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Dysmenorrhea, or chronic menstrual pain, is the most common gynecological pain condition, affecting from 45% to 95% of menstruating women. But because it is commonly considered a normal aspect of the menstrual cycle,
Emphysema gradually damages the air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs, making you progressively more short of breath. Emphysema is one of several diseases known collectively as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Smoking is the leading cause of emphysema. Your lungs' alveoli are clustered like bunches of grapes. In emphysema, the inner walls of the air sacs weaken and eventually rupture — creating one larger air space instead of many small ones. This reduces the surface area of the lungs and, in turn, the amount of oxygen that reaches your bloodstream. When you exhale, the damaged alveoli don't work properly and old air becomes trapped, leaving no room for fresh, oxygen-rich air to enter. Treatment may slow the progression of emphysema, but it can't reverse the damage.
Acute bronchitis and pneumonia share many of the same symptoms, and some people with acute bronchitis are at risk for getting pneumonia. Although acute bronchitis usually goes away within a few weeks, pneumonia can be a serious condition, especially in older adults. The following table outlines some differences between acute bronchitis and pneumonia. There are variations in symptoms of both conditions, so if you think you might have pneumonia, always check with your doctor.
How do you make a working human heart? Scientists can turn stem cells into beating heart cells, but getting them to organize into a 3D heart requires a scaffold. At the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Harald Ott and his team are reusing the scaffold that nature provides. They’re stripping away all the living cells from dead hearts, before filling in the leftover matrix with healthy new cells. In this video, Brendan Maher finds out how the technique could be used to develop parts of the heart, like the aortic root and valve, for transplant.
If you have been diagnosed with a bulging disc, you are not alone. Bulging discs, also known as a disc protrusion, are a very common occurrence. They usually remain asymptomatic; however, they can cause discomfort and disability in various parts of the body if the disc compresses an adjacent nerve root or the spinal cord. As we age, the outer fibrous portion of our discs can weaken. Pressure from the central core of the disc can then stretch to the outer rim, causing the disc to bulge. If left untreated, the disc can continue to bulge until it tears, which is classified as a herniated disc.