Inflammation, stiffness and pain in the lower back or neck can be caused by osteoarthritis of the spine. The term, degenerative disc disease (DDD) is another way of referring to osteoarthritis of the spine. Aging causes changes in the bone...
Hypertension is an insidious disease. Patients can have hypertension and not know it until something severe, such as a stroke or heart attack, happens. Blood pressure is determined by the resistance that the heart must pump against and the amount...
Bacterial vaginosis is the most common vaginal infection in women of childbearing age. Symptoms, when present, are usually mild. If the infection is not treated, BV may lead to complications including infertility, preterm labor, postoperative...
Hydrochlorothiazide, often abbreviated HCTZ, is the most frequently prescribed diuretic, or "water pill" in the United States. According to the National Institutes of Health, it's considered first-line therapy in the treatment of hypertension, or...
According to the American Heart Association, high cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease that may be managed with exercise and lifestyle modification. Standard guidelines established by both the American Heart Association and the...
According to "The 5-Minute Clinical Consult" textbook, 8 to 12 million people are affected by peripheral artery disease (PAD) or occlusive disease of the legs. Patients are predominately male and over the age of forty. There is a mortality rate...
Most babies have some degree of reflux, which is the involuntary passage of stomach content back into the esophagus. A group of babies will develop gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), where they'll have symptoms of pain, colic-like crying,...
Bedwetting is also known as enuresis, which is the involuntary urination into a bed at the age when toilet training is normally finished. According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 5 million children in the United States continue to...
Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a serious systematic allergic reaction in which the sufferer’s skin dies from a drug reaction, causing the epidermis to separate from the dermis. Typically, Stevens-Johnson syndrome starts with flu-like symptoms,...
Sinus cavities, the hollow spaces found in the face, are normally free of bacteria, but discomforts such as congestion can allow bacteria to invade and reproduce. The result is called a sinus infection or sinusitis. According to the University of...
Lung cancer occurs when cells in one or both lungs become abnormal and grow without control and form a tumor. The overgrowth of abnormal cells can begin anywhere in the lungs with consequential reduction of the lung capacity or blockage of the...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, colorectal cancer originates in the colon or rectum and is sometimes referred to simply as colon cancer. Men and women of all races and ethnic groups are susceptible to colorectal...
Congestive heart failure affects 4.8 million people in the United States and there are half a million new cases annually, according to the "5-Minute Clinical Consult." Congestive heart failure is a disease that occurs when the heart can no longer...
The prostate, which is a walnut-shaped gland at the base of the penis, can be infected by bacteria. This can cause pain in the groin region and make urination difficult. The treatment of bacterial prostatitis focuses on clearing up the underlying...
Diet-controlled diabetes is a term used to describe a person who has type 2 diabetes that can be managed through careful monitoring of food intake, without the use of medications or insulin. While changes in diet can help to keep diabetes in...
Head lice are parasitic insects that live close to the scalp and feed on human blood. Although they do not spread disease, people with head lice are often uncomfortable and embarrassed by the condition. People can treat lice at home, but should...
Neuropathic pain, or pain that is caused by damaged nerves, is a difficult problem to manage. Patients with neuropathic pain have nerve damage because of poor circulation, diabetes, HIV neuropathy, phantom limb pain and post herpetic neuralgia....
According to the American Diabetes Association, gestational diabetes, or diabetes acquired during pregnancy affects 4 percent of all pregnant women. Gestational diabetes can cause a woman to have a very large baby who may have very low blood...
The thyroid gland synthesizes and secretes hormones that are responsible for regulating energy production, metabolic rate, and body heat production, among other things. Therefore, people with low thyroid hormone levels often experience fatigue,...
Vitamin B-6 is one of the eight water-soluble B vitamins. Over 100 chemical reactions in the body require this vitamin, stated by the Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin B-6 is particularly important in protein metabolism and the making of...
There are three components to your total cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein), LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and triglycerides (a type of fat). HDL is called "good cholesterol" because it is believed to help remove cholesterol from the body...
Severe acne produces deep cysts, pain and inflammation, and can result in skin damage and scars. Topical and oral treatments decrease oil production, reduce inflammation, eliminate bacteria, increase the shedding of dead skin cells that clog...
More than one in four deaths occurs because of heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. Every year approximately...
Doxycycline has been around since the 1960s. It's called a broad spectrum antibiotic because it effectively treats many different bacterial infections. Once they enter your body, bacteria reproduce by manufacturing protein. Doxycycline invades...
High cholesterol levels increase the odds of heart attack, stroke and vascular disease. There is an abundance of medications available to lower cholesterol. Several different classes of drugs have varying potency and effects on the lipid profile,...
Patients with nerve damage due to poor circulation, diabetes, HIV and herpes have pain that is difficult to manage. Many of these patients use narcotics that do not provide them with the relief they are seeking. There are other medications that...
Coenzyme Q10, also called Co Q10 or ubiquinone, is an enzyme found in mitochondria that plays an important role in producing energy in all human cells. Cell culture and laboratory studies have found that coenzyme Q10 may be useful in managing some...
Seizures--also called convulsions--occur when abnormal electrical signals in the brain cause simultaneous activity in the nerve cells. Epilepsy and other conditions such as brain infections and diseases that affect brain metabolism can cause...
Arimidex is a brand name for the drug anastrozole, which belongs to a group of aromatase inhibitor drugs. These drugs are used to treat some types of breast cancer. Because aromatase inhibitors interfere with estrogen production, they are only...
