Medical Articles, Medicine Information.

HIV: ON LIVING-SOURCES OF SUPPORT: AIDS-ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS

admin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 08:28:40 +0000

What this book calls AIDS-advocacy organizations are organizations in the community, sometimes only local, sometimes affiliated with a national organization, that offer a huge variety of services to people with HIV infection and to their caregivers. The services these organizations offer include buddies, counselors, information on treatments, education about HIV infection, help with financial problems, home health care, help with housing problems, help with legal problems, legal services, reports on the latest medical research, support groups, political action, and transportation—to name a few. Many of these organizations also run hotlines, which are free 800-phone numbers to call for information on HIV infection and for referrals to the organizations and services available in your local community. To find out what’s available in your community, check the phone book’s yellow pages under AIDS or HIV, or the phone book’s government blue pages under Health or AIDS or HIV. Or call the hotlines of national AIDS-advocacy organizations. In addition, a book put out every two years by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, called Local AIDS Services: The National Directory, lists, as its title implies, the local services available everywhere from Anniston, Alabama, to Laramie, Wyoming. Your physician or hospital social worker is also a good source for the resources in your own community.*233\191\2*

ALTERNATIVE” HORMONES FOR HEALTHY BONES: NATURAL PROGESTERONE

admin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:23:44 +0000

At menopause, estrogen isn’t the only hormone taking a nosedive. Progesterone, too, decreases (along with everything else made by the ovaries). In fact, after menopause, the ovaries usually still make a small amount of estrogen, perhaps 10 percent of the premenopausal level, but progesterone is entirely cut off (though very small amounts may be made elsewhere in the body). One of progesterone’s jobs is to stimulate the osteoblasts to make new bone, and the loss of it contributes to the slowdown in bone formation that leads to low bone density. High levels of progesterone, on the other hand, may also slow down the work of the osteoclasts, helping to prevent bone loss.Synthetic forms of progesterone called progestins are often prescribed in conjunction with estrogen for women with uteruses taking HRT, as we’ve seen, because it puts the risk of endometrial cancer back to normal (while estrogen alone greatly increases it). There is some question, however, about whether progestins also interfere with the heart-protective effects of estrogen. And progestins definitely come with the potential for several unpleasant side effects, including bloating, abnormal vaginal bleeding, weight gain, moodiness, insomnia, unwanted hair growth, and loss of libido. (Those last two can also be signs of testosterone deficiency, so you should have your hormone levels checked before assuming progestins are to blame.)Natural progesterone, which has the identical chemical structure to what the body makes and is available without a prescription, seems to have all the benefits with none of the side effects. Progestins are actually somewhat different molecules from progesterone—with about as many differences as there are between the structures of progesterone and testosterone. As you can see, small structural changes make huge differences in what effect a substance has on the body! Consider this: synthetic progestins are used in birth control pills, while your body’s progesterone aids in conception and is crucial in sustaining a pregnancy.Dr. John Lee is a leading proponent of natural progesterone. The original study that made Dr. Lee a fan of the hormone followed 100 women using a progesterone cream. The women were also advised to follow a primarily vegetarian diet and take a range of supplements, including calcium and vitamin D. Sixty-three of the women (those who could afford it) had repeated bone density scans to track their progress. During a time when you would expect to see about a 4.5 percent drop in bone mass, all 63 actually built their bones up. Most improved about 10 percent over the first six months to a year, then 3 to 5 percent a year after that until reaching (and maintaining!) peak density. The average total increase was just over 15 percent over three years, no matter the age of the woman. Most had started out with low bone density, and the women with the weakest bones to begin with showed the biggest gains. None of the women reported side effects, and none suffered fractures (except for the three injured by falling down stairs, being in a car accident, and falling while hiking, and they all healed well) or lost any additional height. Most also reported a renewed sense of energy, increased mobility, and restoration of long-lost sex drive.Progesterone alone may be enough to prevent or reverse low bone density (though you might still want estrogen for relief of menopausal symptoms). In Dr. Lee’s study, women also taking estrogen showed no greater improvement in bone density than women using progesterone alone. That may be because the body can convert progesterone into estrogen as necessary, so you may boost levels of both hormones in your body just by using progesterone. In addition, the balance between the two hormones may be more important than the absolute levels of either. Therefore, when progesterone disappears at menopause, while estrogen is reduced but still present, an imbalance is created. Small amounts of progesterone can restore the balance, even if you don’t have as much of either hormone as you did before menopause.Originally, oral progesterone was thought to be broken down by the liver before it could work in the body, though new forms of “micronized progesterone” seem to be better absorbed. Many experts prefer progesterone creams that are absorbed through the skin because they result in more even and sustained levels of progesterone in the body. Dr. Lee recommends using about Vi teaspoon of a progesterone cream that is about 3 percent progesterone each night for two to three weeks a month (totaling about 1 ounce a month). You have to choose the cream you use carefully because many products are sold as progesterone cream that actually contain very little of anything that will help your bones. Be wary of anything labeled “wild yam extract” in particular. Wild yams do contain some progesterone, but almost none of the products claiming to include it have enough progesterone to be biologically active in your body. In general, you’ll have to scrutinize labels and contact the manufacturers if they don’t contain adequate information about the levels of active progesterone.You can use natural progesterone along with any estrogen (though if bone density is your only concern, you may need only the progesterone), and it will moderate the risk of endometrial cancer the same way synthetic progestins do. If “natural” hormones are important to you, you might want to use progesterone with estriol, if you do use an estrogen. Progesterone cream is available over-the-counter in any health food store. Progesterone, in cream or new pill form, is also available by prescription from some pharmacies.Even if you’ve had a bad reaction to synthetic progestins, natural progesterone is less likely to cause any side effects. Progestins may actually reduce your body’s production of its own progesterone, so supplements of natural progesterone may be particularly helpful if you’re stopping taking progestins. Progesterone is also a promising strategy for counteracting the harmful effect on bones of long-term steroid use.Progesterone seems to be safer than estrogen, and certainly causes fewer side effects. It may also be even better for your bones. Since there are no large, long-term, carefully designed studies comparing the two yet, you must think carefully about your choices. But if HRT is definitely not for you, for whatever reason, this may be a good alternative. Women with a history or high risk of breast cancer can use it safely. It may also be particularly Useful in preventing bone loss in the years just before menopause, before HRT is an option but when your hormones and your bone remodeling processes are both already changing. Dr. Lee’s work indicates that older women with frailer bones will see the biggest improvement in bone density from natural progesterone.*142\228\2*

REDUCING YOUR RISK OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: : SEDENTARY LIFE-STYLE

admin — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 08:16:14 +0000

You are sedentary if you . . .spend most of your day sittingseldom walk more than a blockhave leisure-time activities that d not require you to move from place to placehave a job that is inactivedo not take time to exercise 20 to 30 minutes at least three times per weekYour body was built to move. It does not thrive on sitting around. Your heart and lungs perform their functions much more efficiently when you are physically active on a regular basis. The more you use your muscles, the more work they can perform before they fatigue. Regular exercise is necessary for an optimal level of health, performance, and appearance.Maintaining a healthful activity level benefits your heart in several ways. It results in a greater capacity of the heart to pump blood. Exercise promotes weight loss. New evidence suggests that physical activity has an independent protective effect against the development of type II diabetes. Exercise also may lower your total cholesterol and triglyceride levels and increase protective HDL cholesterol. It also may lower your blood pressure if you have hypertension.All of these effects of exercise can reduce the risk for development of coronary artery disease. Exercise also may have a direct tendency to lower the risk for development of coronary artery disease independently of its effect on other risk factors.*270\252\8*

SKIN FUNCTIONS: SKIN CONTROLS ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

admin — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:26:11 +0000

There is one other way in which the skin gives protection and that is by limiting the amount of ultraviolet sun rays that get through it. These rays in proper amounts are necessary for the formation in the body of Vitamin D, which most of the world were willing and obliged to obtain without the seal blubber diet of the Eskimo or the dubious flavor of cod liver oil. The body is normally not gluttonous. Until habits are improperly developed, it does not want too much of anything. The sun, however, does not cooperate. In many climates it furnishes ultraviolet radiation in deadly doses. The body’s defense is to deposit in the skin a brown material called melanin. In sufficient amounts it stops the harmful rays.
In Africa a race has developed born with plenty of melanin. The summer girl on our beaches, however, had best take her sunshine in small doses for she slowly accumulates the coloring material. None of the protective lotions will do a perfect job for her.
In recent years much has been written about the long-range danger of exposure to the sun. We are told that skin cancer is more common with such occupations as farming and fishing. I am in no position to deny this claim, but in some twenty five years’ attendance at a tumor clinic where there have been many skin cancers I would say that I have met few farmers or fishermen. But then I live in a city. The open air life I believe to be, on the whole, healthy as well as happy. One cannot take it conveniently the year round without a protective summer tan, so I always try to get one.
*7/276/5*

HIV INFECTION AND ITS EFFECTS ON INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS: FEELINGS ABOUT SEX

admin — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:07:31 +0000

People’s feelings about sex are varied. At different times and to different people, sex is a joy, a comfort, a distraction, a release, intimacy, reassurance, bonding. To some extent, people’s feelings about sex depend on feeling healthy, enjoying life, liking themselves, trusting others, feeling relaxed, having the freedom to be spontaneous. HIV infection changes much of this. Everyone knows these facts: the virus occurs in great numbers in blood and semen, and in smaller numbers in vaginal fluid and menstrual blood. So while making love, people with HIV infection can unthinkingly transmit the virus. Even when both partners are infected, they can communicate variants of the virus to each other. To avoid this, people have no alternative but to have no sex at all or to practice safer sex. But both safer sex and the fact that sex can communicate the virus create emotional problems for people.

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CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSY: ADVICE ON FUTURE EMPLOYMENT

admin — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:06:37 +0000

One of the problems faced by adolescents with epilepsy is the difficulty of getting the right sort of job or, indeed, any job at all. Teenagers with epilepsy need help to prepare them for their search for employment. To begin with, they need realistic expectations. There are jobs which a diagnosis of epilepsy precludes. But more positively, proper assessment of their abilities and interests will help them decide what kind of job is likely to be appropriate.
Poor seizure control may be one limiting factor for the teenager who is looking for work, but it is by no means the only, or even the most important one. Medication may slow them down, for example. Often psychological factors (the teenager’s poor self-image or lack of motivation, the fact that they lack self-confidence or still feel very dependent on their parents) may make them perform badly in job interviews and, when they do get a job, make it hard for them to cope when under stress.
A teenager who is having difficulty in finding work needs to be helped both to see him or herself in a different light, and to present him or herself to others more favourably. Parents can help by encouraging their child to be as independent as possible, and by boosting their self-esteem in any way they can, but it may be a good idea to get professional counselling as well.
*74\193\2*

COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES MELLITUS: DIABETIC ACIDOSIS AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS

admin — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:05:44 +0000

One of the more alarming acute complications of diabetes mellitus is the development of diabetic acidosis, or diabetic coma. This occurs usually in persons who have severe, undiagnosed diabetes, or in known diabetics who skip their insulin or develop an infection or other serious illness. The term diabetic acidosis refers to the situation, in which there is inadequate insulin in the body, and as a result the blood sugar becomes very elevated and body fats and proteins are broken down and circulate in abnormal amounts. These fat and protein substances interfere with normal body function and actually poison the body. The person so affected usually is nauseated, vomits, may have abdominal pain, feels weak and dried out, and eventually may lapse into a coma.
A confusing point occurs soon after the development of diabetic acidosis with the person who is taking insulin. He feels nauseated or may vomit, and he realizes that he will not be able to eat as usual that day. Reasoning that if he is not able to eat and if he takes his usual amount of insulin he will have an insulin reaction, the person usually skips his insulin or takes a smaller amount than usual. At this particular time, the person actually requires more insulin than usual.
Diabetic acidosis can also occur in a person who is taking oral hypoglycemic agents. He, too, may be confronted with the problem of what to do about his pills when he knows he will be unable to eat. The oral hypoglycemic agents are of no value in diabetic acidosis, and this person requires insulin at this time. The key to the solution of the problem lies in contacting the doctor. If the case is severe enough, the patient will have to be hospitalized, administered large amounts of insulin, and given intravenous feedings of water and salts.
An infection in some part of the body may be the trigger that initiates the process of diabetic acidosis. For this reason, diabetics with serious infections are frequently hospitalized so that their insulin can be adjusted as necessary to try to prevent acidosis from developing.
The diabetic process has another serious complication. Over a number of years, diabetics develop a deterioration of very small blood vessels. This small blood vessel disease eventually results in changes in the eyes and the kidneys. In the eye, small blood vessels leak blood cells into the tissues of the eye. Over a time this can cause a gradual loss of vision. Cataracts occur more often than usual in diabetics, and glaucoma can suddenly develop and mar vision.
In the kidneys, the process is less evident. The formation of urine is dependent upon water and wastes filtering through small blood vessels. Some of these tiny vessels in the kidneys of a diabetic may become blocked or distorted so that the filtering function is at the same time decreased and less selective. One of the early signs is a leakage of albumin or protein into the urine in abnormal amounts. The result is frequently hypertension (high blood pressure) and uremia. Uremia is chronic poisoning from waste products that are usually eliminated by the kidneys.
It is felt that all of these complications of diabetes can be slowed or prevented by control of the disease state through proper diet and medication.
*8/309/5*

PSEUDO-CARDIAC DISORDERS: IS THIS KNOWLEDGE SUFFICIENT FOR ME TO DISTINGUISH CARDIAC PAIN FROM NON-CARDIAC PAIN ? HOW DO YOU DISTINGUISH THESE NON-CARDIAC SYMPTOMS FROM TRUE CARDIAC DISEASE ?

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 15:03:51 +0000

Q. Is this knowledge sufficient for me to distinguish cardiac pain from non-cardiac pain ?
A. I do not suggest that you try to diagnose the cause of your chest pain or palpitations yourself. That can be dangerous. But I do want to inform you that there are chest pains arising not from the heart but from other structures such as joints, muscles and ligaments. Even though the pain caused by these structures is sometimes very severe, it is not of great consequence, whereas the heart pain, howsoever mild, will have to be taken seriously and treated properly.
Q. Doctor, how do you distinguish these non-cardiac symptoms from true cardiac disease ?
A. An experienced physician will be able to distinguish between cardiac pain and non-cardiac pain, as well as between palpitations caused by heart disease and functional consciousness of heart action. A careful study of the history of the illness and physical examination coupled with a routine ECG is usually all that may be necessary to arrive at a proper diagnosis.
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TAMOXIFEN FOR PREVENTION IN HEALTHY WOMEN: WHAT DO I DO ONCE I’M A PARTICIPANT?

admin — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:01:13 +0000

When a woman is found eligible for the study and has undergone the preliminary evaluation, she is assigned to one of two groups. Members of one group will receive two tamoxifen tablets (10 mg each) that must be taken once a day for at least five years. Members of the other unit will receive a placebo tablet that cannot be distinguished from tamoxifen. The patient will not know which group she is in until the study evaluation is complete.
Participants will be asked to come to the center for routine follow-ups. The first such exams will be three and six months after the beginning of the study, then every six months for the remaining five years. If a patient remains on tamoxifen beyond five years, she will be followed on a yearly basis.
The examinations will consist of an update of the medical history, with special emphasis on potential side effects of tamoxifen —any illnesses, hospitalizations, operations, or fractures. The breasts will be examined at each visit, and any suspicious lumps will be biopsied. Laboratory tests and physical exams will be performed at each follow-up visit, with annual mammograms and gynecologic exams. Participants will be asked about any side effects of the drug, including menstrual irregularities and visual changes.
For the first three months of the study, each participant will be contacted monthly to ensure that she is taking the pills as directed. And she will be asked to assess how well she has done with regard to taking the pills regularly.
*54\320\2*

HOW CONSTIPATION AFFECTS ARTHRITICS

admin — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 15:00:18 +0000

Constipation often accompanies arthritis. It complicates the disease, and makes plans of dieting more difficult to follow. So let us examine the whole problem of constipation.
Let me give you more knowledge on the subject —and the answers to some of your questions.
The need for having regular bowel habits it something parents impress upon their children as an early age. Ironically, most often it is the teaching parent who is not regular. The parents, along with millions of adults, try to use drugs or other laxative fads of the day.

The Lemon Juice Craze
One favourite method of trying to keep regular is to dilute the juice of a lemon with a glass of water. This myth goes back several hundred years. In 1950, however, reports began appearing in the medical and dental journals showing how teeth were being etched by the citric acid of lemon juice.
Warnings are now issued that people with arthritis should be on guard against lemon or diluted lemon juice as a laxative measure.
Please avoid the lemon habit—in spite of the fact that it is effective as a laxative. (The citric acid of lemon juice is definitely able to stimulate muscle contractions.) Instead, if you must, use citrate of magnesia. This employs the same evacuating principle, without drying out your body.

Warm Water before Breakfast
A pre-breakfast drink of warm water is supposed to act as a laxative. It works, too. But when taken in the morning, be sure it’s at least one hour before breakfast. Water taken by itself does have a beneficial action on sluggish bowels. It may be slower, without the lemon, but it is by far the better way. There will be absolutely no harmful side effects, like drying out the system.
While water in the morning is helpful, water during the day works against bowel regularity. Once you start eating, the process of digestion takes hours. Flooding your stomach with water during the day will only defeat proper digestion.

Mineral Oil
Crude mineral oil was discovered by Red Indians on top of stagnant water in the oil fields. Today, mineral oil is refined into pure form from petroleum.
Refineries could not sell mineral oil for automobile use, so their representatives educate people to pour it into their bodies. Just the way mineral oil does not pass qualifications for a car carburretor, it forms puddles of useless oil in your intestinal loops. This finding was published recently in American medical journals.
Even worse, mineral oil is indigestible. If taken with a meal, it surrounds food particles and makes them non-digestible. Vitamins that become clogged by mineral oil are evacuated without giving their value to your body.

Bran
To relieve constipation, one food which can help is bran. The milling industry first convinced farmers that it was good for horses. Next, the flour salesman told the public that bran had laxative properties.
But bran has this disadvantage: If its coarse grains start clumping together in the intestinal tract, they can irritate the digestive pathway. Whenever this occurs, bran loses favour as a food supplement.

Cultured Milk
An effective cultured product is Acidophilous. The Bulgarian people still use this drink, which is rich in cultured bacteria. Buttermilk is another form of laxative favoured by many. Buttermilk is acceptable, but there are better ways for the modern-day arthritic.

Psyllium Seeds
When soaked in water, psyllium seeds swell to twice their normal size—supposedly to clear the intestinal tract. The trick is to drink water before and after taking the seeds. In this manner you cause the seeds to exude a lubricating jelly which, reportedly, makes passage smoother. Frequently, however, psyllium seeds have been found to lodge in the intestinal walls and become foreign irritants.

Cascara Sagrada
A well-known laxative and stimulant, cascara sagrada is made from a shrub found in the western states. Hundreds of thousands of people use this type of product. It can give help. But cascara sagrada is not always tolerated by the system, and may place added strain on the liver.

Calomel
A white, tasteless, insoluble powder, calomel is capable of purging the body. But it, too, causes added work for liver.

Senna
The purgative known as senna is employed frequently in constipation among children and pregnant women. Senna—along with a drug called phenolphthalein—creates more havoc for the congested liver.
In addition, while carrying out waste, these laxatives may take with them some valuable digestive juices and food elements. They may remove the good as well as the bad.
Agar-Agar
The Japanese think they have come up with a possible panacea for intestinal sluggishness in agar-agar. It’s a seaweed found off the coast of Japan.
By absorbing and holding moisture, agar-agar prevents undue drying of the fecal mass. At the same time, however, it is non-digestible. Bulk results, which creates non-digestible and irritating materials. When non-digestible foreign particles from agar-agar envelop food particles with a film, the products for nutrition are not absorbed. Instead, they are excreted. Therefore agar-agar is just as bad as mineral oil. Rhubarb and castor oil would be far better choices.
*43\146\2*