Posts

Lung cancer clinical trials are research studies that look for new and better ways to treat, detect, or improve quality of life with lung cancer at all stages of the disease. For a treatment to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the general public, it must go through three phases of clinical trials. This is the case with nearly every treatment currently available. This article looks at how clinical trials work, how to find a clinical trial for your cancer, and some of the pros and cons associated with these studies....

Will treatments like massage, Rolfing, the Bowen Technique, and Reiki help you with fibromyalgia (FMS) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS) symptoms? That all depends both on the form of bodywork as well as your specific symptoms. These kinds of treatments are called bodywork, as are any therapeutic or healing methods that involve touching or physical manipulation. Healthcare providers usually recommend bodywork as a complementary treatment, not as the only treatment....

Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) is a viral infection. It comes from the same family as the smallpox virus and causes a similar rash. But mpox is not as contagious and generally causes milder symptoms than smallpox. Classic symptoms of mpox are fever, body aches, fatigue, and headaches, followed by a rash that lasts anywhere from two to four weeks. Most people who contract mpox will have mild symptoms and recover without treatment....

Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) is the name for a group of hereditary illnesses characterized by having more than one tumor of the endocrine organs at a time. Several different combinations of endocrine tumors are known to occur together, and each of these patterns is categorized as one of several different MEN syndromes. Multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes can affect these major endocrine glands: AdrenalPancreasParathyroidPituitaryThyroid The tumors that develop as part of each MEN syndrome may be benign or malignant....

The digestive tract is a tube that runs between the mouth and the anus. You take in food and drink in the mouth, they are broken down in the stomach, nutrients are absorbed in the intestines, and the remains and waste products leave the body through the anus. Plenty of things can go amiss with digestion. One common problem is pain, discomfort, or burning while having a bowel movement (pooping). When this happens on occasion, it might not be a reason to be concerned....

Pustules are raised bumps filled with pus and fluid. They vary in size, and sometimes look like acne. These bumps can be painful when touched. They usually appear on the face, back, and chest. Pustules can be a result of inflamed skin, acne, an allergic reaction, psoriasis, or other skin diseases. What Are Pustules? Pustules are a common skin lesion. They are blister-like sores filled with pus that can be red, with white or yellow centers, and tender or sore to the touch....

The thoracic spine is part of your spinal column and is composed of 12 bones that are stacked one upon another. The thoracic spine is located between your cervical and lumbar spines, and it serves as an attachment point for your ribs and for many muscles and bones. If it seems to you like your neck and low back get all the attention, to the exclusion of the mid and upper back areas, you may well have that right....

A trigger point is a taut band of skeletal muscle inside a muscle group. Trigger points are tender to the touch and can refer pain to distant parts of the body. You may have regional, persistent pain resulting in a decreased range of motion in the affected muscles. Trigger point therapy is a soft-tissue treatment that helps release tense, painful knots in your muscles and fascia (web of connective tissue). Components of trigger point therapy may include sustained pressure, posture and movement correction, electrical stimulation, dry needling, and massage....

If triple bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, is suggested by your surgeon and other healthcare providers to address coronary artery disease or angina, it is essential to be as prepared as possible prior to the procedure. You will need to take steps before the procedure and expect a hospital stay of about a week. Location A triple bypass surgery is one of the more common open-heart procedures....

Mucus is a slippery fluid that is produced by your body naturally. It is produced by glands in organs, including the mouth, nose, throat, stomach, intestines, and vagina. Although mucus production is natural and healthy, excess mucus production can be a sign of illness, including the common cold. Knowing about the role mucus plays in your body when it’s healthy can help you spot when your mucus is abnormal, which could indicate that you’re sick....

Ambulatory electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring is used to help medical professionals diagnose intermittent cardiac arrhythmias that occur only infrequently and unpredictably. Such arrhythmias often produce sudden symptoms, but typically are no longer present by the time a person gets to a healthcare provider. For this reason, many symptom-producing cardiac arrhythmias are difficult or impossible to diagnose with a standard electrocardiogram. Ambulatory ECG monitoring can be employed to record your heart rhythm for much longer periods of time—days, weeks, or even years—to greatly increase the odds of capturing and recording this kind of brief, intermittent, but potentially significant arrhythmia....

You’ve seen the term “First Responder” in print or mentioned by a presidential candidate or two. These days, it’s pretty broadly used, but it started as primarily an EMS title, complete with capitalization. What the term First Responder means depends on where you live, but it’s probably not an ambulance or a person on an ambulance. Addressing Medical Emergencies The relationship of First Responders to ambulances is unique to EMS. Unlike law enforcement or fire suppression, where the first person to arrive at the scene needs to have full capabilities to attack the situation (guns or hoses, depending on the need), medical emergencies have to be addressed in two distinct steps:...

Xeloda is the brand name for capecitabine. It is an oral chemotherapy (chemo) medication that treats metastatic breast cancer. Metastatic means the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. As a breast cancer chemo pill, Xeloda may be given alone or combined with other anti-cancer medications. It is often prescribed after other chemotherapy does not work or when the cancer recurs, or returns. Xeloda can be used to treat colorectal (CRC) cancers too....

Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) is an enzyme made by your thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland located in the front of your neck. The thyroid gland uses TPO along with iodine to generate the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). Together, these hormones regulate body temperature, heart rate, and metabolism. They also promote growth, development, and maturation of the brain and nervous system. Antibodies serve a purpose in your body; they defend against bacteria, viruses, and toxins....

Some of the drugs you take to treat other medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, can affect your cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that your body uses to build cells and make vitamins and hormones. However, if you have too much “bad” cholesterol, called low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or too little “good” cholesterol," called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), it can contribute to serious health problems like heart disease. Even if you are on medications to control your cholesterol, you may find that other drugs you take can reduce their effectiveness....

Aromatase inhibitors are a class of drug used to prevent cancer recurrence in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. These medications also are prescribed for premenopausal women in combination with ovarian suppression therapy and for men with breast cancer who are unable to take tamoxifen. They work by reducing estrogen levels in the body, so less of the hormone is available to stimulate the growth of hormone-sensitive cancer cells. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three aromatase inhibitors:...

Bipolar disorder is a mental health illness and a type of brain disorder. There are two types, called bipolar 1 disorder and bipolar 2 disorder. Each type has characteristics that distinguish them from one another. People with bipolar disorder may experience recurring extreme changes in moods that can last for days, weeks, and longer. These moods can fluctuate between feelings of extreme elevations of mood or irritability and feelings of profound sadness or depression....

There’s a common misunderstanding that the main point of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) chest compressions is to directly pump the heart to get it beating again. However, the heart typically needs an electric shock in order to restart. It’s also deep in the chest. Instead, the main goal of chest compressions is to help restore blood flow to the brain and other vital organs, including the lungs and the heart itself, until the heart can be shocked....

Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, a tiny microbe that can infect the intestines. The physical signs and symptoms of cholera aren’t caused by the bacterium itself, but rather a toxin it produces once it’s inside the body. That toxin disrupts the way cells absorb and process fluids and electrolytes, forcing them to go in just one direction: out. That’s what sparks the body to expel watery diarrhea, the most common symptom of cholera....

Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) is an injectable disease-modifying therapy (DMT) used for multiple sclerosis (MS), meaning it is used to help prevent one’s condition from worsening. It is different from many other MS drugs of this type in that it may carry fewer of certain side effects known to come with many DMTs. Indication Copaxone was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1996 for treating relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS)....