prescribed by the physicians depending on ones type and degree of stroke.

Stroke can be prevented by regularly checking the BP level, keeping a healthy diet, stop smoking, stop taking alcohol or any other drugs, treating diabetics, lowering blood cholesterol level, exercising regularly, managing stress properly, identify whether your having atrial fibrillation etc.

By following the above mentioned preventive methods, you can prevent stoke 95.5%. “ PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE”. So follow the preventive measures to keep away your life from the risk of death.

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The great cure for MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY (MD)

Till yesterday , there was no cure for MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY. But today  the mystery of MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY is solved.On May 4th 2012 , the researchers from the university of Minnesota's Lillehei Heart Institute have efficiently found a cure for MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY.

MD is generally a genetic disorder , which causes weakening of bones that help the body to move. The affected individuals would be missing certain important genes , which has the information for a protein that helps in making the bones healthy. MD is non-communicable.

The affected individuals loose their ability to sit and walk etc. MD might start at infant , teenage or adult stage. MD is of various types like Becker muscular dystrophy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, Myotonia congenita, Myotonic dystrophy.

Signs and Symptoms are different depending on the type of MD. The general symptoms are mental retardation, muscular weakness, reduction in size of muscle etc. The life expectancy of such individuals depends upon the degree of MD to which they are affected.

Doctors examine Abnormally curved spine (scoliosis), Joint contractures (clubfoot, claw hand, or others), Low muscle tone (hypotonia) etc., are done.

The latest research from the university of Minnesota's Lillehei Heart Institute proofs that MD can be cured using Human Stem Cells. A mice with MD  was efficiently treated with human stem cells derived through new process . These Human Stem Cells helps in regeneration of Human Muscle Cells effectively and efficiently.

Hence, through our modern improvement in science, the mystery of  MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY is solved i.e., cured.

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Progeria : The old aged Children

Do you know what is Progeria? Have you ever seen some children , who look very old like a 80-yrs old person. They look like this because they have a disorder called Progeria. Progeria is also known as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS).

Progeria is a rare genetic disorder.It is caused due to the occurrence of a  small defect i.e., mutation in the gene of a child, which results in rapid aging in the child. It is not inherited. Progeria is rarely seen in families with more than one child.

It can be easily identified with certain symptoms like growth failure during the first year of life, narrow, shrunken and wrinkled face, appearance of baldness, loss of eyebrow and eyelashes, short stature, large head compared to the body, dry, scaly, thin skin, formation of teeth is delayed or absent in the child.

The child will also suffer from bone thinning , arthritis , and many heart diseases.

A genetic test of LMNA mutation can confirm Progeria.

Many medications would be given . But there is no cure for Progeria. Progeria results in early death. Most patients do not cross their teenage. But in rare cases some individuals have lived till their 20’s. Their cause of death would be heart attack or stroke.

It is very rare disorder, only 48 people are living in this world with this disorder.

If you see these symptoms and signs in your children , please immediately contact your near by health care unit.

SOON THE CURE WILL BE FOUND.

 

 

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Can we defeat BONE CANCER?

Our bones are very important structure of our body , without bones our body would be unstructured pile of soft tissues and we would loose the ability to stand, walk and move. Our body is made-up of 206 bones. Each bone has it’s own function .

First, let’s know what’s BONE CANCER? Development of cancerous cells in any part of bone is known as Bone Cancer.

When cancer is identified in bones , it is  important to differentiate  whether this cancer has spread from another site to bone or it has originated in the bone tissue itself. This distinguish is necessary in order to provide correct treatment.

There are more than 100 cancers identified till today. Each cancer is named according to the organ in which it originates or affects.

More than 20,000 individuals with bone cancer are diagnosed in united states each year. It is most common is children and adults than in elderly people.

There are many different types of BONE CANCERS. The most common are osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma, Fibrosarcoma, and Chordoma.

There are relatively two other types of cancer that arises in the bone i.e., lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Lymphoma is different from Multiple myeloma. Because Lymphoma is a cancer which arises from the immune system and usually begins in lymph nodes but can also begin in bone. Whereas , Multiple myeloma begins in bones , but is is not considered as bone cancer , this cancer/tumor affect the bone marrow and not the bone cells.

Bone cancer symptoms includes swelling, pain and difficulty in moving the bone, experiencing tiredness, fever or sweats , weight loss and rarely pathological fracture.

Many different methods are used in treating Bone cancer.The main methods are Surgery, Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy. Surgery is used widely to remove the tumor/cancer cells or the surrounding area. But they can surely be cured , if treated at and early stage.

There is no preventive measures available for Bone Cancer.

Now, let me give you some bone cancer survivors.

• Janis Ollson of 31 yrs old of Canada.
• Laura
• Laurence Whiteley of 18 yrs old.
• Mark Herzlich

If they  all survived , then why can’t you . Never loose your confidence. Every disease has it’s own cure.

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The terror of AMNESIA (Memory loss)

Amnesia , we always hear this in every movie, serials and etc. As we all know what it is?Yes, it's a type disorder in which the individual looses all his past memory.

According to Stedman’s Medical Dictionary amnesia is defined as "a disturbance in the memory of information stored in long-term memory, in contrast to short-term memory, manifested by total or partial inability to recall past experiences."

But some people with amnesia will loose only bits and pieces of memory. Some will loose their entire memory of past. Whereas some people will lose only memory of certain period , like they would have lost memory of past 2 or 3 yrs only.

There are different types of amnesia , I will discuss about them below.

• Anterograde amnesia: People with this amnesia won’t be able to remember the ongoing event , after the trauma.
• Retrograde amnesia: Individual will not be able to remember the incidents that occurred before the trauma.
• Emotional/hysterical amnesia: The individual’s memory loss will be temporary, soon he/she can retain her past memory.
• Lacunar amnesia: They won’t be able to remember a specific event.
• Korsakoff syndrome:They would have lost memory due to chronic alcoholism.
• Posthypnotic amnesia:Memory loss sustained in a hypnotic state. They won’t be able to recall the events that took place during the hypnotic session.
• Transient global amnesia:This can last for several minuets to hour. It can be seen fro  middle aged people to elderly people.

Amnesia is also a symptom of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Amnesia can also be caused due to certain drugs like cocaine, LSD, PCP, mescaline etc. Certain medicine like aminophylline, barbiturates, bromide, digoxin, diuretics, isoniazid, methyldopa, and tricyclic antidepressants, can also lead to transient global amnesia.

(They above is the pic of 46 year old Claire Robertson , who suffered from brain damage for the past 6 months. And got her memory back through a simple camera.)

They show symptoms like loss of memory, disorientation in time and space, feeling difficulty in learning or recalling information, lack of insight to their memory loss.

Usually the patients are asked about previous brain injury, which many be a cause for this disorder.The patient’s are analyzed well and suitable treatments are provided depending upon each patient’s level or type of amnesia.

There is no effective treatment proven to cure amnesia.But it is reported many patients have recovered slowly. Some who suffer amnesia due to alcoholic abuse are treated with thiamine to stop the development of this disorder.

All disease has cure. So does Amnesia.

 

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Is Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS) real or fake?

It’s not possible at for any of us, to have heard this disorder before. Many of us would hear it for the first time . Those who have heard would think think whether such a syndrome exists or not. Yes, they do exist.

It’s one of the rare disorder in which the affected person would get some medical symptoms if he/she is exposed to ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS.

The individuals are sensitive to very low intensity of electro magnetic radiations. EMF’s from electronic devices trigger or exacerbate their symptoms. 

The cause for EHS is not known.

Let’s jump to symptoms. When they are exposed to EMP they get skin problems like redness in face if they work in front of monitor, tingling and burning sensation if they touch electronic devices. Some other symptoms such as fatigue, exhaustion, concentration problems, dizziness, heart palpitation and indigestion are also observed in some patients.

Remember these symptoms are not specific and they may vary from person to person.

And there is no diagnosis for EHS.A lot of researches where conducted on this field. A patient was exposed to sham EMF i.e., there is no radiation at all and was asked whether she / he is able to feel the exposure. Still the researches are continuing. Many researches concludes that EHS patients react more to mobile phone than any other electronic device.

But some say these symptoms are unreal , this is false, they are real. The patients suffering form this disorder cannot be cured , but they can be prevented by avoiding their exposure to such radiations and certain nutrition supplements, acupuncture are provided.

Practice sleeping in darkness, expose yourself to sunlight for some time etc., can also help.

Some studies show that EHS is related to increased heavy metal toxicity . Dr. Yoshiaki Omura’s says that more the devices are contaminated with heavy metals like silver amalgam fillings, eating contaminated fish , living in downstream near coal burning power plants makes ones body a virtual antenna that concentrates radiation.

WHO is taking a lot of steps to get to know the cause and cure for EHS.

I will update my article , if any latest news regarding my topic is found.

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Stiff Person’s Syndrome (SPS)

Just now I came across this name and thought of writing and article on it.

SPS is such a rare neurological disorder. You wouldn’t have heard about it. It is also called as Moersch-Woltman condition.

The person having SPS , would experience random muscle spams, which can be so strong that the person may fall which would lead to bone fracture. SPS is characterized by fluctuating muscle rigidity in the trunk and limbs. And the bones are highly sensitive to stimuli such as noise, touch, emotional distress, which can set off muscle spams. SPS suffer would face great difficulty in walking in streets as they are afraid that the street noise , truck horns may trigger spams and falls.

It is more common in women than in men.

Till now, doctors have not found the cause of  SPS . But they predict that SPS is caused due to autoimmune disorder ,as, people with SPS often suffer from autoimmune disorders like Type 1 diabetes and Thyroiditis .

I will explain you about Type 1 diabetes and Thyroiditis in my upcoming articles .

The symptoms and signs of this syndrome are :

• Muscle stiffness experienced in trunk and that comes and goes at anytime and no specific time can be predicted . This results in back stiffness or pain, an exaggerated upright posture, and stiff-legged walk.
• They affected individual suffers severe muscle spams in arms and legs when the person is startled, emotional, touched, upset or in distress.
• Cured low back (lordosis) and deformed joints in the body over time.
• Falling during sudden muscle spam.

As this syndrome is rare, it is mostly misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, or a Psychological Disorder.

35% suffers don’t have no antibodies and are not suffers of cancers.

Many tests like hemoglobin A1C (used to check for diabetes) or thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to check for thyroiditis and Muscle testing (electromyography or EMG) are done.

Till now there is no treatment i.e., sure found for SPS , but medications are given to control it’s effect and damages. Even the exact cause of SPS is unknown to the doctors.

SPS is still a mysterious disease ….

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Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) or Split Personality Disorder (SPD)

We all would have heard these names only in movies, serials . But do you know what it is? It’s a psychiatric disorder in which , a single person will have two or more personalities (also called as alters) within him, his/her personality would switch according to the situations and the behavior of such personality would be totally different from the individuals real personality. In such cases the unity of consciousness with which we identify our selves is absent.

Individuals with this disorder would probably seek mental health treatment programs. Another symptom of MPD is significant amnesia, that can’t be explained with ordinary forgetfulness. Some with DID have personalities with different emotion, pulse, blood pressure and blood flow to brain.
DID was before called as MPD and some times as Split Personality Disorder. It occurs 9 times more in females than in males. However, certain researches shows that , it’s more common in females because it’s difficult to find that personality in males.
Till now there is no proven cause for the development of DID. But researches show it is developed as a reaction due to severe childhood trauma. One of the reason for DID is due to stress of terrible abuse experienced by the individual during his/her childhood. Some say it is caused due to high complexity and unknown nature of human brain, and psyche.

The memory which is stored due to these trauma, results in DID. It can cause even by observing some relatives with DID, this doesn’t mean that DID is hereditary.
Let me discuss about the symptoms and signs of DID.

• They would experience lapses in memory of life events like birthday, wedding anniversary etc..
• Sometimes they would experience blackouts in time, due to which the person would not be able to recall how he/she travelled to the present place.
• Would not be able to recall how he got certain items.
• Calling themselves with some other names .
• Hearing voices inside them selves.
• Not recognizing themselves in mirror.
• Derealization i.e., feeling unreal
• They would feel like watching themselves move in life rather than living in life.
• Feeling like more than one person.

They can diagnosed by Psychotherapy , Hypnosis, Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECV), Medications are given to the patients.
Do you know what will happen , if DID is not diagnosed??
They start to behave violently , and will try to commit suicide more than once and more over they would loose their quality of life.
So it’s best to take treatment as soon as possible , instead of hesitating.

Have you heard of KIM NOBLE. She is 50 yrs old and a painter. She has 100 different personalities within herself. There personalities have their own names , age, behavior etc..
Such a miracle right.

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Have you ever heard of this disease ??? Of course you won’t have heard of it. It’s very rare disease.Lets discuss about it in detail.

As per this disease , it causes sudden death of an infant less than 1 yrs. old. Death takes place mostly during the infants sleep. SIDS is also called as Cot death or Crib death. If the forensic investigation done after the death of infant , couldn't state a reason , then it is considers as SIDS.

Over years , many researches where done , just recently the cause for SIDS is found. It is caused due to abnormalities in brain stream. A recent study showed that , the infant who died due to SIDS had lower levels of serotonin.Hannah Kinney of Harvard says that the lower level od serotonin , which comprises the medulla’s ability to regulate certain functions , as result of which the make the baby unable to detect when the don’t get enough oxygen.

SIDS affects boys more than girls. It affects 90% of infants  younger than 6 months. Till know there is not exact reason for the causes of SIDS. And there is no exact prevention.

But you can try some of these measures.

• Get proper medical checkup during pregnancy . Assure you take nutritive food. They can reduce the risk of SIDS.
• Do not smoke or use cocaine, morphine, heroine, tobacco during pregnancy.
• Avoid becoming pregnant if your teenager.
• Wait at least one year between the birth of a child and the next pregnancy.The shorter the interval between pregnancies, the higher the SIDS rate.
• Make the baby sleep in their back always
• Keep watching the baby , crib the baby in parents room itself , till it reaches 1 yr old.
• Don’t over cloth the infant when he/she is asleep.
• Avoid exposing the baby to tobacco smoke.
• Always breast feed the baby.
• Don’t expose baby to people who have respiratory problems or infections.
• If you see any change in baby’s skin i.e., turning blue or not breathing , immediately rush to the pediatrician.

These preventive methods can help.

SIDS cannot be predicted or prevented. Even it’s cause is not known. But mostly it is due to SMOKING and TOBACCO usage.

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Ban SMOKING ! ! ! The TOBACCO life killer ! ! !

Smoking is a most common addiction. Do you know , why many people smoke. They fell like smoking relieves them from stress , tension etc., some do that for style, and I can go on giving you plenty of reasons why people smoke. But have you all thought just for one second, the aftereffect of smoking. Where is it going to leave you at last ? Surely, I will answer you , at last .

They Cigarette which you people use , is made up of tobacco. This tobacco consists of a drug called NICOTINE. Once you inhale this nicotine, it enters your air passage and starts to interrupts with many variety of neurochemical pathways , within the brain , as result it produces a feeling of Euphoria and addiction.

Do you know , what’s EUPHORIA. It’s a feeling , which attracts you , and makes you feel relieved form your daily life problems and tension.

Now, many would say they buy filtered cigarettes. They just filter a small amount of particles from smoke , but still you inhale a lot of smoke, it makes no difference. Both damages you body to it’s end.

Let me tell you , what sort of disease will kill smoker.

Smokers would suffer from lung cancer,COPD/emphysema, Heart disease, Mouth cancer, Larynx cancer, Pancreatic cancer, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, Throat cancer,Cancer of lips, Discoloration of teeth, loss of sensing smell, Esophagus cancer,Cold fingers( due to low blood circulation), Tar stained fingers, Cough and sputum, Pneumonia, Asthma, Harms, blocks and weakens arteries of the heart ,  Liver cancer, Stomach and duodenal ulcers, Colon cancer, Aortic aneurysm, Kidneys and bladder cancer, Degenerative Disc Disease, In Male reproduction: Sperm: deformity, loss of motility, reduced number ,Infertility,Impotence, In Female reproduction:Period pains, Earlier menopause, Cancer of cervix, Infertility and delay in conception, etc., leukemia  etc.

If a pregnant women inhales or smokes, her infant would suffer from asthma, chronic bronchitis, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) etc..

But the recent reports show majority of smokers are killed my HEART DISEASE i.e., Cardiovascular disease. At global level about 1,69,000 smokers have faced death. In contrast there is about 850,000 death due to lung cancer , and approximately 118,000 are killed due to COPD i.e, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema.

Even after knowing these effects, do u still want to continue smoking. Why do you run towards your own death. Don’t you wish to live long. Think, why to loose your most precious life , just for that one moment of relaxation given by Smoking. Cigarrete smoke which you inhale everyday has 4,000 chemical compounds , of which 200 are most poisonous and 60 are identified as carcinogens.

If you wish to quite smoking , I will give you some tips, try them.

• Delay , when you feel like smoking , tell yourself to delay it for 10 min and in that 10 min distract your mind to some interesting things like novels, magazines, movies etc..
• Don’t have “just one”, don’t fool yourself saying, that you have just one for last time, this just one leads to another one.
• Don’t trigger. Don’t smoke for your friends to give them a company or for style .
• Physical Exercise or activity can help you distract from it .
• Keep practicing relaxation techniques.
• Always remember the benefit of quitting smoking. It just benefits you and your own family.
• Give your mouth an alternative for tobacco , like chew sugar gums etc..
• Get help from your near by health centers.

Won’t you sacrifice the smoking/ tobacco hobbit just for your health and your families health. DO SANCRIFICE TO PRICE OUT HEALTHYU LIFE.

 

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Alzheimer's disease (AD)

Have you all heard about this disease. It’s not common . And many of us wouldn’t have known about it. Even I came to know about this disease only from a real story . So let’s know about this unique disease.

Alzheimer is a type of dementia i.e., it is a disease related to brain function , in which memory, thinking and behavior of the patient is affected and altered. It is not always caused due to aging even if most people  above 65 yrs old are only affected. 5% of patients below 65 yrs are also affected. So, it cannot be considered as aging disease.

Alzheimer worsens over time. At early stages patient would suffer only mild memory loss but over time , they would not be able to respond to a conversation or to the environment. Survival range varies for different age groups and stage of AD they are experiencing.

Your likely to suffer from AD only if any of your close relative is affected with this disease or have gene linked to AD i.e., APOE epsilon4 allele. And the riskier groups are women, patients suffering from High BP for long time and patients having head trauma.

They symptom includes, loss of memory, difficulty in expressing emotional behaviors, changes in personality, altered perception , thinking and cognitive skills.

I would like to discuss about the different stages of  AD.

• STAGE 1: No impairment (normal function)

The affected person is normal and he/she does not experience any memory problem. They don’t show any of the above mentioned symptoms of dementia.

• STAGE 2: Very mild cognitive decline (may be normal age-related changes or earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease)

Patient might experience slight memory lapses of familiar words, objects and frequently visiting places. But no symptoms of dementia would be seen while examining the patient.

• STAGE 3: Mild cognitive decline (early-stage Alzheimer's can be diagnosed in some, but not all, individuals with these symptoms)

The patients would feel difficulty in remembering familiar word or name, won’t be able to perform any task individually, quickly forget what they have read just few minutes before, they would frequently loose or misplace a valuable object, trouble in planning and organizing.

Doctors and relatives can easily identify the symptoms of dementia.

• STAGE 4: Moderate cognitive decline(Mild or early-stage Alzheimer's disease)

Every one around the patient can easily identify the symptoms of dementia as they would forget the recent event and their won family history, loose ability to perform mental arithmetic i.e., count backwards from 100-1, they face difficulty in perform regular tasks like paying bill, planning for dinner etc., sudden change in behavior can be seen.

• STAGE 5: Moderately severe cognitive decline(Moderate or mid-stage Alzheimer's disease)

They would have difficulty in remembering things and would require an assistant to help them through day to day routines.They would be unable recall their address, high school, telephone number, would get confused where they are now and what’s the day , yet they won’t require help in eating or using toilet.

• STAGE 6: Severe cognitive decline(Moderately severe or mid-stage Alzheimer's disease)

Memory worsens a lot, person would certainly need a assistance to do daily routine, loss of awareness of past experience and surrounding, they would remember their name but cannot remember their past, can distinguish familiar and unfamiliar faces but difficulty in remembering they spouse name , would forget how to dress, experience change in sleep patterns, would need help in handling details of toileting (for example, flushing the toilet, wiping or disposing of tissue properly), have trouble controlling their bladder or bowel, experience major behavior , thought and personality changes, are tend to get lost.

• STAGE 7: Very severe cognitive decline(Severe or late-stage Alzheimer's disease)

This is the last stage of AD , which includes lose the ability to respond to their environment, to carry on a conversation and, eventually, to control movement. They may still say words or phrases, individuals need help with much of their daily personal care, including eating or using the toilet. They may also lose the ability to smile, to sit without support and to hold their heads up. Reflexes become abnormal. Muscles grow rigid. Swallowing impaired.

Till now, there is no treatment found for AD, but medications are given to slow down the symptoms and to manage day to day activities by owns own self.

May be in future it might be a curable disease. Who knows except GOD.

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The Introduction of ARTIFICIAL HEART

I guess my title sounds very different for some of you. And it may be familiar to others. In this modern world, we know many have lost their life due to lack of availability of heart for transplantation. Now Doctors have brought a new solution for this life loss. I will give you some interesting details about this artificial heart.

Doctors of TEXAS on march 23, 2011 in the hospital St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (SLEH) have introduced this ARTIFICIAL HEART. They successfully implanted this CONTINUOS FLOW DEVICE in a patient who was facing imminent death. As the imminent blood flow was provided by the ARTICIAL HEART, which the original heart was disabled to do.

On March 10, 2011 Drs. Bud Frazier and Billy Cohn implanted this mechanical device in a 55 yrs old Houstonian Craig A. Lewis. This device was used as the last attempt to save Houstonian Craig A. Lewis life.

Houstonian Craig A. Lewis was suffering from a rare disorder called Cardiac Amyloidosis. It’s a disease in which the heart is infiltrated by an abnormal protein, which is produced some where else in the body.

Let me give you a brief description on , how the device works. The ARTIFICIAL HEART consists of 2 turbine which act as blood pumps. They replace the 2 side,  removed from patients heart. They act as man-made substitute to Natural Heart. This system was approved by FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and it was off-label.

Important fact, the patient suffering from Cardiac Amyloidosis, cannot be treated by heart transplantation , because the disorder may reoccur in the transplanted heart too.

Houstonian Craig A. Lewis was supported by external blood pump , dialysis machine, and breathing device for about 2 weeks before the doctors were approaching this idea.

As this machine provides continuous flow, it does not produce heart beat or pulse.The TEXAS HEART INSTITUTE has played a great role in the introduction of this continues flow system.

Dr. Cooley, founder of THI said:

"Forty years ago the first total artificial heart was implanted here in a patient dying of advanced heart failure. The device served as a bridge to cardiac transplantation, maintaining the patient's life until a donor heart was procured. Since then, a major focus of research at THI has been the development of a total mechanical heart that could overcome some of the problems presented by the previous pulsatile devices, including patient discomfort. The continuous-flow design of this device promises a major advance in the effort to replace the heart in patients with terminal cardiac failure. I applaud Dr. Frazier and Dr. Cohn for their contributions. This is a further milestone."

This is really a great medical history . We can call it as miracle.As miracle suits it more.

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Threat of Swine Flu (H1N1)

Swine Flu, have you heard of it. Yes, you would have , it was a very threatening and wide spreading disease in 2009-2012. Even now, many patients who have been affected have lost their life. We must certainly know, what’s so threating about this disease. Let’s know about it.

H1N1 is highly contagious respiratory disease that was seen only in swine (pigs). Hence , they named it in 2009 as SWINE FLU. It was caused due to a swine influenza A virus. Later, these SWINE FLU was also sighted in humans i.e., this influenza started to spread and affected a lot of human, and many lost their life. Transmission of these viruses to human was very unusual , but they can transmit, only if humans have contact with affected swine.

But once it affects human, it can spread vigorously to other person as it’s a communicable disease.

The symptom of SWIN FLU is same as the seasonal influenza. The patient may suffer from cough,fever,sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting . These mild symptoms which are much similar to seasonal influenza makes it ignorable by many patients who lost their lives because of un awareness.

So, anyone sighted with these symptoms must contact the health care center near by to save their life and many other life. The common symptoms sighted in children are diarrhea, apnea, altered mental status, tachypnea, dyspnea, cyanosis. The duration of all the symptoms are 3-4 days.Many has lost their life within this duration itself, so please take immediate steps if you have theses symptoms.

It’s necessary for us to know , what kind of treatment is provided by the health care institute.

Treatment consists of bed rest, increased fluid consumption, cough suppressants and analgesic.Medications such as oseltamivir and zanamivir are given to the patients.

WHO(world health organization) has introduced H1N1 monovalent influenza vaccine . Two doses are given for children under 10yrs. Children and adults younger than 10 yrs are given 1 dose. Pregnant women, infants of 6 months to 18 months, person aged between 20-25, 60-65 are all under high risk of infection.

You must surely know certain ways to protect these influenza virus from spreading.

Don’t allow your family to mingle with crowd during this season, take the vaccine available in near by health center, if any of your family member is affected take immediate steps, don’t have any contact the infected person, stop sending children to school if symptoms are seen in children and keep spreading these awareness.

Suctioning, bronchoscopy, or intubation should be performed in a procedure room with negative-pressure air handling.Patients must wear a mask. Standard, droplet and contact precautions must be taken for 7 days from the onset of the symptoms/ infection.

I always repeat this sentence “PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE” . Keep trying all theses prevention methods and advice others to do also.

 

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