Acne
Acne is a red, irritating skin rash primarily affecting teenagers and young adults. It can, however, occur at all ages. Typical acne appears in the oil-producing areas of the body—namely, the face, chest, and back. Acne can also occur on the neck and upper arms.
Acne can have a short-term, potentially lasting psychological effect. Decreased self-esteem and self-confidence can lead to social withdrawal and even depression. Left untreated, severe acne can lead to disfiguring scarring, which can ... more
Alzheimer
Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in industrialized nations. Dementia is a brain disorder that interferes with a person’s ability to carry out everyday activities.
The brain of a person with Alzheimer disease (see Multimedia file 1) has abnormal areas containing clumps (senile plaques) and bundles (neurofibrillary tangles) of abnormal proteins. These clumps and tangles destroy connections between brain cells.
This usually affects the parts of the brain that control ... more
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (often called RA) is a chronic (long-standing) disease that damages the joints of the body. The damage is caused by inflammation, a normal response by the body’s immune system to “assaults” such as infections, wounds, and foreign objects.
The inflammation in the joints causes pain, stiffness, and swelling as well as many other symptoms.
The inflammation often affects other organs and systems of the body.
If the inflammation is not slowed or stopped, it can damage ... more
Asthma
Asthma is a disease that affects the breathing passages of the lungs (bronchioles). Asthma is caused by chronic (ongoing, long-term) inflammation of these passages. This makes the breathing passages, or airways, of the person with asthma highly sensitive to various "triggers."
When the inflammation is "triggered" by any number of external and internal factors, the passages swell and fill with mucus.
Muscles within the breathing passages contract (bronchospasm), causing even further narrowing ... more
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer arising in breast tissue. Cancer is simply a group of abnormal cells that have abnormal growth patterns.
Although breast cancer is primarily a disease of women, about 1% of breast cancers occur in men.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women and is the second leading cause of death by cancer in women, following only lung cancer.
In 2000, the American Cancer Society estimated that 184,200 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the United ... more
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy, fatlike substance that your body needs to function normally. Cholesterol is naturally present in cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body, including the brain, nerves, muscles, skin, liver, intestines, and heart.
Your body uses cholesterol to produce many hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help to digest fat. It takes only a small amount of cholesterol in the blood to meet these needs. If you have too much cholesterol in your bloodstream, the excess may ... more
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