Most men know that women’s fertility declines after the age of 35, but many men are not aware that their age can affect their ability to become a parent, too. While less is known about male fertility and age, there is evidence that the older a man becomes, the more his fertility diminishes. You can’t change your age, but you can arm yourself with the knowledge to improve your chances of successfully having a family....
If you are diagnosed with a pheochromocytoma, surgery to remove this type of tumor is the preferred course of treatment. Other treatment options include home remedies (used to lessen side effects), chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. This article will review the treatment options for pheochromocytomas. Lifestyle/Home Remedies The symptoms from pheochromocytomas are episodic, meaning they come and go without warning. You may experience a rise in blood pressure, increased sweating, or your heart rate may go up....
Stroke is an emergency and requires immediate medical attention. The best treatments available for stroke, such as tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), are most effective the sooner they are given, and after a few hours, they may no longer be useful at all. For this reason, it’s critical that you recognize the symptoms of stroke and go to an emergency room immediately if you suspect you’re having one. Symptoms of a Stroke Stroke symptoms begin suddenly, and can include any of the following:...
Also known as compliance and exercise compliance, exercise adherence is a term used to describe how well a patient or client is sticking to: Their home exercise programTheir gym programThe recommendations made to them by their health professional or personal trainerOther directions related to exercise that is given by a health provider. Achieving Adherence When you know you have certain things that must be done in order to get your life back, and/or to reduce pain to a level you can tolerate, you may need some “best practices” to help that along....
Many people with cystic fibrosis have either a G-tube, J-tube, or GJ-tube, a tube in their abdomen, to help them maintain adequate nutrition. Getting adjusted to your feeding tube can take time, so it’s important to make sure you are prepared. If you have a feeding tube or take care of someone with a feeding tube, there are several things you should know that will help keep things running smoothly....
We have heard for decades that a high blood level of cholesterol is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis, and thus for heart attacks and strokes. We have also heard for decades that, in order to help keep our cholesterol levels down, we should be avoiding high-cholesterol foods in our diets. And, most specifically, we have been told that eating too many eggs is bad for us. But, in February 2015, Americans heard the startling news that the government’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee voted to end its longstanding recommendation that we avoid foods high in cholesterol....
A recent pilot study found that repeatedly listening to familiar music can help people with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease. The study used music that participants had known for a long time and that was important to them. Repeatedly hearing the songs produced changes in mental function and structures within the brain. Key Takeaways According to a recent pilot study, regularly listening to music that is familiar and meaningful created changes in both the structure and function of the brains of people with mild cognitive impairment....
Dwarfism occurs when a person has a short stature. It usually results in an adult height of four feet, 10 inches or shorter. For children, this means being below the height growth curve for their age. This would be less than the third percentile, meaning that 97% of children are taller at the same age. The terms usually preferred by people with this condition are “short-statured” or “little person” rather than “dwarf....
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments of the knee. Injuries to the ACL are one of the most common sports injuries and can be season-ending. New research is investigating ways to prevent ACL injuries in an effort to avoid lost time from sports and competition. Stability of the knee is dependent on different factors. The two most important are the static and the dynamic stabilizers of the knee....
Taking medications correctly is an important aspect of treatment for any illness, but when there are multiple pills to take at different times of the day, it can become confusing, especially for people with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s or another kind of dementia. Some medications are ordered for three times a day, while others are taken on some days and not taken on other days. Since many people are on several medications, a pill dispensing system can often be helpful....
An emerging treatment for cancers affecting the blood and immune system, such as multiple myeloma (MM) and lymphoma, proteasome inhibitors are pharmaceutical drugs that work by inhibiting protein function. This class of medication stops the activity of proteasome, a protein associated with digesting unusable cellular waste products, which in turn can kill the cancer cells. Often used in conjunction with other medications, there are three such drugs currently in use: Velcade (bortezomib), Krypolis (carfilzomib), and Ninlaro (ixazomib)....
Shortness of breath is a common symptom that may come on rapidly or gradually. If you are experiencing shortness of breath, that does not mean you should necessarily be worried about lung cancer or serious conditions such as heart disease—but you should see your doctor as soon as you can. There are many causes of shortness of breath, and they are treatable. You will need to talk to your doctor, have a physical examination, and probably diagnostic tests to learn why you are short of breath....
Without potassium, we could not live. The electrolyte is responsible for a number of essential life functions. Not only is potassium responsible for regulating water balance in the body, it keeps the heart pumping, the muscles contracting, the gut digesting, and your nerves firing. That said, too much of a good thing can be harmful. High potassium, medically known as hyperkalemia, is a common laboratory finding. The diagnosis is made when levels in the blood are greater than 5....
Stargardt’s disease is the most common form of juvenile macular degeneration, affecting one in 10,000 children in the United States. Named for Karl Stargardt, a German ophthalmologist, the disease affects both eyes and develops sometime between the ages of 5 and early adulthood. In Stargardt’s disease, there is a genetic defect that causes the photoreceptors of the eye to die. Vision loss begins slowly and then rapidly progresses, affecting central vision so severely that it causes an affected person to become legally blind while preserving peripheral vision....
Treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease are limited, but new research suggests that medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may treat certain symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Key Takeaways Researchers suggested that ADHD medications may alleviate some symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.The drugs specifically helped improve cognition and apathy in Alzheimer’s patients.Repurposing drugs could speed up the approval process and reduce the costs of having to develop an entirely new medication. An analysis published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry reviewed 19 clinical trials on the use of noradrenergic drugs—often used to treat anxiety, depression, and ADHD—in people with neurodegenerative disease....
On June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States voted (7 to 2) to dismiss a suit brought by Texas and several other states to find the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional. Key Takeaways The U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.The case was the third to reach the Supreme Court since the act was passed into law in 2010....
Have you found that your IBS is very different from your friend’s IBS? Or that the stories you read about on the Internet don’t always sound like your life? That is because IBS can show up in so many different ways — causing dramatically different symptoms from one person to another. What all types of IBS have in common is the experience of chronic bowel movement problems. Official diagnostic guidelines also require the symptom of chronic abdominal pain, but in the real world, doctors tend to give the diagnosis of IBS to anyone who is experiencing problems associated with their intestines that cannot be attributed to a visible disease process, such as one of the inflammatory bowel diseases....
Psoriasis has been linked to higher rates of certain mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. Psychotherapy (talk therapy) can be useful to help cope with these conditions during psoriasis treatment. Therapy can also improve symptoms of psoriasis itself. Read on to learn more about how therapy can help psoriasis patients. How Psoriasis Impacts Mental Health Research shows that psoriasis is associated with higher rates of: Generalized anxiety disorder Social anxiety disorder Depression Schizophrenia Suicidal Ideation These are likely due to both environmental and biological factors....
Waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom is not a good experience. Once you get to sleep, the last thing you need is a full bladder waking you up. For some people, these awakenings may even make it difficult to fall back asleep, and this may be a symptom of insomnia. How can you decrease the need to urinate at night? Fortunately, there are a few changes that you can make that will help you to stay asleep and, if you do awaken, fall back asleep more easily....
Rasuvo (methotrexate), a single‑dose autoinjector containing the prescription drug methotrexate, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 11, 2014. Rasuvo, manufactured by Medac, Pharma, Inc. is an easy-to-use alternative to oral methotrexate or the vial-and-syringe injectable form. Indications Rasuvo is approved for the management of patients with severe, active rheumatoid arthritis and polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis who had an inadequate response to first-line therapy or were intolerant....
