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People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may have an increased risk of certain types of cancers. Researchers have tried to answer questions about RA and breast cancer risk looking at two factors: Does the disease itself raise breast cancer risk, and do the drugs and treatments for RA (like Enbrel and Humira) raise breast cancer risk? Several studies shed some light. Rheumatoid Arthritis and Breast Cancer Risk While rheumatoid arthritis does increase the risk of certain cancers, breast cancer is not among them....

The group of pulmonary issues collectively defined as rheumatoid lung disease are, as the name suggests, the result of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Lung damage is common in RA, with more than half of patients having some abnormal lung function. About one in 10 will develop rheumatoid lung disease, which can involve airway blockage, fluid in the chest, lung scarring, and other concerns. Rheumatoid lung disease worsens with time and the lung damage it causes is irreversible, so addressing the condition’s symptoms and slowing its progression are critical....

Russell-Silver syndrome (RSS) is a type of growth disorder usually accompanied by distinctive facial features, and often by asymmetric limbs. It is sometimes also called Silver-Russell syndrome or Silver-Russell dwarfism. Babies with this condition typically have difficulty feeding and growing. Although adolescents and adults with Russell-Silver syndrome will be shorter than average, most people with RSS will live full, productive lives. Russell-Silver syndrome affects all genders and people of all ethnic backgrounds....

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter and a hormone that helps regulate a lot of your bodily functions. Melatonin controls the entire sleep/wake cycle, while serotonin is involved more specifically in wakefulness, triggering sleep, and REM sleep. Melatonin helps you fall asleep, while serotonin helps you wake up feeling refreshed. A growing pool of research suggests that people with fibromyalgia (FMS) may have low levels of serotonin or low serotonin activity. Experts are split, however, as to whether serotonin levels are high or low in people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS)....

There are several reasons for having a swollen eyeball. Swelling around the eye can be caused by many things, including: Inflammation that impacts the eyelid and tissues around the eyesAllergiesA black eyeCellulitis Proptosis, also known as exophthalmos, is the protrusion of the eyeball from the socket. This can be caused by a blood clot, the expansion of orbital bones, or inflammation. There are different causes and treatments for a swollen eyeball, which we will review below....

If you have Parkinson’s disease, you may feel that one of the few benefits of PD is weight loss, but that’s not necessarily true. Weight loss may be a “red flag” indicating more severe disease since those who experience weight loss have been found to have a faster worsening of their disease statistically. There are many theories about the origin of weight loss for people with Parkinson’s disease. Some believe a loss of smell, which can affect appetite, leads to weight loss as well as increased energy expenditure and fat burning due to tremors and dyskinesias, which are involuntary movements induced by levodopa....

What happens if the bad plastic surgery outcome you see isn’t displayed on the latest tabloid, but rather in the mirror? Here are steps you can take if your expectations for plastic surgery are not related to your outcome. Fascination With Bad Plastic Surgery Outcomes Bad plastic surgery fascinates us. We look on in wonder as Hollywood’s royalty evolve into impossibly smooth, ridiculously tight wax figures of themselves, and we can’t stop talking about it....

If you’re taking a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or another type of inflammatory arthritis that such a drug is indicated for, you should know that these medications all work a little differently. Try not to be discouraged if the first (or second) TNF blocker you take doesn’t do enough to alleviate your symptoms and improve your functionality. This is not uncommon. Luckily, there is an array of other TNF blockers that your healthcare provider can recommend....

A Bankart tear is a specific injury to a part of the shoulder joint called the labrum. The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint, similar to the hip; however, the socket of the shoulder joint is extremely shallow and thus inherently unstable. Being unstable means that the shoulder can more easily come out of the socket. To compensate for the shallow socket, the shoulder joint has a cuff of cartilage called a labrum that forms a deeper socket for the ball of the top of the arm bone (humerus) to move within....

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a type of leukemia that mostly affects children, although it can affect adults as well. It is also referred to as acute lymphocytic or acute lymphoid leukemia. ALL affects immature lymphocytes—a type of white blood cell—known as blasts. Overview ALL is actually the most common cancer in children, responsible for around 25% of childhood cancers. More than 5,000 people develop ALL each year in the United States, with around 1,500 deaths, though more than 75% of those who die are adults....

Ambien, or zolpidem, is a commonly prescribed medication that is used as a sleeping pill to treat insomnia. There are a handful of common side effects, but how can Ambien affect your memory and cause amnesia? Is there a risk of long-term memory problems like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? Does it lead to sleepwalking or sleep eating episodes? What are the other common side effects of Ambien use? How might this work?...

People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have symptoms, including joint pain and fatigue, that come and go. When a person with rheumatoid arthritis feels better and symptoms are under control, it is called clinical remission, or simply, RA remission. Periods of remission can make a person feel like their RA is gone—at least for a short time. Defining Remission Remission means that your disease is no longer active. Spontaneous remission in RA is rare....

The quality of life for someone who is living with Alzheimer’s disease or another kind of dementia might strike you as improbable. You may wonder how anyone who struggles with memory loss and word-finding ability could have a good quality of life. However, there are many people with dementia who feel differently. They live life with a laugh and a mischievous twinkle in their eyes, or a contented smile on their lips....

Chickenpox (varicella) is a very contagious viral infection. It causes an itchy rash that eventually spreads all over the body. Chickenpox is more common in children than adults. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chickenpox is far less common than it used to be. This is largely thanks to the varicella vaccine, introduced in 1996. It helps prevent more than 3.5 million cases of the contagious disease each year in the United States....

Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare type of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) that develops when your immune system attacks and destroys your red blood cells. The most common cause of AIHA is due to a warm autoantibody. This means that the antibody attaches to the red blood cell at warm (body) temperature. As the name suggests, CAD occurs secondary to a cold autoantibody, meaning that the antibody attaches when the red blood cell is exposed to colder temperatures, typically in the hands, feet, and nose....

The ankle joint is a complex junction of three bones known as the fibula, tibia, and talus. The tibia is commonly referred to as the shin bone, while the fibula is the thinner leg bone adjacent to it. The talus, meanwhile, is the bone situated between the tibia, fibula, and heel which forms the primary connection between the lower leg and foot and is vital for mobility and balance. Because the ankle is vulnerable to twists and compression, the fracture of these bones is not uncommon and can sometimes be difficult to treat....

Performing squats with a wall behind you can be great for your posture as well as your core stability. And that’s also good for your back! Wall squats work your hip muscles, and strong, flexible hips tend to translate to a well-supported spine. In other words, the power you’re able to generate in quadriceps, hamstrings, and outer and inner thighs by doing wall squats may provide a modicum of injury prevention to your low back....

Eye strain is caused by using your eyes for a long time to focus on something, such as when using a computer or smartphone screen, reading a book, driving, or doing close-up work such as sewing. It is not serious, but it can be annoying. Eye strain also can occur if you have trouble seeing something due to a vision problem and your eyes are working extra hard to see clearly....

Engraftment in stem cell transplantation is when your body accepts the transplanted bone marrow or stem cells, and they begin to produce new blood cells and immune system cells. It is a step in a successful stem cell transplant. How Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplants Work Blood cancers may be treated by killing your bone marrow and stem cells with radiation or chemotherapy to destroy the cancerous cells. People with other types of cancer may also need a stem cell transplant because of the effects of radiation or chemotherapy....

Perimenopause is the natural decline in reproductive hormones a woman experiences when she reaches her 40s or 50s. And irregular bleeding can be a common byproduct of this shift in hormone levels. It’s important to understand, however, that not all menstrual problems are caused by perimenopause or menopause. Normal vs Abnormal Bleeding You will likely experience changes in your menstrual cycle during perimenopause. Your periods may be either shorter or longer....