Thursday, March 29, 2012

Kidney cancer

Author: Dr Brent Yanke Urologist West Orange New Jersey 2008-07-28

The kidneys (or renal units) are organs responsible for cleansing the blood of waste.  Many byproducts of the metabolic processes in the body build up in the blood stream.  A microscopic tubular system within the kidney filters the blood and removes these byproducts before they can accumulate to dangerous levels.  Kidney tissue is separated into two layers, the outer cortex and the inner medulla.  Once the filtered waste passes through these layers, it collects in the renal pelvis which is an open space in the core of the kidney.  The urine then drains from the renal pelvis into the ureter and finally into the bladder. Surrounding the kidney are several protective layers.  A thin capsule encircles the renal cortex and comprises the outer surface of the kidney.  The kidney sits in a pocket of fat that is itself contained in another layer of tissue called Gerota’s fascia.
A renal tumor is an atypical growth of cells that can arise from different segments of the kidney.  Benign renal tumors are non-cancerous and rarely threatening to the patient while a malignant renal tumor, also known as renal cancer, has a more aggressive nature.  In 2007, there were an estimated 51,190 new cases of kidney cancer and 12,890 deaths due to kidney cancer in the United States.1 This represents 2% of all diagnosed cancers.2  

Hematuria

Author: Dr Brent Yanke Urologist West Orange New Jersey 2008-07-28
Hematuria: Blood in the Urine

KIDNEY ANATOMY AND FUNCTION

The kidneys are organs responsible for cleansing the blood of waste. Many byproducts of metabolic processes in the body build up in the bloodstream. A microscopic tubular system within the kidney filters the blood and removes these byproducts before they can accumulate to dangerous levels. Once blood enters the kidney, it is transported to a collection of small capillary vessels, called the glomerulus. As the blood passes through the glomerulus, the filtrated waste shifts to Bowman’s capsule, a pouch that surrounds the glomerulus and starts the tubular system. Kidney tissue is separated into two layers: the outer cortex and the inner medulla. Once the filtered waste passes through these layers, it reaches the renal papillae which project into the renal pelvis, an open space in the core of the kidney, where the urine collects. The urine then drains from the renal pelvis into the ureter and finally into the bladder. The kidneys and ureters comprise the upper urinary tract, while the bladder and urethra comprise the lower urinary tract (Figure 1).

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Hepatitis A

Author: Dr Norah Terrault University of California San Francisco 2008-07-14
Hepatitis A virus. CDC
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is the most common cause of acute hepatitis in the United States. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person contact and by ingestion of contaminated food and water. Acute infection with hepatitis A does not cause chronic infection but those who get hepatitis A and recover are protected from getting the infection again. A safe and effective vaccine is available to prevent infection.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis virus. PHIL
Author: Dr Norah Terrault University of California San Francisco 2008-07-22

Hepatitis B can cause both acute and chronic infection. Worldwide, there are approximately 350-400 million persons infected with chronic hepatitis B. Chronic hepatitis B infection cannot be cured, but it can be controlled. Several treatment options are available for those with chronic infection and treatment can prevent or even reverse the complications of liver disease. A safe and effective vaccine is available to protect individuals from getting hepatitis B.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis virus. PHIL
Author: Dr Norah Terrault University of California San Francisco 2008-07-23
Hepatitis C is a common cause of chronic liver disease both worldwide and in the U.S. Hepatitis C virus is transmitted through blood or blood-contaminated objects. Many individuals do not know they are infected. Most persons with chronic hepatitis C will be without any symptoms. Acute infection is followed by a chronic disease is the majority of those infected. Hepatitis C infection can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer after several decades of infection. Effective treatments are available.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Hypothyroidism

thyroxine-binding globulin with thyroxine (magenta)
Author: Dr Paul Fitzgerald University of California San Francisco 2008-07-19

Hypothyroidism is a condition where the body’s thyroid hormone levels are too low. Because nearly all cells in the body need thyroid hormone, insufficient levels can have a profound effect on a person’s health. While there is no known cure for hypothyroidism, treatment with thyroid hormone is an effective therapy.

Thyroiditis

Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Johns Hopkins
Author: Dr Paul W. Ladenson Johns Hopkins University 2008-06-10

1.
Introduction
Thyroiditis means inflammation of the thyroid gland, which is a butterfly shaped organ located in the lower front of the neck.  Thyroiditis can have many causes, including infections, drugs, radiation, and most commonly, a person’s own immune system.  Some forms of thyroid inflammation are common, such as autoimmune thyroiditis, while others, such Reidel thyroiditis, are very rare.

Hyperthyroidism

Author: Dr Paul W. Ladenson Johns Hopkins University 2008-06-10

1. Introduction
Hyperthyroidism refers to the effects on the body of thyroid hormone excess [see below.], a condition affecting 2% of adults during their lifetimes. Hyperthyroidism can be caused by a number of underlying conditions, some of which are short-lived and resolve spontaneously, and others that persist and progress unless treated definitively. Hyperthyroidism has widespread and disabling health consequences, but it is reversible with prompt diagnosis and treatment. When severe and untreated, however, hyperthyroidism can be life-threatening.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Goiter and thyroid nodules

Author: Dr Paul W. Ladenson Johns Hopkins University 2008-06-10


Enlargement of the thyroid (goiter) and lumps within it (nodules) are both relatively common findings that may be incidentally noted by people, their friends or family, or their doctor on routine examination.  They can also be found incidentally by imaging studies of the neck, such as a sonogramof the carotid arteries or a CT or MR of the spine. 

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Thyroid cancer

Author: Dr Paul W. Ladenson Johns Hopkins University 2008-06-10

Thyroid cancers are malignant tumors in the thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped organ draped around the front and sides of the windpipe (or trachea) in the lower neck. (Figure 1) There are several types of thyroid cancer, each with its own characteristics (Table 1); papillary thyroid cancer is by far the most common. Thyroid cancer occurs in women three times more often than men.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Bariatric surgery

Author: Dr John Maa University of California San Francisco 2008-07-29
Bariatric surgery: Overview on Weight Loss Surgery

Bariatric surgery
is a term for operations to help promote weight loss.
Search terms: obese, bariatric surgery, weight loss, surgery, gastric bypass, stomach stapling, overweight, laparoscopic banding

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Gallbladder disease

Author: Dr John Maa University of California San Francisco 2008-07-29
Gallbladder disease
: Symptoms, diagnosis, and intervention with cholecystectomy

Introduction

The gallbladder is a small, pear shaped organ adherent to the undersurface of the liver, whose purpose is to store bile produced by the liver to assist in digestion. While gallstones are very common, the majority of patients with gallstones are asymptomatic during their life, with only 1 to 2 % developing symptoms each year (1). The incidence of gallstones increases with age, and by the age of 70 approximately 20% of Americans have gallstones. Many patients are discovered at autopsy to have stones which were silent throughout their lifetime.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

locally produced serotonin breaks down the bone tissue

Serotonin, a well-known brain neurotransmitter, is produced locally in an unexpected place: the bone tissue. This has just been demonstrated by research scientists from the Combined "Bone and joints" research unit 606 (Inserm/Paris Diderot) working jointly with the biochemistry laboratory from the Lariboisière Hospital and the “Cytokines, hematopoiesis and immune response” laboratory (CNRS/University of Paris Descartes) at the Necker Hospital in Paris. Apparently, this locally produced serotonin breaks down the bone tissue. These results, published in the PNAS, suggest that medications that modulate the effects of serotonin, such as anti-depressants or migraine drugs, could in one way or the other modify the delicate balance between the formation and the destruction of bone in the organism.

Upper endoscopy (video)

Author: Dr Brian Fennerty Oregon Health and Science University 2008-03-13




Video of an upper endoscopy after the esophagus has been entered including the esophagus, stomach and duodenum: Intubation and normal esophagus

Normal colonoscopy (video)

Author: Dr Brian Fennerty Oregon Health and Science University 2008-03-13





Normal colonoscopy: a couple of small diverticuli (small cave like holes) are seen on the way in

Colonoscopy with diverticulosis and a polyp (video)

 Author: Dr Brian Fennerty Oregon Health and Science University 2008-03-13

Colonoscopy with diverticulosis and a polyp: Small colon polyp (redish bump) and many diverticuli (small outpouches in wall of the colon).

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Author: Dr Brian Fennerty Oregon Health and Science University 2008-07-28

I. Introduction to gastrointestinal endoscopy

 
Direct visualization of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract was largely limited to viewing the small section at the top of the digestive system, the esophagus (swallowing tube), and the very end part, the rectum, through rigid instruments using light shining down the shaft of the instrument. This remained the case until the development of flexible fiberoptic instruments in the 1960-70s that allowed light to bend with the instruments (endoscopes) so that organs beyond the very top and bottom of the gastrointestinal tract could now be reached and visualized, such as the whole colon, stomach, duodenum, and upper portion of the small intestine, the jejunum.

Safe sex

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Saturday, March 10, 2012

Vitamin B and omega-3 supplementation and cancer: new data

Researchers from the Nutritional Epidemiology Joint Research Unit (Inserm-Inra-Cnam-Université Paris 13) have just published a study showing that, in men with a previous history of cardiovascular pathologies, supplementation with B vitamins and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (the fatty acids present particularly in oily fish and dried fruit) did not significantly increase the occurrence of cancer. However, women with a previous history of cardiovascular pathologies seem to have a higher cancer risk after five years of supplementation. The research is published in detail in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Syphilis

Author: Dr H. Hunter Handsfield Clinical Professor of Medicine University of Washington 2008-10-20
Treponema pallidum bacteria. Source CDC

Syphilis is one of the five originally recognized venereal diseases, with gonorrhea and the now rare sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and Donovanosis (granuloma inguinale).  The causative organism, which belongs to a class of bacteria called spirochetes, is Treponema pallidum, one of the few important disease-causing organisms that still has not been successfully grown in the laboratory, significantly affecting diagnosis and impeding research. 

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Gonorrhea

Author: Dr H. Hunter Handsfield Clinical Professor of Medicine University of Washington 2008-07-28
Gonorrhea is one of the five originally recognized venereal diseases, along with syphilis and the now rare STDs chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and Donovanosis (also known as granuloma inguinale).  The name derives from the Greek “flow of seed”, reflecting ancient perceptions that spontaneous discharge of semen explained the main symptom in men.  The causative organism, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, also known as the gonococcus, was one of the first bacteria identified and characterized at the dawn of modern microbiology in the 19th century.  Among all infections routinely reported to health authorities in the United States, gonorrhea is the second most common, following genital chlamydial infections; 358,000 cases of gonorrhea were reported in 2006, although owing to incomplete diagnosis and reporting, the true total probably was twice as high. 

Gout

Author: Dr Theodore Fields Hospital for Special Surgery New York. 2011-02-27

Gout can be extremely painful and incapacitating but is extremely treatable in almost all patients. It’s important to identify and treat it early to avoid pain and complications.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Illegal Internet pharmacies target young audiences via social media

Illicit drugs are being ordered online via illegal Internet pharmacies, along with prescription medicines. The enterprises seem to target a young audience: