Potassium is an electrolyte that is essential for full body functioning. It ensures that your heart, lungs, muscles and a variety of other organ systems work properly. If your body does do not have enough potassium -- a condition called...
Leg paralysis is a total loss of movement in one or both of the lower extremities because of injury or disease. The damage that is present is applied to the specific nerves that supply power to the leg muscles. Specifically, nerve damage resulting...
Bilateral weakness in the leg muscles can be as mild as a generalized feeling of fatigue in your legs or as extreme as complete paralysis. Bilateral weakness indicates a problem in your central nervous system -- in your brain, spinal cord or...
Potassium is a mineral that helps maintain fluid and electrolyte balance in the body. Potassium is also responsible for proper heart function and the contraction of muscles. Potassium is in a variety of foods, including meats, some fish, fruits,...
Potassium, an electrolyte, is important for proper cell, tissue and organ function. Potassium is obtained from eating foods that are high in potassium, such as meats, fruits, beans and potatoes. Low levels of potassium in the blood, known as...
The nutrient potassium supports the function of muscle and nerve cells. The amount of potassium in the body is regulated by the kidneys. Low potassium, or hypokalemia, occurs when the level of potassium in the blood is insufficient to support the...
Potassium is a mineral found inside body cells. Potassium is essential to maintaining proper function of all cells, tissues and organs in the human body. Low potassium in the blood is a metabolic condition, clinically known as hypokalemia. It can...
Potassium is an essential electrolyte that is needed for normal function of the heart, kidneys, muscles, nerves and digestive system, according to the National Institutes of Health. Most people maintain a healthy balance of potassium in their...
Potassium is an essential dietary mineral and electrolyte. As a mineral, potassium is required for proper metabolism of carbohydrates. As an electrolyte, or ion, potassium is able to conduct electricity, maintaining a current across the membrane...
According to a study done on West Nile virus, about 80 percent of those who are exposed to the disease will not develop an infection. You may have West Nile and not know it because you won't feel ill. However, you still should avoid large...
Botox is widely used in both cosmetic and non-cosmetic medical procedures. It comes from a bacterium that, in large doses, causes botulism. It is mostly associated with food poisoning that causes flaccid paralysis of muscles. Researchers found...
The polio virus causes an illness called poliomyelitis. The wild-type polio virus has been eradicated from the United States, and its incidence is also decreasing around the world, thanks to aggressive vaccination programs. There have been no...
The nutrient potassium is vital for human health as it aids in metabolism and digestion and helps muscle and nerve tissue function properly. However, too much potassium--a condition called hyperkalemia--is a concern as well. About 98 percent of...
Sodium nitrite serves as a curing salt for processed meats such as hotdogs, hams and bacons. According to the American Meat Institute, this chemical proves to have a very important and vital public health function in preserving the freshness of...
The Clostridium species are unique among many bacteria as they produce spores that allow them to survive in the environment for prolonged periods and under harsh conditions. The clostridia are anaerobic bacteria, which are found ubiquitously in...
The polio virus invades the nervous system through direct person-to-person contact. The virus lives in the phlegm or feces of an infected person and enters via the mouth or nose. The polio virus causes devastating physical effects, often resulting...
Side effect of high K+ (potassium) can be serious. Potassium imbalance occurs from kidney disease, excessive use of potassium supplements, adrenal gland disorders, obstruction of urine flow from structural problems or urinary calculi, lupus,...
Albuterol, also known as Salbutamol, is a bronchiodilator medication that works by relaxing the air passages to the lungs, allowing you to breathe easier. Albuterol is classified as a beta-adrenergic receptor agonist, or beta agonist for short,...
Potassium is a mineral your body needs for nerve and muscle cells to function properly. Therefore, not having enough potassium in your body --- a condition known as hypokalemia --- can cause serious health problems. Hypokalemia, can have several...
Potassium is one of the body's most important minerals. It is present in every cell of the human body. In solution--as it is in the body--potassium carries a positive electrical charge and is one of the body's four main electrolytes along with...
An abnormally high level of the mineral potassium is called hyperkalemia, and it is defined in the medical textbook "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine" as a potassium concentration greater than 5.0 millimoles per liter, or mmol/L. The...
Antimicrobials come in different categories that can be divided into the class of organism they target. The term antimicrobial covers antibiotics, antifungals, antiviral drugs and antiparastitics. Antibiotics target bacteria, which are small...
Most parents know they should never give honey to their babies, since honey can cause a dangerous type of food poisoning known as infant botulism. Honey-flavored snacks, such as General Mills' Honey Nut Cheerios, may seem less threatening than a...
According to Drugs.com, cream of tartar, or potassium acid tartrate, is a diuretic and a laxative. Cream of tartar is a powdery substance that has a very long and stable shelf life. It is made from the acidic sediments that accumulate on the sides...
There are many types of seizures. Most of them disturb the brain and cause changes in behavior. There is, however, one type of seizure that generally affects pregnant women and does not disturb the brain, called eclampsia. Eclampsia occurs when...
Epsom salt is essential to the body's ability to replenish potassium and to enzymatic activity. A bitter-tasting, white crystalline salt, it also plays an integral role in the transmission of neurochemicals and acts as a laxative. Epsom salt is...
Electrical stimulation, or ES, can enhance your recovery of muscle strength and function and reduce spasticity following a stroke. By providing a shock to specific muscles or muscle groups, ES allows the stroke survivor to better utilize affected...
Magnesium in the form of magnesium sulfate is the most common treatment for severe preeclampsia and eclampsia in the United States. A disorder that develops in the latter part of pregnancy, preeclampsia causes an increase in blood pressure along...
Experiencing a stroke or cerebral vascular accident, or CVA, is a very scary experience. Symptoms vary from mild weakness and possible intermittent numbness on one side of the body to full blown paralysis, or flaccidity, affecting the upper and...