« Older Entries

What is Papillomavirus

Papillomavirus are small cells that are associated with STD (Sexual Transmitted Disease), Cervical Cancer, and other diseases. They are just 55mm in diameter and at least 10% of young women in England are infected with some type of papillomavirus by the age of 16. There are over 100 types of Papillomavirus, ranging from the harmless ones that cause warts, to others that cause cancer.

About 40 types affect the genital area, and 4 are responsible for some common genital diseases. Types 16 and 18 fall under what is known as “high-risk” types and cause abnormal cells, which lead to cancer. These types, along with about 10 others, are easily transmitted from one person to another by sexual relations or genital contact.

Although using a condom is good protection from most sexual diseases, such as AIDS or HIV, they only offer partial protection from papillomavirus cells. 80% of all women will, at one point or another, become infected with at least one type by the age of 50.

The Papillomavirus infects the skin and mucous membranes, lining the cervix. The progression is slow from abnormal benign cells to cancer and sometimes will lie there undetected for many years, before becoming diagnosed.

A third of all women will die within 5 years of diagnosis, but the statistics are changing, as the medical world advances. Recently a vaccine against papillomavirus cells was released, called Gardasil, which so far, has shown highly encouraging results against some types of papillomavirus. Generally, though, once the abnormal cells have developed into cancer, the two options are surgery or radiation, to eliminate them.

In many cases, there are no symptoms to indicate the status and the only true way to discover if you are in infected is to have an annual Pap Smear by a gynaecologist. The “low risk” types are transmitted either environmentally or by touch, but the body builds up antibodies naturally against them.

Women are not the only ones affect by cancer-causing types of papillomavirus. Men could get penile cancer as well. It is a DNA based virus, which is why certain types advance to cancer. Normal cells grow, divide and die, whereas cancer ones just carry on dividing. This happens because the DNA is damaged, and since DNA is hereditary, the defect can be passed on to one’s children. Being a DNA-based virus, the high-risk papillomavirus attacks the DNA in the cells, causing them to become cancerous.

In order for cervical cancer to take form completely, a woman would need a history of infections with the types involved. The risks are generally quite low and for most the chances of getting a high-risk type of papillomavirus is small. However a simple test once a year will eliminate any doubt with your doctor.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

Tags:

Basilar Migraine – Not Just Another Migraine

Basilar migraine or basilar artery migraine as it is sometimes called, is one of those atypical headaches that can have frightening symptoms. This pain is unlike usual migraines. The pain is usually severe, throbbing at localized at the back of the head. It may be accompanied by severe vertigo (the sense that the room is spinning), difficulty walking and most commonly, visual disturbances.

Now what is meant by visual disturbances? Well, just about anything from blurry vision to blindness. This is caused by the fact that the basilar artery, where the problem is happening, is located in the back of the head. This artery feeds blood and oxygen to the back of the brain where the visual centers are located..if you have a problem in that area it definitely affects your vision.

Other common migraine headache symptoms may also occur such as nausea, vomiting and having the light and sounds bother you. Rarer symptoms are jerking movements of the eyes, ringing in the ears and loss of consciousness. Severe vertigo is quite common and can be disabling.

Why Is This Serious? A basilar migraine can increase the risk of stroke. Although a neurovascular condition like all other migraines, one of the problems is that aneurysms (an out-pouching of the artery) may occur in this area.

If caught, aneurysms are generally followed with more imaging such as a CT angiogram which gets a much better look at it. Surgery is recommended to “clip” it when it gets to a certain size. For cerebral aneurysms the limit is usually 10mm although some surgeons have told me they will do the procedure on a smaller one if the patient has neurological symptoms.

Testing For Basilar Migraine If you present to a doctor with the symptoms of basilar migraine, unfortunately since it mimics a stroke so closely, be prepared for a bit of a full work up to rule out stroke. This most probably will include an MRI or CT of the brain right away and possibly an MRA to look at the arteries of the brain. Again this would not only find a stroke but also find an aneurysm. A full examination including some testing for vertigo and hearing (if necessary) should be performed.

If the doctor is suspicious about possible seizures (they sometimes present with vertigo and headache) then an EEG is necessary. This is just a study to look at the electrical waves in the brain and involves wearing some scalp electrodes and getting your hair messed up!

Treatment Once a stroke has been ruled out, treatment is pretty straight forward. If the headache is disabling and occurs a couple of times a month, then you need to be on daily therapy for awhile, perhaps a few months to a year.

While many preventative medications for migraine are familiar to most headache sufferers, the drug of choice for this type of headache is verapamil taken once or twice a day. If you cannot take this medication, a beta-blocker such as Inderal is a good choice also.

If an attack does occur, most people can manage it well with a small dose of a pain killer. Many people also wonder why they cannot take their usual medications for migraine but unfortunately, all triptans such as Imitrex, are contra-indicated for this.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

Tags:

Vitamins Nutrition and Their Importance in Health and Wellness

Vitamins nutrition is an essential part of health and wellness, and this is demonstrated by research. In this article, we outline the reasons why we should all have the recommended amounts of vitamins each day.

Nutrition is what we provide to our bodies (in the form of food), to support life within our body’s cells. A vitamin is part of this nutrition which is required by our bodies for everyday functions. Other essential nutrients such as essential fatty acids, dietary minerals, or essential amino acids, are not included in the term vitamin. Our bodies do not naturally produce vitamins, so we must obtain them from food or supplements. There are currently 13 different compounds recognized as vitamins, and these include A, D, E, K, C and 8 different B vitamins.

Vitamins are mostly found in Fruit and Vegetables
Research shows that 80% of Americans do not eat sufficient daily servings of fruit and vegetables. Five servings are recommended to provide sufficient amounts of important vitamins and minerals required for healthy nutrition. Five daily servings is a lot for some people, especially those who cannot take fresh fruit to their place of work, or perhaps they cannot buy fresh fruit close to where they live or work. There are a number of people who simply don’t like eating fruit and vegetables. In addition, much of the fruit and vegetables we buy today, doesn’t have the same nutrients as it used to have years ago.

Recent evidence shows that insufficient amounts of vitamins increases the risk factors to people, of contracting chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and cancer. Evidence shows that the benefits associated with taking vitamins can reduce the risk of many diseases. Therefore, it’s important to eat fruit and vegetables or take vitamins in some other form.

Each vitamin plays it’s own role
Each vitamin plays it’s own role in keeping different parts of the body healthy. Vitamin A plays a huge role in healthy eyesight, it has antioxidant properties, and appears to function in maintaining normal skin health. Healthy body tissues and muscles are the role of vitamin C, and also increases the body’s immunity and has antioxidant properties. Vitamin D is good for strong bones and is also critical for overall health.

The body’s defense systems are supported by vitamin E, as well as it supporting a healthy heart. Researchers suggest that vitamin E may prove useful in the prevention of heart disease when taken for extended periods of time.

Thiamin (vitamin B1) helps support a healthy nervous system, and helps the body metabolize carbohydrates and fat to produce energy . Niacin (vitamin B3) is essential for more than 50 processes in the body. Vitamin B12 maintains healthy cells. A Folic acid supplement is now recommended to all women who might become pregnant and to those women who are pregnant, to protect against having a baby with a neural tube defect.

In 2002, there was a major scientific review covering nearly 40 years of research around the relationship between disease and vitamin deficiencies. (Fletcher RH, Fairfield KM. Vitamins for Chronic Disease Preventions in Adults. JAMA. 2002;287:3127-3129) From the results of this review, two Harvard researchers recommended that all adults take a multivitamin every day, in addition to having proper nutrition. Researchers from this review, did conclude that some groups of people are more at risk of certain vitamin deficiencies than others, however, it is important for all adults to get adequate intakes of vitamins because of the tremendously important role they play in the body.

We have discussed the role vitamins play in keeping our bodies healthy and well, and shown some of the benefits to making sure you have optimum vitamins nutrition every day, so you can reduce the risk of disease and keep healthy.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

Tags: