31Oct

What is diabetes and Cauases

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CAUSES OF DIABETES

I have just been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and my doctor says it is because I have something called the Metabolic Syndrome. What does this mean and is it the cause of my diabetes?  What is diabetes

Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that are known to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. There are a number of different definitions but they all emphasise that insulin resistance is the underlying cause. The cluster of problems called metabolic syndrome includes the following:

  • central obesity (fat around the waist line)
  • high blood pressure
  • abnormal cholesterol (high LDL and low HDL fractions) and high levels of triglycerides
  • Type 2 diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance (see link) – or at least a high risk of developing this
  • fatty liver (see next question)

The insulin resistance means that if a person with metabolic syndrome does not have diabetes, their beta cells in the pancreas will be working overtime to produce high levels of insulin in order to keep the blood sugar level normal. There is a high chance that the beta cells will be unable to maintain this high output of insulin indefinitely and sooner or later the blood sugar level will rise, resulting in diabetes.

People with metabolic syndrome, whether or not they have diabetes, will probably be asked to take a number of tablets in order to correct the high blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol levels. The best treatment (though not always the easiest) is to reduce weight and overcome the central obesity.

My doctor carries out regular tests for diabetes. This is because I have a condition called fatty liver, which he says puts me at risk of developing diabetes in the future.

The medical name for this condition is Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and it describes a range of conditions in which the liver tests are abnormal in people who drink little or no alcohol. It ranges from a mild condition in which excess fat is deposited in the liver causing slightly abnormal liver tests to a more serious condition in which the fat in the liver leads to inflammation, scarring and cirrhosis, which is irreversible liver damage. NAFLD is very common and may be found in up to 1 in 5 adults. Of those with NAFLD, about 1 in 4 will develop the more serious form leading to cirrhosis. This is a very slow process and may progress over years to liver failure. It is related to obesity and as in the metabolic syndrome (see previous question) insulin resistance is the underlying cause. There is no proven treatment for this condition, apart from weight reduction, which results in rapid improvement in the abnormal liver tests. However in trials glitazones have been shown to improve liver tests and are beginning to be used in ordinary practice. Unfortunately they do have the effect of making people put on weight, which is often disappointing.

17Oct

Hospital admissions for asthma over the past year

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PEFR is expressed as percentage of a patient’s predicted value, based on age, gender, and height. Changes in PEFR are expressed as the absolute change in percent predicted (ie, final PEFR as percent predicted minus initial PEFR as percent predicted). Asthma-related ED visits and urgent clinic visits over the past year were treated as continuous variables. A high percentage of subjects had no hospital admissions for asthma over the past year (74%) and this was therefore treated as a dichotomous variable.

Triggers of the patient’s asthma, in general, were assessed using a standardized list of potential triggers: respiratory tract infections, environmental allergens, other environmental factors, tobacco, exercise, ingested substances, reproductive, psychosocial, and other factors Online pharmacy viagra. The individual triggers as well as total number reported (range, 0 to 9) were recorded. Relapse was defined as any urgent or unscheduled visit to any physician for worsening asthma symptoms during the 2-week follow-up period.

All analyses were performed using software. Data are summarized using proportions, mean ± SD, and median with interquartile range (IQR). Univariate analyses of the relation of various factors to risk for relapse employed test, Student’s t test, and Wilcoxon rank sum test where appropriate. Variables that were associated with relapse at a two-tailed p < 0.1 in univariate analysis were evaluated for inclusion in a multivariate logistic regression model. This model was built with both forward and backward steps but was not done using the stepwise software function. Initially, variables were grouped into categories and assessed for colinearity by Spearman correlation and simultaneous inclusion in logistic regression models.

Variables that were independently associated with relapse in these initial models were included in the model building process. When groups of similar variables showed significant colinearity, with no single variable attaining statistical significance in the initial logistic regression model, a representative variable from each group that showed the strongest association with relapse was chosen for inclusion in the model building process. The final model included all independently associated variables as well as age, gender, and race, which were chosen for their clinical significance. The possibility of a period effect was examined by adjusting for period of enrollment, but this did not materially.

17Sep

The Prostate

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This is definitely one of those male-only health issues, if only for one reason – women don’t have one. Yes, boys, we’re on our own on this one.

What Is the Prostate?

The prostate is a small male sex gland, about the size and shape of a walnut. However, for such a small gland it packs one hell of a punch. This is because of where it is located in the body. The prostate is found at the bottom of the bladder between the bladder and the penis. It is wrapped around the waterworks tube (known as the urethra).

HealthCare Pharmacy online here.

What Does It Do?

The prostate gland plays an important role in both urinary function and sexual function. The prostate is part of the male reproductive apparatus. It plays a supporting role during sex by producing fluid that mixes with sperm at the time of ejaculation. This fluid accounts for most of the milky semen you ejaculate every time you experience an orgasm. This prostate fluid is thought to help nourish sperm and help them reach their target. Prostate fluid also contains a protein known as prostate specific antigen or PSA. The role of PSA is to help liquefy semen, aiding the fertility process. However, some PSA also escapes into the bloodstream. This is the basis of the PSA blood test. It can be a marker of prostate health in that raised levels of PSA in the blood can indicate prostate problems.

The Waterworks System

Understanding the process of urination can help you to understand diseases of the prostate and how they can affect us. When men attempt to urinate, urine passes from the bladder and out of the body through the urethra, a tube that runs from the bladder through the prostate and the penis. The prostate completely surrounds the first part of the urethra. Changes in the prostate, including an increase in size, can put pressure on the urethra, which can then cause symptoms such as needing to urinate more often, difficulty starting to pee, poor stream and dribbling at the end. These are known as ‘prostatic symptoms’.

Disorders of the Prostate

There are three main types of prostate disorders:

  • Prostatitis
  • Benign enlargement of the prostate gland (known as BPH)
  • Prostate cancer

Prostatitis

Prostatitis is one of several benign (non-cancerous) conditions causing inflammation of the prostate gland. The prostate is prone to become inflamed and sometimes infected, as it is connected to the processes of both sex and urination. Prostatitis is common and there are estimates that at least half of all men Canadian Viagra online, at some point in their lives, will develop symptoms of this condition. It is not contagious and is not considered to be a sexually transmitted disease.

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