HealthCare

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Of the 5 to 10 per cent of the population aged over 65 years who have some kind of cognitive decline, over 50 per cent of cases will be due to AD and, although accounting for a smaller percentage of presenile cases, AD is still the single largest cause. The initial disease description by Alzheimer in 1907 was of a woman in her fifties with a progressive dementia and behavioral disturbance, who was found to have neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques throughout her cerebral cortex. The term 'Alzheimer's disease' was then applied to similar cases with a presenile dementia, before it was realized that identical pathological changes were seen in the majority of elderly demented patients.

Since plaques and tangles are found in a very high proportion of non-demented elderly subjects, debate continues about whether AD represents a continuum or a distinct disease process that increases in
frequency with age. With recognition of a number of causative gene mutations (see below) AD is now generally believed to be a multifactorial disease with familial and sporadic forms.

Alzheimer's disease Video

The definition of dementia has evolved from one of progressive global intellectual deterioration to a syndrome consisting of progressive impairment in memory and at
least one other cognitive deficit (aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, or disturbance in executive function) in the absence of another explanatory central nervous system
disorder, depression, or delirium (according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn (DSM-IV) ). Even this recent syndrome concept is
becoming inadequate, as researchers and clinicians become more aware of the specific early cognitive profiles associated with different dementia syndromes. For
instance, in early Alzheimer's disease there may be isolated memory impairment many years before more widespread deficits develop.
Since dementia is predominantly a disorder of later life, it represents an increasing problem for individuals and society with the projected increase in the elderly
population. It is estimated that the 18 million people with dementia worldwide will increase to 34 million by the year 2025. This increase is most marked in the
developing countries, where the 11 million people with dementia in the year 2000 will reach 24 million by 2025. In the developed world, the equivalent figures are 7
million in 2000 and 11 million in 2025. In Europe alone, 4 million people will be affected by the year 2004.
Although the incidence of dementia is difficult to establish, community prevalence studies suggest that about 8 per cent of all people over 65 years of age suffer from
dementia, this shows a marked increase with advancing age. The prevalence below 65 years is about 1:1000, this rises to 1:50 to the age of 70 and 1:20 from 70 to
80. Over 80 years of age the prevalence is 1:5.

All cancers have certain pathological and clinical characteristics in common, but those arising in different organs often have very different causes. The epidemiology of cancer- the study of the incidence of the disease in people under different conditions of life, is, therefore the epidemiology of specific types of cancer, usually, but not always, defined as cancers of specific organs.

In this sense, the subject has a history dating back nearly 300 years to Ramazzini's observation that cancer of the breast occurred more often in nuns than in other women of similar age and to Pott's observation, 200 years ago, that scrotal cancer in young men occurred characteristically in chimney sweeps. The high risk in nuns (which largely reflected the protective effect of multiple pregnancies in the general population) helped the realization that hormonal factors can substantially affect the incidence of several types of cancer, while the latter led to the recognition that the combustion products of coal to which sweeps had been exposed could cause cancer on any part of the skin with which they came into repeated contact and to the isolation of the first specific chemical carcinogen.

Many other similar observations were made over the next 150 years, mostly as a result of the acumen of individual doctors who were struck by the observation that clusters of cases of a particular type of cancer occurred in patients with a similar occupational or cultural background. Lip and tongue cancers were found in pipe smokers, bladder cancer in certain aniline dye workers, buccal cancer in those who habitually chewed mixtures of tobacco and betel in India, lung cancer in miners of particular ores (who, it was subsequently realized, were heavily exposed to radon and its daughter products), and skin cancer in the early radiologists and radiographers who were heavily exposed to X-rays and in farmers and seamen heavily exposed to sunlight. Gradually, however, clinical anecdotes were replaced by statistics as the epidemiological methods that are described below began to be applied to the study of cancer and other non-infectious disease.

As a result, many other causes were identified with sufficient certainty to justify preventive action and data were obtained to suggest hypotheses that could be tested in the laboratory.

A comprehensive study of the relationship between alcohol and breast cancer found a 8% increase in relative risk of breast cancer per
10 g of alcohol per day, approximately, per drink per day.
In recent years there have been a number of studies investigating physical activity and breast cancer risk. Physical activity in early life is inversely related to breast cancer risk. This is consistent with the hormonal etiology, as such activity may delay puberty or reduce ovulation. Exercise later in life has also been found to have a protective effect, with a 6% reduction in relative risk per additional hour of exercise per week. As with the predisposing effect of obesity, the influence appears to be stronger in postmenopausal women.
Thus it seems that there is a potential to prevent a substantial number of breast
cancers by lifestyle changes. These include increased physical activity, weight loss, a diet lower in animal products, and reductions in alcohol consumption.

Cancer is generally defined as a growth or tumor that results
from abnormal and uncontrolled cell division. Normal cells of
the body too  constantly undergo cell division
as old and injured cells die off and are replaced. The process of
controlled growth and death of normal cells is referred to as
homeostasis, and its goal is to maintain a healthy balance in the
life processes of the cells, tissues, and organs of the body.
To achieve this goal, cell growth and division occurs in a
process called the cell cycle, and its steps are carefully controlled
by a variety of genetic and molecular feedback mechanisms.
In cancer cells, any one or several of these mechanisms
malfunction, allowing the cells’ growth to proceed unchecked.
The cell cycle is an orderly, four-stage process. The cell
starts the cycle when it is engaged in its normal functions. It
eventually prepares to make a copy of itself by entering a phase
in which the the cell’s DNA—its genetic material—replicates,
resulting in duplicate genetic material. The cell returns to its
normal functions for a while before entering the final phase,
when the cytoplasm and duplicate genetic material separates
producing two identical cells.
Normal cells follow the steps of the cell cycle in an orderly
fashion. Cancer cells also follow these steps, but they bypass the controls that keep too many of them from entering the cycle at
once and that make them die off when they should.

The word cancer comes from the Greek word karkinos, for “crab.” The
physician Hippocrates gave the disease this name because blood vessels growing through the tumors he observed reminded him of the shape of crab claws.

The earliest known description of cancer was found in an ancient Egyptian papyrus . Clearly, this disease was recognized a long time
ago, inspiring many different attempts through the years to explain
its cause and to cure it.  Early physicians saw that surgery
often did not stop the return of this devastating disease, so they
turned to the natural world for substances to help eliminate cancer
regrowth.
Long ago  extracts of ginger root may have been
used to treat skin cancers, and the Greek physician Dioscorides
recorded the use of red clover and the autumn crocus,
Colchicum autumnale, to treat a variety of cancers. These and many
other records of attempted therapies eventually led to the development
of modern drugs to fight cancer. For example, in 1930, scientists
looked further into the ancient Roman use of the autumn
crocus and successfully extracted the anticancer drug colchicine.

The search for drugs to treat cancer truly entered the modern era
as scientists gained an increased understanding of how cells—especially
cancer cells—worked.

What is Alzheimer's and what happens when you get it Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. Scientists have learned a great deal about Alzheimer's disease in the century since Dr. Alzheimer first drew attention to it. Today we know that Alzheimer's Is a common and serious brain disease.More than 5 million Americans now have Alzheimer's. Although symptoms can vary widely, the first problem many people notice is chronic memory loss.

OAKLAND Alzheimer's patients talk about still enjoying life Alzheimer's disease can be a terribly debilitating condition that destroys brain cells and almost always ends with sufferers unable to recognize loved ones or take care of themselves. But an Alzheimer's diagnosis isn't always the end of the world -- it doesn't even mean the end of an active, demanding and happy life. That much was obvious at an Alzheimer's Association meeting in Oakland Saturday morning, where about 100 Alzheimer’s patients took part.
Alzheimer's is a disease that destroys brain cells, hampers communication between neurons and seriously impairs a person's ability to function. Memory, language and thought are particularly affected. Symptoms include asking the same question over and over and getting lost in familiar places. The chances of Alzheimer's increases steadily after age 65, but it is not the mild memory decline associated with normal aging. It is a degenerative brain disease.

What is Alzheimer's video

The body maintains a variety of antioxidants as a multilevel
defense against free radical damage. These include
the enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, and
glutathione peroxidase; antioxidants synthesized in the
body, such as glutathione, proteins, and uric acid; and
antioxidants obtained from the diet, such as flavonoids,
vitamins C and E, and beta-carotene. Nevertheless, antioxidant
defenses are not perfect, and DNA is damaged
regularly.

There may be as many as 10,000 oxidative
hits to DNA per cell per day in humans.  The vast majority
of these lesions are repaired by cellular enzymes.
Those that are not repaired may progress toward neoplasia
(the formation of cancer cells). Because of the continual
bombardment of DNA and other tissues by free
radicals, the body must obtain ample antioxidant supplies
through the diet. Epidemiological studies support
a protective role for dietary antioxidants by consistently reporting that populations who consume inadequate
amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables are at a higher
risk for cancer, heart disease, and other degenerative
diseases.

Mutations—inheritable changes in the DNA—are central to the transformation of a normal cell into a cancer cell, to the development of malignant properties of cancer cells, and to cancer cells adaptation to their environment. The rate of genetic change is especially great when a cancer cell is faced with obstacles to its survival. Since mutations, along with proliferation, are so important to thesurvival of a cancer.

Cancer cells are easy to kill using drug therapy; however,
they are hard to kill without damaging normal
cells. This is because cancer cells rely on processes that
are fundamentally similar to the processes used by normal
cells. Their differences are in activity, not function.

Any treatment that harms the structure of cancer cells   would harm normal cells too. the best way to inhibit a cancer cell (and to spare normal cells) is not to destroy its structural properties but to normalize the signals
that drive it. These signals derive from its genetic instability, abnormal expression of genes, abnormal signal transduction, and abnormal communication with healthy cells—the first four clusters of procancer events.

Many cases of osteoporosis are preventable, and the earlier you start making
healthy lifestyle choices the better. The best way to prevent breaking a
bone due to osteoporosis is to stop osteoporosis before it starts! Take the
following steps to reduce your risk:
 Get regular weight-bearing exercise. Getting started at an early age helps
prevent osteoporosis or at minimum slow the progression. By strengthening
your muscles, you’re also strengthening your bones. When you lift
weights, the stress on the bone causes the body to increase the calcium
into your bones for added strength.
 Make sure you get enough calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K. All these
vitamins and minerals make your bones strong. A diet rich in calcium is
essential for bone strength. Because you need vitamin D to absorb calcium,
it also plays a vital role in maintaining bone density
 Talk to your doctor about available treatments if you’re at high risk of
osteoporosis or already experiencing bone loss. Medications are available
to slow the rate of bone loss and even help rebuild bone. Talk to
your doctor to see what type of treatment option is best for you.