Lyme live spirochete, microscope, ticks, transmission, initial symptoms, chronic Lyme disease symptoms, types of Lyme disease in Europe, cancer.

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Alzheimers Disease.

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Batten disease is a fatal, inherited disorder of the nervous system that begins in childhood. In some cases, the early signs are subtle, taking the form of personality and behavior changes, slow learning, clumsiness, or stumbling. Symptoms of Batten disease are linked to a buildup of substances called lipopigments in the body’s tissues. Lipopigments are made up of fats and proteins. Because vision loss is often an early sign, Batten disease may be first suspected during an eye exam. Often, an eye specialist or other physician may refer the child to a neurologist.

Batten disease and other forms of NCL are relatively rare, occurring in an estimated 2 to 4 of every 100,000 live births in the United States. These disorders appear to be more common in Finland, Sweden, other parts of northern Europe, and Newfoundland, Canada. Although NCLs are classified as rare diseases, they often strike more than one person in families that carry the defective genes.

In some cases the early signs are subtle, taking the form of personality and behavior changes, slow learning, clumsiness, or stumbling. Over time, affected children suffer mental impairment, worsening seizures, and progressive loss of sight and motor skills. Eventually, children with Batten disease become blind, bedridden, and demented. Batten disease is often fatal by the late teens or twenties.

Symptoms of Batten Disease/NCLs are linked to a buildup of substances called lipopigments in the body’s tissues. These lipopigments are made up of fats and proteins. Their name comes from the technical word lipo, which is short for “lipid” or fat, and from the term pigment, used because they take on a greenish-yellow color when viewed under an ultraviolet light microscope. The lipopigments build up in cells of the brain and the eye as well as in skin, muscle, and many other tissues. Inside the cells, these pigments form deposits with distinctive shapes that can be seen under an electron microscope.

Batten disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. The mutation causes the buildup of lipofuscins in the body’s tissues. These substances consist of fats and proteins and form certain distinctive deposits that cause the symptoms and can be seen under an electron microscope. The diagnosis of Batten disease is based on the presence of these deposits in skin samples as well as other criteria. Six genes have now been identified that cause different types of Batten disease in children or adults, more having yet to be identified.

Batten disease is named after the British paediatrician who first described it in 1903. It is one of a group of disorders called neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (or NCLs). Although Batten disease is the juvenile form of NCL, most doctors use the same term to describe all forms of NCL. Early symptoms of Batten disease (or NCL) usually appear in childhood when parents or doctors may notice a child begin to develop vision problems or seizures. In some cases the early signs are subtle, taking the form of personality and behaviour changes, slow learning, clumsiness or stumbling.

Batten disease is diagnosed based on the symptoms the child is experiencing. Parents or the child’s pediatrician may notice that the child has begun to develop vision problems or seizures. Special electrical studies of the eyes, such visual-evoked response or electroretinogram (ERG), may be done. In addition, diagnostic tests such as electroencephalogram (EEG, to look for seizure activity) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, to look for changes in the brain) may be done.

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Occupational lung diseases occur as a result of repeated and long-term exposure to air particulates and irritants.  Some occupations are more at risk for development of these diseases because of the nature and environment of the workplace or jobsite.  Many lung diseases are preventable as long as they are recognized early.  However, chronic lung problems can develop if the signs and symptoms are not diagnosed and treated early.  According to the Canadian Lung Association, the economic burden of respiratory disease in Canada is approximately 3 billion dollars.  While certain conditions such as pneumoconiosis have declined in the last 30 years, others such as occupational asthma have increased.

Early Detection and Diagnosis:

Symptoms of occupational lung disease include:

Coughing Shortness of breath Chest pain or tightness An abnormal breathing pattern

Many of these symptoms resemble other medical conditions which is why accurate diagnosis is important.  Dysfunction can be initially identified through pulmonary function tests, such as spirometry, to measure the lungs ability to exchange gases such as oxygen.  Once dysfunction is identified through spirometry, a client should seek the care of a physician for more accurate diagnosis.  The physician often will send the client to have a chest x-ray to determine how much damage has occurred to the lungs.

How Respiratory Diseases Occur:

Respiratory diseases occur through the inhalation of small particles of dust, pollens, molds, smoke and other gases from sources such as factories, smokestacks, exhaust, fires, construction and mining sites.  Finer particles travel deeper into the lungs potentially creating more damage to the lung tissue.  These particles cause scarring of the lung tissue and leave that area of the lung incapable of exchanging oxygen to the blood.

Lung diseases can be divided into those that come from inorganic (those that do not contain carbon) and organic (those that do contain carbon) dusts.  Examples of inorganic dust diseases include asbestosis, coal worker’s pneumoconiosis and silicosis.  Occupational asthma is an example of an organic dust disease from inhaling irritants such as gases, fumes and vapours.

Prevention:

Certain lung conditions such as occupational asthma are reversible if detected early.  However, most lung diseases are irreversible.  Therefore, prevention of these diseases plays a significant role both from a health perspective for the employee and a cost perspective from the employer.  There are many steps a company can take to reduce the incidence of lung diseases including the following:

Education: Lung health begins by educating employers and employees about the occupational risks, symptom detection and benefits of early detection. Smoking: Smoking increases the risk of lung diseases including lung cancer and emphysema. What is your company doing to promote smoking cessation programs? Proper mask protection: While most employees use facial masks, it is vital that masks are properly fit for each employee. Spirometry: Early lung changes can be detected with a simple pulmonary function test.

Pulmonary Function Tests:

Pulmonary function tests are an array of tests designed to determine the quantity of air a client’s lungs can hold, how quickly that client can move air in and out of their lungs, and how efficient the lungs can exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide gases.  A spirometry test is often the initial pulmonary function test performed.  The client breathes forcefully into a mouthpiece attached to the spirometer (recording device) to measure the rate and quantity of airflow from a client’s lungs.

Information obtained from the spirometry test includes the forced vital capacity (FVC), the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and the FEV1/FVC ratio.

The FVC is the amount of air you can exhale with force after you inhale as deeply as possible. The FEV1 is the amount of air you can expire with one breath and is often measured after one second. The FEV1/FVC ratio is the percentage of total forced vital capacity that was expelled in one second.

There are many pre-determined variables that can affect lung function.  These include:

Age – the natural elasticity of the lungs decreases with age thereby decrease lung volumes and capacities Gender – males generally have higher lung volumes and capacities than females even when body height and weight is taken into consideration Body height and weight – smaller and shorter people often have lower lung volumes and capacities Race – All races have different pulmonary function test results

Once controlled for the above variables, an abnormal lung function is determined if the client has a FVC of less than 80%, FEV1 of less than 80% or FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 70%.  This client is then referred to their physician for follow-up including a chest x-ray.

The Occupational Health and Safety Code of Alberta (Part 4, Section 40) states that all workers exposed to asbestos, silica or coal dust must have a health assessment that includes a spirometry test.  In addition, the WCB’s Alberta Permanent Clinical Impairment Guide states that “where the worker suffers chest disease due in part to occupational and in part to non-occupational factors, the overall disability will be presumed to be related to the employment and compensation awarded accordingly.”

For these reasons, it is strongly recommends that those companies with employees exposed to any airborne chemicals, dusts or toxins conduct spirometry testing.  Baseline tests should be performed during pre-employment screening and repeated every year for comparison of lung function.

Proper Mask Protection:

There are two methods of ensuring a proper seal on facial masks.  Qualitative mask fitting is a pass/fail method of testing requiring the client to detect a bitter or sweet odour such as Bitrex (denatonium benzoate), banana oil or a saccharin solution.  This odour is injected into a test booth or hood while the client is wearing their mask.  If the client cannot detect the odour, the test is considered a pass.  This type of testing can only be performed on disposable and half-face masks.

Quantitative mask fitting delivers a numerical measurement of the “fit factor” of a particular respirator.  A particle counting device (such as a TSI Portacount Plus) measures the concentration of microscopic particles that exist in ambient air to measure the “fit factor” directly. The measurement is made while the person performs dynamic movements and/or breathing exercises resembling those experienced in the workplace in order to stress the respirator seal. This type of testing can be performed on all types of masks.

Quantitative mask fitting offers several distinct advantages:

It eliminates the reliance of the tester on the subject’s ability, honesty, cooperation and sensitivity when detecting agents. Quantitative testing makes a direct measurement of mask fit factors. Results are immediate and delivers and instantaneous “pass” or “fail”. Results can be maintained electronically or customized in a printed report. The particle counting device uses a programmed sequence of steps so that critical steps cannot be skipped or performed incorrectly which may invalidate the fit test It can be used to fit test almost all respirators including elastomeric half and full-face masks, PAPRs, SCBA and even disposable respirators. It can be used for clients with their own respirators to help eliminate any hygienic concerns associated with sharing a test mask. Full-face masks can be used to their full potential. Qualitative methods limit the use of full-face masks to environments where half masks are allowed because these methods are limited to a half-mask fit factor pass level of 100. Standards from many regulatory agencies throughout the world require a fit factor pass level of 500 or more for full-face masks. The particle counting device can accurately measure “fit factors” up to 100 000. The quantitative mask fitting software complies with many regulatory standards including those from the Canadian Standards Association.

Each year, respiratory diseases place a large economic burden on the Canadian health care system.  Workers are often exposed to jobsite irritants and particulates that alter lung function and lead to occupational lung diseases.  Many of these diseases are avoidable or treatable through prevention and early diagnosis including annual pulmonary function testing and adequate mask fitting.  It is the due diligence of the employer to make sure these services are provided for their employees.  However, employees must also do their own part in protecting themselves by participating in these programs.

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Bad Breath Can be Caused by Periodontal Disease

Is it possible that Periodontal Disease (gum disease) can cause halitosis? Firstly, you should identify the causes of bad breath.

Bad Breath Cause #1- Volatile Sulfur Compounds
There are more that 400 different kinds of bacteria present in the mouth out of which 14 cause bad breath by giving out sulfur smells. Bad breath is aggravated by volatile sulfur compounds, which are caused when proteins are broken down by bacteria. This bacterium is usually anaerobic, and it multiplies at the back of the tongue. This kind of bacteria also has positive effects, because they help in the digestion of proteins.

There is a concentration of bacteria especially on the tongue towards the back and this is one of the causes of bad breath. The anaerobic bacteria feed upon food debris left in the mouth and then release Volatile Sulfur Compounds (VSC) which smell of hydrogen sulfide. These have a bad smell as the odor is like that of rotten eggs.

Bad Breath Cause #2- Gum Disease (Periodontal Disease)
Periodontal disease refers to diseases which are around the tooth, affecting the gums and bones supporting the teeth. The term, gum disease, encompasses gingivitis and periodontitis and causes bacterial infection. It can affect only one tooth or many.

Sometimes, bacteria in plaque can cause gums to suffer from inflammation. This may be a harbinger of gum diseases. Another cause would be the usage of tobacco products. Tobacco users are at greater risk of developing gum disease.

Gingivitis is characterized by a constant sore mouth with swollen, red, and/or bleeding gums, especially when you brush. Sometimes there may be sensitive teeth and pain and even bleeding when you brush. If your gums are more red than pink, then chances are they are inflamed, and if you have any discomfort, the best thing is to consult your medical practitioner or dentist.

Bad breath may well be caused by gum disease especially where it is already causing bleeding gums. Because gum disease is also a sign of bacterial infection, the same bacteria can cause bad breath thanks to the volatile sulfur compounds (vsc) that they release.

Both problems have their genesis in the fact that there is neglect in proper oral hygiene. If you were to take good care of your mouth, brush, floss, and rinse all very well, clean your gums and teeth there is less likelihood of developing bad breath. Anaerobic bacteria thrive on food debris and if that is removed properly and often enough there are reduced chances of developing any kind of mouth or tooth infection as well as increasing the freshness of your breath.

Eliminate Bad Breath Tip #1- Oral Hygiene
When you eat high protein foods it is all the more important to clean your teeth and mouth well. After you have finished eating there are still microscopic food particles present in the mouth. These get stuck between the teeth and on your tongue and hence cause bad breath problems because these are the same places that the anaerobic bacteria live and multiply. Simply by cleaning your mouth very well after eating, you will hinder the growth of these bacteria.

Eliminate Bad Breath Tip #2- Dental Check Up
Apart from yourself following a disciplined approach to mouth cleaning and regular intervals and eating a proper diet, you should also get your teeth professionally cleaned. Also avoid foods which cause an odor in the mouth.

Eliminate Bad Breath Tip #3- Oral Products
If you use a “water pik” in your oral hygiene routine, it will help a great deal because it plays a large part in removing the food particles from between the teeth. You can purchase a portable “water pik” that will work on batteries and take it with you to use wherever you go.

You may have tried a number of mouthwashes, but try and buy one which contains cetylpyridinium chloride and zinc chloride. Both these help in getting rid of bad breath. Hydrogen peroxide is another good remedy because it releases oxygen and does not allow the anaerobic bacterial to multiply, thus helping in getting rid of bad breath.

Technorati Tags: Breath, Caused, Disease, Periodontal

An innovative new phone that includes a microscope could help combat the spread of deadly diseases in the most remote parts of the world. The CelloPhone can be used to diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria and will act as a mobile doctor in places where medical resources are limited.

The idea started as a student project at Berkeley College in the US. It developed into “Celloscope” and became the winner of the Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project prize.

The Celloscope works in the same manner as a laboratory-style florescence microscope but has the advantage of being portable, meaning that it can be used in developing countries where facilities are scarce. For example, the Gambia struggles to combat malaria (the cause of 25% of child deaths annually) but they do have good mobile phone networks and so can make use of the advantages of the CelloPhone.

Celloscope studies sample cells from blood, urine or saliva. These images are then sent by MMS to a central station where a computer programme returns the diagnosis to CelloPhone as a text message. Malaria is a major public health problem around the world, with 300 to 500 million people in more than 100 countries suffering from malaria annually.  90% of these cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is curable, yet the disease kills more than a million people each year, mainly children under five.

With the advent of the Cellophone, eradication may no longer be a dream. The Gambia has been doing well so far with its malaria control program and may manage to eliminate it in the next decade, especially with the advantage of a coastal location (which means a swathe of the country is free from malaria-infested borders). The Cellophone could help with a faster diagnosis in a region with limited resources but a high rate of survival.

An innovative new phone that includes a microscope could help combat the spread of deadly diseases in the most remote parts of the world. The CelloPhone can be used to diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria and will act as a mobile doctor in places where medical resources are limited.

The idea started as a student project at Berkeley College in the US. It developed into “Celloscope” and became the winner of the Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project prize.

The Celloscope works in the same manner as a laboratory-style florescence microscope but has the advantage of being portable, meaning that it can be used in developing countries where facilities are scarce. For example, the Gambia struggles to combat malaria (the cause of 25% of child deaths annually) but they do have good mobile phone networks and so can make use of the advantages of the CelloPhone.

Celloscope studies sample cells from blood, urine or saliva. These images are then sent by MMS to a central station where a computer programme returns the diagnosis to CelloPhone as a text message. Malaria is a major public health problem around the world, with 300 to 500 million people in more than 100 countries suffering from malaria annually.  90% of these cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is curable, yet the disease kills more than a million people each year, mainly children under five.

With the advent of the Cellophone, eradication may no longer be a dream. The Gambia has been doing well so far with its malaria control program and may manage to eliminate it in the next decade, especially with the advantage of a coastal location (which means a swathe of the country is free from malaria-infested borders). The Cellophone could help with a faster diagnosis in a region with limited resources but a high rate of survival.

Technorati Tags: Beating, Disease, doctor, mobile, Phone

Alzheimer’s disease describes a condition named after its discoverer, Alois Alzheimer. In 1907 he wrote a textbook study of a woman of 51 who had died of dementia, and whose brain he had subjected to microscopic analysis.

The examination showed changes Alzheimer had never witnessed before. Parts of the brain showed tangling and other parts showed clumping of brain matter. Later research showed more “younger” people who had died of dementia who displayed the same brain abnormalities. This came to be known as Alzheimer’s disease.

It was later found that this type of dementia occurred far more often in older people, with their brains showing the same abnormalities at microscopic level.

However, at this time, Alzheimer’s disease was a diagnosis only applied to younger sufferers, since these formed the basis of Alois Alzheimer’s research. Older sufferers were labeled with pre-senile dementia or senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT).

Nowadays, with dementia in younger people being quite uncommon, it is usual for the term Alzheimer’s disease to describe this entire group, right across the age range.

‘Alzheimer’s disease’ is a deceptively simple label for a complicated set of symptoms which are hard to describe in their fullness without direct personal experience of such in another. A suitably evocative description is “A living death”, while more prosaic medical terminology cites “the slow onset of memory loss with a gradual progression to a loss of judgement and changes in behavior and temperament.”

The Royal College of Physicians describes Alzheimer’s disease in more detail, defining dementia as fundamentally “the global impairment of higher functions”, listing its impact on memory, daily problem-solving ability, the performance of learned perceptuo-motor skills (such as washing, dressing, and eating), appropriate use of social skills, and control of the emotional reactions, all of which occur under the influence of an increasingly clouded consciousness which is sadly typical of Alzheimer’s.

Memory loss is of course the most obvious feature of Alzheimer’s disease, but early on it can pass undetected as sufferers often manage to cover it up. The most recent memories go first, the distant past or long-term memory holding out until the disease has become quite advanced.

The short-term memory covers recent events, such as those taking place in the last hours or days, even weeks, and it is this which Alzheimer’s sufferers have real problems with, and whose failure can signify the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Because memory loss is central to Alzheimer’s disease and can easily be tested for, memory tests are an important diagnostic tool used to assess Alzheimer’s sufferers.

One formerly common test was to ask suspected Alzheimer’s sufferers a list of questions which probed both their long and short-term memory.

Typical questions included: How old are you, what is your date of birth, what day is it today, what month is it, what year is it, when was the First World War, what is the name of the Prime Minister, where are you now, count back from 20 to 1, and finally the sufferer would be given an address and asked to repeat it back 5 mnutes later.

If the suspected Alzheimer’s sufferer is co-operative, having been asked the questions in a respectful and unintrusive way, this is a relatively easy and inexpensive test to carry out, and which can yield useful pointers as to which parts of the memory may be problematic. Not only will long or short-term memory problems (or both) show up, but also potential orientation issues.

However, a low score by itself doesn’t prove either dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, as not everyone will know all the answers regardless of the state of their memory. The test is simply a guide to show that there may be a problem that needs further investigation.

The above is an overview of aspects of the very complex and involved medical condition known as Alzheimer’s disease.

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