Diseases & Conditions Archive

In recent years, treatment options for inflammatory bowel disease have expanded rapidly, with new types of drugs, new medications within existing classes, and new combinations of treatments for some patients.

Life expectancy is one measure of the general health of a population. In the US, life expectancy had been climbing for more than a century — until the pandemic. After dropping in 2020, it dropped again in 2021, and some population groups fared worse than others.

Dry eye disease can redden eyes and make them sting, burn, or hurt. Relief may require a combination of strategies.

Nearly half of all people with inflammatory bowel disease have symptoms that occur outside of the gastrointestinal tract. These conditions, known as extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs), can affect the musculoskeletal system, eyes, lungs, and other areas of the body.

Inflammation is the hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis, and is also thought to play a role in the development of dementia. Could the inflammation-suppressing medicines for RA lower risk of dementia? Some research points in that direction, but more is needed.

Everyone experiences acute (short-term) diarrhea at some time. The unpleasant experience often resolves on its own in a few days, but there are situations that require medical attention. Examples include bloody diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, a high fever, and episodes that continue for a week or longer. A medical consultation can help determine if diarrhea is related to a specific bacterium or parasite, a medication side effect, a food intolerance, or an inflammatory bowel disease.

Mouth conditions unrelated to the teeth can cause discomfort and affect mouth function. Examples include canker sores, dry mouth, and thrush. Canker sores are painful ulcers that develop in the lining of the mouth or gums. Chronic dry mouth is a lack of saliva. Thrush is an overgrowth of the fungus Candida albicans that appears in the mouth as white patches or sores. Treatment for these conditions may involve simple therapies to try at home or prescription treatments.

Some people with newly diagnosed mild to moderate open-angle glaucoma have another option for first-line treatment. Instead of using prescription eye drops initially, they can have a laser procedure called selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT). SLT uses light pulses to help clean up debris clogging the eye's natural drains. Clogged drains lead to elevated eye pressure that damages the optic nerve. SLT's effects wane after three to five years, at which point it may be necessary to have the procedure again, or to begin using eye drops to treat glaucoma.

Ten years of data suggest that AREDS2 supplements are associated with a reduced risk of macular degeneration progression without any increase in lung cancer risk, according to a follow-up study published online June 2, 2022, by JAMA Ophthalmology.

Several conditions can cause people to feel cold when others are warm. These include low body weight, skipping meals, feeling fatigued, and having a thyroid condition or a low red blood cell count (anemia).