Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can be cured in its early stages with antibiotics. But if it’s untreated, it can have serious complications. Awareness of the risk of syphilis is important because the number of cases in the United States doubled between 2014 and 2019. It rose another 6.8% in 2020. This article will explain how syphilis progresses, how it can be cured, and what can happen if it’s not treated....
Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs caused by bacteria, fungi, or viruses (including COVID-19). Fever is a common symptom of pneumonia. However, in certain rare cases some people have pneumonia without fever or with only a very mild form of it. Several factors predispose people to develop pneumonia without fever: being very young (under age 2), being older than 65, or having a compromised immune system. It can also occur in cases of a milder form of the disease, called “walking pneumonia....
Cholestasis is a reduction (or cessation) in the flow of bile. Cholestasis can occur at any age in both males and females. This can happen for several different reasons. Cholestasis can occur from impairment of bile secretion from the liver cells, an obstruction that blocks the flow of bile, or a combination of the two. Bile is a greenish-brown fluid that aids in digestion and is secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder....
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disorder that usually develops due to nonhereditary risk factors, such as smoking. It is also linked to a heritable genetic disorder, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AAT deficiency). However, although people diagnosed with COPD are tested for this condition, it is rare to develop the disease in this way. COPD causes the inflammation and thickening of lung tissue. Less oxygen gets into your body, making it difficult to breathe....
As part of your mammogram results, you may learn you have dense breast tissue. This is not abnormal; however, it can increase the risk of breast cancer. It is more difficult to see through dense tissue clearly on a mammogram, increasing the risk of missing breast cancer on a screening. Learn more about dense breast tissue and why you may need additional screening tests to detect problems within the tissue....
Many children experience “temper tantrums” and periods of irritability. However, for some children and adolescents, it goes beyond that and becomes a condition that can greatly impact their lives. Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) is a mental health condition diagnosed in childhood and adolescence that is characterized by ongoing irritability and frequent temper outbursts. Learn more about this disorder in this overview. What Is Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder? DMDD is a mental health diagnosis made in childhood and adolescence....
Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell (WBC) and part of the immune system. They work with other WBCs and immune proteins to help the body fight infections, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. These cells play a role in the innate immune system, which means that they react to infections rapidly and without specificity. Eosinophils are considered important for fighting parasites, which are infectious organisms that often have a complex life cycle....
Fast breast MRI (or abbreviated MRI) for breast cancer screening is a relatively new technique designed to find breast cancer early. Compared with mammograms or 3D mammograms, it is more likely to detect cancer, especially more aggressive breast cancers. Mammograms miss roughly 15% of breast cancers and are less accurate in women with dense breasts. Compared with conventional breast MRIs, abbreviated MRIs are much less expensive (in some centers, similar to the cost of a mammogram) and take only around 10 minutes to perform....
A member of the rose family, hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is a thorny, flowering tree or shrub native to temperate regions of Europe, North America, and northern Asia. Though the tiny sweet red berries (“haws”) are used in jams, jellies, candies, and wines, all parts of the plant—the leaves, flowers, berries, stems, and even the bark—have long been used in herbal medicine as digestive, kidney, and anti-anxiety aids. It’s also prominent as a tonic for treating cardiac diseases and for strengthening the aging heart, a use that dates back to the first century....
Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a movement disorder that causes involuntary muscle contractions on one side of the face. HFS typically starts with painless but annoying twitching around one eye. Over time, muscle spasms may spread down the same side of the face that initially experienced eyelid twitching. Hemifacial spasms can tug the mouth and other facial muscles to one side, which makes a person’s face asymmetrical and can give someone with HFS an involuntary grimacing facial expression....
You should have a say in the kind of health insurance plan you have. Unfortunately, that’s not always the way it works out. When it comes to Medicare, the government could sign you up automatically, or an insurance company can sign you up for one of their plans without your permission. Know your rights, or you could literally pay the price. Your Medicare Options When you turn 65 years old or have a qualifying disability (U....
Although many Americans fear that healthcare rationing would accompany a switch to a universal coverage or single-payer health care system, some are unaware that healthcare rationing has been taking place quietly in the United States for years. This is not something new, brought on by the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). It’s not a liberal plot to trick us into opting for socialized medicine or universal coverage. On the contrary, capitalism has slowly and quietly led the United States down the path of healthcare rationing....
Liver metastasis, also known as secondary liver cancer, refers to cancer that has spread to the liver from the site of the original tumor—most often the colon or rectum, although it’s possible for cancer that originates anywhere in the body to spread to the liver. This disease is considered advanced, or stage IV cancer, so in most cases, the goal of treatment is to shrink tumors, extend life expectancy, and boost quality of life rather than try to cure the cancer....
Internal shingles, also known as zoster sine herpete (ZSH), is a reactivation of the varicella virus without a rash. This virus is the one that causes chickenpox, and it remains in the body even after that condition resolves. This reactivation causes shingles, typically characterized by the development of a severe rash. However, internal shingles is particularly concerning because it doesn’t produce this rash. As such, internal shingles cases all too often go untreated, leading to the progression of the disease and serious complications....
Pancreatic islet cell transplantation is an experimental procedure for treating type 1 diabetes. The goal of this procedure is to make it possible for people with this autoimmune disease to stop taking insulin—a vital hormone produced by the pancreas that controls the levels of glucose (sugar) in blood. People with type 1 diabetes aren’t able to generate insulin on their own, putting them at risk for serious and potentially fatal complications ranging from damage to nerves (neuropathy) or eyes (retinopathy) to heart disease....
Ligelizumab is a next-generation monoclonal anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody that shows promise for treating chronic hives that arise spontaneously. Sporadic hives that occur often, last anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours, and flare up unpredictably are called chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Another term for CSU is chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). Chronic hives last for more than six weeks. Ligelizumab is in development at the Swiss multinational drug company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, as a treatment for CSU....
Living with lung cancer can lead to anxiety in so many ways and at any stage of the disease. The stigma of the disease and its reputation as a cancer with a relatively poor prognosis can add further unease to a journey already filled with potential triggers for anxiety. Anxiety triggers can range from the uncertainty of treatment to the fear of loss of independence and death. Moments of transient anxiety are to be expected, but one study found that 43....
Personality disorders consist of long-standing, inflexible thought and behavior patterns that are different from what is generally expected. Personality disorders can interfere with many areas of life, and they can cause poor coping skills and relationship difficulties. Approximately 10% to 13% of the world’s population have a personality disorder. In the United States, about 9% of adults have at least one personality disorder. Mixed personality disorder means that a person meets the general criteria of a personality disorder but does not fully meet the criteria for a specific type of personality disorder....
More than half of the world’s population has brown eyes, making it the most common eye color overall. However, brown is not always the most common when it comes to particular ethnic groups. Eye color comes from pigmentation in the iris—a muscular tissue that controls the size of your pupil and allows light inside your eye. Inside the iris is a variety of pigments that gives your eyes their color. The combination of pigments and how they are distributed determine your specific hue....
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is an inherited disorder that causes muscle weakness and atrophy. There are nine main types of muscular dystrophy, some with subtypes. Muscular dystrophy symptoms are similar through all types. Each type of MD causes weakness and degeneration of the muscles involved in voluntary movement, such as walking. All types of MD are progressive, but they vary by age of onset, severity, and the pattern in which the muscles are affected....
