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Immunohistochemistry or IHC refers to the process of detecting antigens (e.g., proteins) in cells of a tissue section by exploiting the principle of antibodies binding specifically to antigens in biological tissues.[1] IHC takes its name from the roots "immuno," in reference to antibodies used in the procedure, and "histo," meaning tissue (compare to immunocytochemistry). Immunohistochemical staining is widely used in the diagnosis of abnormal cells such as those found in cancerous tumors. Specific molecular markers are characteristic of particular cellular events such as proliferation or cell death (apoptosis). IHC is also widely used in basic research to understand the distribution and localization of biomarkers and differentially expressed proteins in different parts of a biological tissue. Visualising an antibody-antigen interaction can be accomplished in a number of ways. In the most common instance, an antibody is conjugated to an enzyme, such as peroxidase, that can catalyse a colour-producing reaction. Alternatively, the antibody can also be tagged to a fluorophore, such as fluorescein or rhodamine
Cystic fibrosis is a disease passed down through families that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, digestive tract, and other areas of the body. It is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults. It is a life-threatening disorder.
M.Torabi Nami MD, PhDc Department of Neuroscience Institute for Cognitive Science Studies (ICSS), Tehran 15948 Iran Torabi_m@iricss.org Abstract Sleepiness, tiredness and fatigue are complaints which must be thoroughly analyzed to eliminate blur and ambiguity. Physiological sleepiness (“sleep pressure”) increases while being awake and additionally underlies the circadian rhythm with a lower threshold to fall asleep during night time. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is considered normal only after sleep deprivation. Clinically, EDS manifests by frequents daytime napping and/or reduced alertness with automatic behavior or - in its extreme form - in recurrent attacks of sudden, uncontrollable compulsion to sleep also in inappropriate situations (= “sleep attacks”). EDS is “objectively” addressed by measuring the mean sleep latency to four to five nap opportunities throughout the day using the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) or the maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT). EDS denotes both, a ready entrance into sleep as well as difficulty in staying awake during daytime or accordingly in inappropriate situations. These two partially independent aspects of EDS are separately assessed by the “passive” MSLT and the “active” MWT respectively. For that reason the MSLT and MWT only weakly correlate with each other when tested over a broad range of patients with EDS. It is important to keep in mind, that these tests are importantly influenced by a great variety of factors such as mood, anxiety, and motivation. “Vigilance” comprises wakefulness, alertness and attention and therefore is more than just the reciprocal to sleepiness. Cognitive performance tasks such as Steer Clear Reaction Time Test (SCRTT) or driving simulators require the complete integrity of vigilance to achieve normal results. Hypersomnia is usually broadly defined as the combination of abnormally prolonged night-time sleep (regularly >10 h) with EDS during ≥1 months. On the other hand, the term hypersomnia has also been used in a narrower scene for the isolated abnormality of a prolonged night-time sleep need (>10 h). “Tiredness”, also in colloquial language often used for sleepiness, in a broader sense also describes the feeling of lack of energy, motivation and initiative. These patients seek rest rather than sleep. They often cannot fall asleep when given the opportunity in spite of feeling tired, and hence, in an MSLT, do not show an abnormally short sleep latency. Furthermore, tiredness (and fatigue) as opposed to sleepiness has a mental (“central”) and physiological (bodily or “peripheral”) component, which the patients can readily distinguish. Patients with insomnia, mild sleep apnea syndrome, or depression rather suffer from mental tiredness than sleepiness during the day. The simple subjective self-assessment using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) quite reliably differentiates between sleepiness and mental tiredness (without sleepiness), which makes it a widely used test. The term “fatigue” is also heterogeneously used. In physiology the “fatigue” implied a “time on task performance decrement” to describe decreasing muscle force during a sustained physical effort. In clinical medicine one distinguishes physical (“peripheral”) from mental (“central”) fatigue and the term usually denotes a chronic and more abnormal situation than tiredness. In a broad sense “fatigue” implies a deficiency in coping satisfactorily with mental and physical work load. The chronic fatigue syndrome entails both mental as well as a physical fatigue (so called “leaden paralysis” of limbs). Depressive states are often associated with insomnia and fatigue, but there are also cases with hypersomnia rather than insomnia ( non organic hypersomnia , “atypical depression” or “hypersom
LBD is not a rare disease. It affects an estimated 1.4 million individuals and their families in the United States. Because LBD symptoms can closely resemble other more commonly known diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, it is currently widely underdiagnosed. Many doctors or other medical professionals still are not familiar with LBD. LBD is an umbrella term for two related diagnoses. LBD refers to both Parkinson’s disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. The earliest symptoms of these two diseases differ, but reflect the same underlying biological changes in the brain. Over time, people with both diagnoses will develop very similar cognitive, physical, sleep, and behavioral symptoms. While it may take more than a year or two for enough symptoms to develop for a doctor to diagnose LBD, it is critical to pursue a formal diagnosis. Early diagnosis allows for important early treatment that may extend quality of life and independence. LBD is a multisystem disease and typically requires a comprehensive treatment approach. This approach involves a team of physicians from different specialties who collaborate to provide optimum treatment of each symptom without worsening other LBD symptoms. Many people with LBD enjoy significant improvement of their symptoms with a comprehensive approach to treatment, and some can have remarkably little change from year to year. Some people with LBD are extremely sensitive or may react negatively to certain medications used to treat Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s in addition to certain over-the-counter medications.
Asplenia is the absence of spleen and/or its functions. Abnormalities of the spleen may be classified on a pattern oriented approach, based on splenic imaging.[1] These include anomalies of the following: Shape (clefts, notches, lobules) Location (wandering spleen) Number (asplenia, polysplenia) Size (splenomegaly, atrophy) Solitary lesions (cysts, lymphangiomas, hemangiomas, hamartomas) Multiple lesions (trauma, infections, neoplasms, storage disorders) Diffuse disease (infarction, heavy metal deposition, peliosis) Absence of splenic tissue can be total (congenital asplenia) or partial (hypoplastic) from birth. Loss of splenic tissue due to surgical removal may occur later in life as a result of trauma that causes rupture of the organ. The spleen may be removed in other conditions (eg, hemoglobinopathies) to improve the red cell life expectancy. Removal of the spleen may be undertaken as a result of being involved in a neoplastic processor as a staging procedure in some cancers. Occasionally, the spleen may be removed to address the sheer mass effect of a massive enlargement (such as in storage disorders), which can cause mass effects. Autosplenectomy is the process where the spleen loses its function due to multiple and repeated infarctive episodes, as in sickle hemoglobinopathies. See the image below.
Diabetes, often referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus, describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Patients with high blood sugar will typically experience polyuria (frequent urination), they will become increasingly thirsty (polydipsia) and hungry (polyphagia).