Diseases & Conditions Archive

Articles

Growth hormone, athletic performance, and aging

Some men use growth hormone as an anti-aging treatment, even though it is illegal to market it for this purpose. Studies of test subjects who took growth hormone found a high incidence of side effects such as joint pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Time to hire a caregiver? 3 tips to help

If you are facing physical or cognitive challenges, hiring caregivers to come into your home can be an effective way to continue living independently. It's not always easy having new people coming into your home, but there are things you can do to adjust to the changes.

Can wearing contacts harm your vision?

Millions of people wear contact lenses, and with proper use and care they are very safe. However, sleeping with lenses in that are not specifically intended for extended wear can increase the risk of infection in the eye's cornea.

High blood pressure? Treat the risk, not the number

People with a high risk for heart attacks and strokes might benefit from taking blood pressure–lowering medications, even if their blood pressure is in the normal or "high normal" range and they have no clear signs of cardiovascular disease.

Chronic gut inflammation: Coping with inflammatory bowel disease

Chronic inflammation in the gut may be due to inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. It’s unclear what causes IBD. Doctors suspect it’s a combination of factors, such as eating an unhealthy diet or using certain medications; altered gut bacteria; having a leaky gut; or genetics. The goal of IBD treatment is remission: suppressed symptoms, lower blood levels of inflammatory markers, and normal-looking bowel and tissue biopsies. Approaches to achieve remission and prevent flare-ups include medication, a healthy lifestyle, and possibly surgery.

Is your vision impaired? Tips to cope

Living with low or impaired vision comes with many challenges. Accessibility features on computer hardware and software, special devices, and adaptations to your home can help make daily life easier when living with a vision impairment.

What exactly is a hernia?

A hernia is an area of weakness in the abdominal wall muscles that allows contents of the abdomen to push through the wall and form a pouch. A small hernia may follow a "watch and wait" approach, while a larger and more painful one often requires surgery to repair.

Which disease starts first?

Among atherosclerosis, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, which are all related, cholesterol deposits start first.

Pick up the pace for better walking with peripheral artery disease

A small, randomized trial published online April 6, 2021, by JAMA found that people who took part in a high-intensity walking program for one year covered more ground in six minutes than people who’d taken part in a low-intensity walking program.

Man's best friend — and medicine's too?

Scientists are studying whether medical detection dogs can sniff out and identify disease in humans, such as cancer, infection, and Parkinson’s disease. Dogs might be useful because their noses have 60 times the number of scent receptors as human noses; that might make dogs able to detect scents given off by bacteria or diseased human cells. But it’s hard to get solid evidence about the accuracy of medical detection dogs. Scientists are also studying whether technology can replicate the same kind of detection.

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