Disorders and Diseases

Breast cancer, osteoporosis... Conditions Men Get, Too : Part 2
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
As with breast cancer in women, symptoms include the presence of a breast lump that is usually firm and painless. The nipple can have an abnormality such as retraction, crusting, or a discharge. Patients frequently are over 60.

Anthrax Testing and Treatment
by CDC
There is no screening test for anthrax; there is no test that a doctor can do for you that says you've been exposed to or carry it. The only way exposure can be determined is through a public health investigation.

Copying with Kidney Dialysis
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The National Kidney Foundation, as well as others in the renal (kidney) care community, has been trying to improve quality in dialysis clinics nationwide. The foundation led an extensive project for the last two years to develop quality guidelines

African Trypanosomiasis (African Sleeping Sickness)
by CDC
Trypanosomiasis is a systemic disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. East African trypanosomiasis is caused by T. b. rhodesiense and West African trypanosomiasis by T. b. gambiense.

Epilepsy: Causes and Diagnosis
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Although special diets and even surgery are used to prevent seizures, the most common treatment for epilepsy is daily use of anticonvulsant drugs. People with epilepsy may take medicine up to four times a day to prevent seizures; response to the various

Coping with Connective Tissue Diseases (CTDs)
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Medications help people manage this group of often painful and life-disrupting disorders, including scleroderma and lupus. Possible causes may be defective genes, hormone overproduction, and agents such as polyvinyl chloride and collagen.

Sulfites Safe for Most, Dangerous for Some
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Only about 1 out of 100 people - including 5 percent of those who have asthma - are sensitive to sulfites. But their reactions to foods containing these additives can threaten their lives.

Cause of Gastritis and Ulcer Treatment : Infection Connection, Diagnosis
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
But most of the medical community felt this was not sufficient proof to definitively implicate the bacteria in causing ulcers. A medical dictionary published in 1986, for example, lists the causes of ulcers in order of importance as high acid, irritation

You Can Prevent Cryptosporidiosis
by CDC
Crypto (full name is cryptosporidiosis) is a disease caused by a microscopic parasite (a type of germ). It causes diarrhea, stomach cramps, and fever. You get crypto by putting anything in your mouth that has been in contact with the feces

Kidney Disease: When Those Fabulous Filters Are Foiled
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
If the kidneys falter or fail, we lose an internal pollution control system without which virtually every other bodily process becomes awash in potentially toxic wastes. And that's not all. Besides purifying blood, the kidneys synthesize hormones

Crohn's Disease: Drugs Can Reduce the Symptoms
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Crohn's disease is one of two major types of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) - the general term for diseases that cause inflammation in the intestines - and has no cure and a high rate of recurrence following treatment.

Hope for People With Rare Diseases : Managing Rare Diseases
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
New rare diseases are discovered every year. Most are inherited and caused by alterations or defects in genes (mutations). Others can be acquired as a result of environmental and toxic conditions.

Controlling Epilepsy
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Uninformed, supernatural explanations for epilepsy have given way to the scientific knowledge that it's a neurological disorder that can be diagnosed with tests and newer imaging techniques, and usually controlled with drugs.

Sulfites : Sniffing Out Sulfites
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
When food is sold unpackaged in bulk form (as with a barrel of dried fruit or loose, raw shrimp at the fresh fish counter), store managers must post a sign or some other type of labeling that lists the food's ingredients on the container

Lupus
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Lupus experts recommend that people with lupus have regular medical appointments and take their medication as prescribed. Other recommendations include sunscreen use and limiting sun exposure to prevent flares, regular exercise to improve joint

Cystic Fibrosis: Tests, Treatments Improve Survival
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The discovery in 1989 of the gene that causes cystic fibrosis has given impetus to improved diagnosis and treatment for this debilitating and sometimes deadly disease that can affect breathing, digestion, and other body functions.

Reye's Syndrome: Symptoms and Risk
by Health Canada
Reye's Syndrome (RS) is a rare disease that affects mainly children or teenagers during a viral illness, such as chicken pox or influenza. It can be fatal. The use of ASA (Acetylsalicylic Acid) has been strongly linked with the development of RS.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
by National Institute on Aging
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a lung disease in which the lung is damaged, making it hard to breathe. In COPD, the airways that carry air in and out of your lungs become partially blocked, making it difficult to get air in and out

Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
by CDC
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is found throughout the world in all geographic and socioeconomic groups, but, in general, it is more widespread in developing countries and in areas of lower socioeconomic conditions. CMV is a member of the herpesvirus family

Paget's Disease : Therapies, When to Treat?
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
In clinical studies, patients receiving Fosamax had a 20 to 25 percent greater drop in serum alkaline phosphatase levels than those receiving Didronel. The drop was up to 65 percent greater compared with placebo, which had little effect on alkaline