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Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare blood disorder characterized by clotting in small blood vessels of the body (thromboses), resulting in a low platelet count. In its full-blown form, the disease consists of the pentad of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenic purpura, neurologic abnormalities, fever, and renal disease
Overactive bladder syndrome is common. Symptoms include an urgent feeling to go to the toilet, going to the toilet frequently and sometimes leaking urine before you can get to the toilet (urge incontinence). Treatment with bladder training often cures the problem. Sometimes medication may be advised in addition to bladder training to relax the bladder.
Wound healing is the process by which skin or other body tissue repairs itself after trauma. ... This process is divided into predictable phases: blood clotting (hemostasis), inflammation, tissue growth (proliferation) and tissue remodeling (maturation).
Shoulder dystocia is a rare emergency that can happen during the end of the second stage of labour. It's all to do with how your baby moves down through your vagina and out into the world. Shoulder dystocia happens when your baby's head has been born, but one of her shoulders becomes stuck.
6 987 24 MORE How Does Anesthesia Work? Credit: itsmejust | Shutterstock If you’ve ever had surgery, unless you are super tough, you’ve gone through it with the benefit of anesthetics. But, how do these body-numbing elixirs work? Prior to the invention of anesthesia in the mid-1800s, surgeons had to hack off limbs, sew up wounds and remove mysterious growths with nothing to dull the patient's pain but opium or booze. While these drugs may have numbed the patient, they didn’t always completely block the pain, or erase the memory of it. Since then, doctors have gotten much better at putting us out with drug combinations that ease pain, relax muscles and, in some cases, put us in a deep state of hypnosis that gives us temporary amnesia. Today, there are two primary types of anesthesia drugs: those that knockout the whole body (general) and those that only numb things up locally.
Natural painkiller found in human spit. Compound in saliva could be more powerful than morphine. A new painkilling substance has been discovered that is up to six times more potent than morphine when tested in rats — and it's produced naturally by the human body.
A facet joint injection is a relatively simple, straightforward procedure, and is usually performed in an office based procedure suite or in an ambulatory surgical center. As with many spinal injections, facet joint injections are best performed using fluoroscopy (live X-ray) for guidance to properly target and place the needle (and to help avoid nerve injury or other injury).
Pericardiocentesis is the aspiration of fluid from the pericardial space that surrounds the heart. This procedure can be life saving in patients with cardiac tamponade, even when it complicates acute type A aortic dissection and when cardiothoracic surgery is not available. [1] Cardiac tamponade is a time sensitive, life-threatening condition that requires prompt diagnosis and management. Historically, the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade has been based on clinical findings. Claude Beck, a cardiovascular surgeon, described 2 triads of clinical findings that he found associated with acute and chronic cardiac tamponade. The first of these triads consisted of hypotension, an increased venous pressure, and a quiet heart. It has come to be recognized as Beck's triad, a collection of findings most commonly produced by acute intrapericardial hemorrhage. Subsequent studies have shown that these classic findings are observed in only a minority of patients with cardiac tamponade. [2] The detection of pericardial fluid has been facilitated by the development and continued improvement of echocardiography. [3] Cardiac ultrasound is now accepted as the criterion standard imaging modality for the assessment of pericardial effusions and the dynamic findings consistent with cardiac tamponade. With echocardiography, the location of the effusion can be identified, the size can be estimated (small, medium, or large), and the hemodynamic effects can be examined by assessing for abnormal septal motion, right atrial or right ventricular inversion, and decreased respiratory variation of the diameter of the inferior vena cava.
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) is a hereditary condition associated with three primary types of tumors: medullary thyroid cancer, parathyroid tumors, and pheochromocytoma. MEN2 is classified into three subtypes based on clinical features. MEN2A, which affects 60% to 90% of MEN2 families Medullary thyroid cancer: 98% to 100% with MEN2A are affected Pheochromocytoma, a typically benign (noncancerous) tumor of the adrenal glands: 50% with MEN2A affected Parathyroid adenoma (benign tumor) or hyperplasia, meaning increased size, of the parathyroid gland: 5% to 10% with MEN2A affected MEN2B, which affects 5% of MEN2 families Medullary thyroid cancer: 98% to 100% with MEN2B affected Pheochromocytoma: 50% with MEN2B affected Mucosal neuromas, which is a benign tumor of nerve tissue on the tongue, lips and throughout the gastrointestinal tract: 95% to 98% affected Digestive problems caused by disordered nerves in the gastrointestinal tract: 75% to 90% affected Muscle, joint, and spinal problems: 95% affected Typical facial features, including swollen lips and thick eyelids: 75% to 90% affected Familial medullary thyroid cancer (FMTC), which affects 5% to 35% of MEN2 families Medullary thyroid carcinoma only Sources: Gagel RF, Marx SJ. “Multiple endocrine neoplasia.” Williams Textbook of Endocrinology, Chapter 40, 11th ed., Philadelphia, 2008, and Eng C, Clayton D, et al. Grubbs EG, Gagel RF. My, How Things Have Changed in Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2A! J Clin Endocrinol Metab 100(7):2532-5, 7/2015. PMID: 26151398. What causes MEN2? MEN2 is a genetic condition. This means that the cancer risk and other features of MEN2 can be passed from generation to generation in a family. The gene associated with MEN2 is called RET. A mutation (alteration) in the RET gene gives a person an increased risk of developing medullary thyroid cancer and other tumors associated with MEN2.
Alcohol not broken down by the liver goes to the rest of the body, including the brain. Alcohol can affect parts of the brain that control movement, speech, judgment, and memory. These effects lead to the familiar signs of drunkenness: difficulty walking, slurred speech, memory lapses, and impulsive behavior.
Impaired awareness of illness (anosognosia) is a major problem because it is the single largest reason why individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder do not take their medications. It is caused by damage to specific parts of the brain, especially the right hemisphere.
Super Obese individuals (people with a Body Mass Index over 45) have an increased risk during any surgery. And the longer the time under anesthesia, the greater the risk. Gastric bypass surgery can last over 2 hours. Duodenal switch surgery often takes over 4 hours. That’s a long time to be under anesthesia.
Niemann-Pick disease is a condition that affects many body systems. It has a wide range of symptoms that vary in severity. Niemann-Pick disease is divided into four main types: type A, type B, type C1, and type C2. These types are classified on the basis of genetic cause and the signs and symptoms of the condition. Infants with Niemann-Pick disease type A usually develop an enlarged liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly) by age 3 months and fail to gain weight and grow at the expected rate (failure to thrive). The affected children develop normally until around age 1 year when they experience a progressive loss of mental abilities and movement (psychomotor regression). Children with Niemann-Pick disease type A also develop widespread lung damage (interstitial lung disease) that can cause recurrent lung infections and eventually lead to respiratory failure. All affected children have an eye abnormality called a cherry-red spot, which can be identified with an eye examination. Children with Niemann-Pick disease type A generally do not survive past early childhood.