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Your body's immune system protects you from disease and infection. But if you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake. Autoimmune diseases can affect many parts of the body. No one is sure what causes autoimmune diseases. They do tend to run in families. Women - particularly African-American, Hispanic-American, and Native-American women - have a higher risk for some autoimmune diseases. There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases, and some have similar symptoms. This makes it hard for your health care provider to know if you really have one of these diseases, and if so, which one. Getting a diagnosis can be frustrating and stressful. Often, the first symptoms are fatigue, muscle aches and a low fever. The classic sign of an autoimmune disease is inflammation, which can cause redness, heat, pain and swelling. The diseases may also have flare-ups, when they get worse, and remissions, when symptoms get better or disappear. Treatment depends on the disease, but in most cases one important goal is to reduce inflammation. Sometimes doctors prescribe corticosteroids or other drugs that reduce your immune response.
Pediatric orthopedic surgeons at Columbia are using a new device with magnetic technology that avoids the need for multiple spine-lengthening surgeries to correct early-onset scoliosis, a severe curvature of the spine in young children. In April 2014, Michael Vitale, MD, the Ana Lucia Professor of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery at CUMC and 1995 graduate of P&S, performed the first procedure in the New York area, using the device to treat a 5-year-old boy. When braces and casts cannot control scoliosis in young children, surgeons turn to growing rods, which help correct the curve while allowing the spine to grow. When spinal maturity is near, the rods are removed and a spinal fusion can be performed. But during years of treatment with growing rods, patients must undergo surgery every six months to lengthen the rods to keep up with the patients’ growth. A patient may undergo eight to 10 procedures, which are costly and result in lost time for parents at work and children at school. The new device—MAGEC (MAGnetic Expansion Control) rods—contains a mechanism inside the growing rods that allows surgeons to lengthen the rods with a handheld external magnet, without surgery.
-Traumatic amputation of a body part requires rapid transport of the appendage, which should be wrapped in a saline-moistened gauze, placed in a plastic bag, and transported in a container filled with ice mixed with either saline or sterile water to best preserve the body part and attempt replantation.
Try these tips from top fertility experts to increase the odds you'll be prego ASAP…that is, if you want to be. Take Prenatal Vitamins. ... Try to Time It. ... Skip the Lube. ... Cut Back on Caffeine. ... Don't Increase Your Exercise Routine. ... Go Easy on the Alcohol. ... Try to Chill Out.
Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis B is transmitted when blood, semen, or another body fluid from a person infected with the Hepatitis B virus enters the body of someone who is not infected. This can happen through sexual contact; sharing needles, syringes, or other drug-injection equipment; or from mother to baby at birth. For some people, hepatitis B is an acute, or short-term, illness but for others, it can become a long-term, chronic infection. Risk for chronic infection is related to age at infection: approximately 90% of infected infants become chronically infected, compared with 2%–6% of adults. Chronic Hepatitis B can lead to serious health issues, like cirrhosis or liver cancer. The best way to prevent Hepatitis B is by getting vaccinated.
A modified radical mastectomy is a procedure in which the entire breast is removed, including the skin, areola, nipple, and most axillary lymph nodes; the pectoralis major muscle is spared. Historically, a modified radical mastectomy was the primary method of treatment of breast cancer. [1, 2] As the treatment of breast cancer evolved, breast conservation has become more widely used. [3, 4] However, mastectomy still remains a viable option for women with breast cancer. [5, 6]
Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a condition in which extra bone grows along one or both of the bones that form the hip joint — giving the bones an irregular shape. Because they do not fit together perfectly, the bones rub against each other during movement. Over time this friction can damage the joint, causing pain and limiting activity.
Portal hypertension is an increase in the blood pressure within a system of veins called the portal venous system. ... If the vessels in the liver are blocked due to liver damage, blood cannot flow properly through the liver. As a result, high pressure in the portal system develops
Antiphospholipid (AN-te-fos-fo-LIP-id) syndrome occurs when your immune system attacks some of the normal proteins in your blood. It can cause blood clots in your arteries or veins. And it can cause pregnancy complications, such as miscarriage and stillbirth. Blood clots in your leg veins cause a condition known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Damage from blood clots in your organs, such as your kidneys, lungs or brain, depends on the extent and location of the clot. For instance, a clot in your brain can cause a stroke. There's no cure for antiphospholipid syndrome, but medications can reduce your risk of blood clots.
Multicystic dysplastic kidney (MCDK) is a condition that results from the malformation of the kidney during fetal development. The kidney consists of irregular cysts of varying sizes. Multicystic dysplastic kidney is a common type of renal cystic disease, and it is a cause of an abdominal mass in infants.
These are a few common types of benign bone tumors: Osteochondroma is the most common benign bone tumor. ... Giant cell tumor is a benign tumor, typically affecting the leg (malignant types of this tumor are uncommon). Osteoid osteoma is a bone tumor, often occurring in long bones, that occurs commonly in the early 20s.
Ewing's sarcoma typically occurs in children and young adults. It often begins in the legs, bones of the pelvis, and arms. Bone pain, localized swelling, and tenderness are symptoms. In rare cases bone fractures may also be found. Treatments include chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation.