Archive | February 2019

QUOTE FOR THURSDAY:

“Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) belongs to a family of human and animal diseases known as the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases.  Spongiform refers to the characteristic appearance of infected brains, which become filled with holes until they resemble sponges when examined under a microscope.  CJD is the most common of the known human TSEs.”

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

QUOTE FOR WEDNESDAY:

A human version of mad cow disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is believed to be caused by eating beef products contaminated with central nervous system tissue, such as brain and spinal cord, from cattle infected with mad cow disease.

Web M.D.

QUOTE FOR TUESDAY:

“A healthy diet and lifestyle are your best weapons to fight cardiovascular disease. It’s not as hard as you may think! Remember, it’s the overall pattern of your choices that counts. Make the simple steps in your life for long-term benefits to your health and your heart.  Go to AHA diet and life style recommendations for more information.”

American Heart Association

QUOTE FOR MONDAY:

 “If you are what you eat, it follows that you want to stick to a healthy diet that’s well balanced.  You want to eat a variety of foods,You don’t want to be overly restrictive of any one food group or eat too much of another”

Stephen Bickston, MD, AGAF-American Gastroenterological Association Fellow (professor of internal medicine and director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Center in Richmond)

QUOTE FOR THE WEEKEND:

“Eating Disorders rank among the most serious public health concerns in the United States and have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.:

The center for eating disorders at Sheppard Pratt

Part 2 Anorexia vs Bulemia with medical complications, RX & When to see a doctor.

ANOREXIA NERVOSA VS BULEMIA

  • Medical Complications of Anorexia Nervosa:

  • Low heart rate, low body temperature, low blood pressure,  irregular heartbeat
  • Slowed digestion causing pain, early fullness, nausea, bloating and constipation
  • Hepatitis of starvation, liver failure
  • Loss of period in females, low testosterone in males, infertility
  • Bone marrow suppression, anemia
  • Bone loss and osteoporosis
  • Thyroid abnormalities, low blood sugar
  • Brain atrophy, cognitive difficulty
  • Dry skin, hair loss, lanugo hair growth
  • Aspiration pneumonia, respiratory failure
  • High risk for refeeding syndrome, a potentially deadly complication of injudicious refeeding
  • Medical Complications of Bulimia Nervosa:

  • Dental erosion and infections, parotid gland swelling
  • Esophageal rupture
  • Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), constipation
  • Low potassium, low sodium
  • Severe edema or fluid overload
  • Dehydration, fainting
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • SeizuresFirst know the red flags. Red flags that may indicate an eating disorder include:
  • For Treatment:

  • Skipping meals
  • Making excuses for not eating
  • Eating only a few certain “safe” foods, usually those low in fat and calories
  • Adopting rigid meal or eating rituals, such as cutting food into tiny pieces or spitting food out after chewing
  • Cooking elaborate meals for others, but refusing to eat them themselves
  • Collecting recipes
  • Withdrawing from normal social activities
  • Persistent worry or complaining about being fat
  • A distorted body image, such as complaining about being fat despite being underweight
  • Not wanting to eat in public
  • Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws
  • Wearing baggy or layered clothing
  • Repeatedly eating large amounts of sweet or high-fat foods
  • Use of syrup of ipecac, laxatives, the over-the-counter weight-loss drug orlistat (Alli), or over-the-counter drugs that can cause fluid loss, such as menstrual symptom relief medications
  • Use of dietary supplements or herbal products for weight loss
  • Food hoarding
  • Leaving during meals to use the toilet
  • Eating in secret. Because of its powerful pull, an eating disorder can be difficult to manage or overcome by yourself. Eating disorders can virtually take over your life. You may think about food all the time, spend hours agonizing over what to eat and exercise to exhaustion. You may feel ashamed, sad, hopeless, drained, irritable and anxious. You may also have a host of physical problems because of your eating disorder, such as irregular heartbeats, fatigue, and bowel or menstrual troubles. If you’re experiencing any of these problems, or if you think you may have an eating disorder, seek medical help.
  • Urging a loved one to seek treatment
  • When to see a doctor

  • Unfortunately, many people with eating disorders resist treatment. If you have a loved one you’re worried about, urge him or her to talk to a doctor. Even if your loved one isn’t ready to acknowledge having an issue with food, you may be able to open the door by expressing concern and a desire to listen. If you’re concerned your child may have an eating disorder, contact his or her doctor about your concerns. You can get a referral to qualified mental health providers for treatment.
  • Keep in mind, however, that in children it’s sometimes hard to tell what’s an eating disorder and what’s simply a whim, a new fad, or experimentation with a vegetarian diet or other eating styles. In addition, many girls and sometimes boys go on diets to lose weight, but stop dieting after a short time. If you’re a parent or guardian, be careful not to mistake occasional dieting with an eating disorder. On the other hand, be alert for eating patterns and beliefs that may signal unhealthy behavior, as well as peer pressure that may trigger eating disorders.

QUOTE FOR FRIDAY:

“When one hears the term eating disorder, most Americans’ minds automatically think about anorexia and bulimia. Both of these mental illnesses are devastating to the victims’ bodies, mental health, and self-image, as well as the victims’ loved ones. These people experience drastic changes in weight and appearance. Although they are similar, these illnesses differ in the victims’ motivation, their symptoms, and the ramifications of their behavior on their health.”

Lone Star College

QUOTE FOR THURSDAY:

“Black Americans — and Mexican-Americans — have twice the risk of diabetes as white Americans. In addition, blacks with diabetes have more serious complications — such as loss of vision, loss of limbs, and kidney failure — than whites.”  (Keep in mind all 3 are caused by Diabetes (DM) but if the pt had loss of vision or poor kidneys intially the DM made it worse.)

Maudene Nelson, RD, certified diabetes educator at Naomi Barry Diabetes Center at Columbia University.

 

Part II Black History Month — Read about common diseases in this ethnic group.

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The rates of death by diabetes for each race and ethnicity in the United States in 2005.

Heart disease and stroke disproportionately affect African-Americans.   Why?  One this race is highiest in B/P&high in stroke(one main cause of stoke=high b/p).

Black Americans and High Blood Pressure Heart Disease & Stroke

“What sets the stage for the more aggressive and higher incidence of heart disease in African-Americans is a very high incidence of high blood pressure,” Yancy says. “This predisposes African-Americans to more heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. This makes us focus on high blood pressure as it forces heart failure.”

Know the facts of how to get High B/P.  Factors are:  Obesity, High Sodium intake, Lack of Exercise, and Genetic History in the family.

Clinical Trials show blacks and whites respond differently to treatments for high blood pressure. Indeed, treatment guidelines suggest that doctors should consider different drugs based on a patient’s race.

But Yancey says that a closer look at the data shows that race tends to be a marker for more complicated high blood pressure treatment.

This ethnic group has factors for complicated B/P.  Non-compliance with the Rx they should be doing and not going to follow up visits.  Ignoring symptoms till they have to go to the ER.  In America if you go to an ER of hospital government assisted they can’t say No we can’t take you for no insurance.   Lack of having medical insurance is another factor.

Unfortunately if no insurance due to inability to afford it and can’t go to doctors for a office visit.  There is help.  What is available is free clinics to provide medical service to any person who can’t afford a bill due to lack of insurance with no fee.  Check out freeclinics.com to find where your free clinics are available in the area you live.

Health care differences between African-Americans and white Americans.

Clinical Trials show blacks and whites respond differently to treatments for high blood pressure. Indeed, treatment guidelines suggest that doctors should consider different drugs based on a patient’s race.

But Yancey says that a closer look at the data shows that race tends to be a marker for more complicated high blood pressure treatment.

“Data suggests that all therapies do equally well — but patients at higher risk need more intensive therapy,” he says.

A similar situation exists for heart failure. A promising treatment for heart failure didn’t seem to be working — until researchers noticed that it worked much better for black patients than for white patients. A study of black patients confirmed this finding — and provided tantalizing evidence that the drug will help patients of all races with certain disease characteristics.

Clinical trials show blacks and whites respond differently to treatments for high blood pressure. Indeed, treatment guidelines suggest that doctors should consider different drugs based on a patient’s race.But Yancey says that a closer look at the data shows that race tends to be a marker for more complicated high blood pressure treatment.”Data suggests that all therapies do equally well — but patients at higher risk need more intensive therapy,” he says.A similar situation exists for heart failure. A promising treatment for heart failure didn’t seem to be working — until researchers noticed that it worked much better for black patients than for white patients. A study of black patients confirmed this finding — and provided tantalizing evidence that the drug will help patients of all races with certain disease characteristics.“The way this discussion of race differences has been helpful for the whole field of cardiology, is it is exposing new treatment options for all people with heart failure for African-American and Caucasian,” Yancy says.

Black Americans and Lung Disease

A 2005 report from the American Lung Association shows that black Americans suffer far more lung disease than white Americans do.

Some of the findings:

-Black Americans have more asthma than any racial or ethnic group in America. And blacks are 3 times more likely to die of asthma than the white race.

-Black Americans are 3 times more likely to suffer sarcoidosis than white Americans. The lung-scarring disease is 16 times more deadly for blacks than for whites.  Black men are leading ethnic sex as smokers.

-Black American children are 3 times as likely as white American children to have sleep apnea.

-Black American babies die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) 2.5 times as often as white American babies.

-Black American men are 50% more likely to get lung cancer than white American men.  Lets know some facts, in particular Smoking:

Image result for The percentage of Black men versus white men who smoke in USA

Image result for Statistics on wornen smokers of the USA

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Also your environment plays a role.  Example living in Jersey City as opposed to the country puts you at a highier risk for lung cancer possibly due to the pollution content, especially if you have been living there 20 years or more as opposed to 5 years.  You have to look at factors that could cause smoking (This is a whole another topic by itself).

 

Black Americans and Diabetes

Black Americans — and Mexican-Americans — have twice the risk of diabetes as white Americans. In addition, blacks with diabetes have more serious complications — such as loss of vision, loss of limbs, and kidney failure — than whites, notes Maudene Nelson, RD, certified diabetes educator at Naomi Barry Diabetes Center at Columbia University.

“The theory is that maybe it is access to health care, or maybe a cultural fatalism — thinking, ‘It is God’s will,’ or, ‘My family had it so I have it’ — not a sense of something I can have an impact on so it won’t hurt me,” Nelson tells WebMD. “But more and more there is thinking it is something that makes blacks genetically more susceptible. It is hard to tell how much of it is what.”

Keep in mind besides Hereditary, Obesity and Poor Diet with No exercise, and controlling your glucose level (between 100-120 but cer all play crucial factors in getting diabetes.

The Forgotten Killer – There is, indeed, evidence that African-Americans may have a genetic susceptibility to diabetes. Even so, Nelson says, the real problem is empowering patients to keep their diabetes under control.

“Patients often have the sense that they are not as much in charge of managing their diabetes as their doctor,” Nelson says. “Where I work, in various settings, there is an emphasis on patients. We say this is what your blood sugar is; this is what influences your blood sugar; you have to remember to take your meds. So as a diabetes educator I know there has to be an emphasis on patients putting out more effort to manage their own health.”

Black Americans and Sickle Cell Anemia

It’s no surprise that sickle cell anemia affects African-Americans far more than it does white Americans.

This, clearly, is a genetic disease that has little to do with the environment. Yet even here — with a killer disease — social and political issues come into play.

LeRoy M. Graham Jr., MD-a pediatric lung expert, serves on the American Lung Association’s board of directors, is associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, and serves as staff physician for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Graham says, the National Institutes of Health is changing this situation.

One reason for this change — as research into lung disease, heart disease, and diabetes shows — is the growing realization that the health black Americans who dominate this disease primarily and not a caucasian disease is a human health issue that needs to be addressed like all others.   All diseases need to be addressed but obviously the highest number of population regarding diseases are looked into more to decrease the count.

 

 

 

QUOTE FOR WEDNESDAY:

“All humans have the same physiology, are vulnerable to the same illnesses, & respond to the same medicines. Naturally, diseases&responses to treatment do vary from person to person. There are unique issues that affect black Americans.”

Yancy, LeRoy M. Graham Jr., MD (On the American Lung Association’s board of directors, is associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, and serves as staff physician for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.)