Disorders and Diseases

Pet Reptiles Pose Risk of Salmonella Infection for Their Owners
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Approximately 3 percent of American households own an estimated 7.3 million reptiles. Because the most popular species will not breed if closely confined, most reptiles are captured in the wild or hatched at reptile ranches and imported.

Urinary Incontinenc: Diagnosis and Treatment
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The first step toward successful treatment is to determine the type of incontinence and the cause. A doctor's evaluation usually includes a physical examination, medical history, and urine tests.

Controlling Urinary Incontinenc
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
At least 13 million Americans experience urinary incontinence, the involuntary leakage of urine sufficient to be a problem, and 11 million of them are women, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Hope for Amputees: Preventing Amputation
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Bioengineers using new materials and high technology are forging artificial limbs that are more and more lifelike--in appearance and function. Many amputees are now able to put aside their wheelchairs for an active lifestyle.

Tropical Diseases: Prevention
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Preventive measures are staying indoors from dusk to dawn and using bed nets with 18 or more holes per inch - sandflies are a third the size of mosquitoes. Treatment of choice is with injectable drugs containing pentavalent antimony, a potentially toxic

Tropical Diseases: Flatworms, Snails, Schistosomiasis, Leishmaniases ...
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Flatworms cause schistosomiasis. First-stage larvae infect freshwater snails, then evolve into cercariae larvae, which exit the snails and swim along to find a human host. Penetrating the skin, male and female cercariae move in the bloodstream

Tropical Diseases: Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, Elephantiasis
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
In the United States, Barat says, oral quinine given together with either tetracycline or sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (Fansidar) is the best regimen for treatment of mild to moderate falciparum malaria acquired in areas where resistance to chloroquine

Treating Tropical Diseases
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Americans traveling to certain areas of the globe may contract tropical diseases despite their best efforts to avoid them. Fortunately, effective treatments are available for most of these exotic maladies.

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

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.

Pancreas : Pancreatitis, Pancreatic Cancer
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Another common disease associated with the exocrine function of the pancreas is pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), which can be either acute or chronic. The most common cause of acute pancreatitis is blockage by a gallstone of the main secretory

Pancreas : Diabetes, Cystic Fibrosis
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Diabetes and cystic fibrosis are just two of the diseases that involve the pancreas. Various treatments are available for these conditions. The human pancreas, an elongated, flattened gland behind the stomach, is involved in or affected by a number

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

Paget's Disease : Diagnoses, Treatments
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The role of genetics also is supported by observations that certain ethnic groups have higher rates of Paget's disease. According to the Paget Foundation, Paget's disease is most common in Caucasian people of Anglo-Saxon and European descent

Paget's Disease
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Many people dismiss symptoms of this bone disease as part of the aging process. But effective treatments are available and are best begun early. Paget's disease is the second most common bone disease in the United States. Osteoporosis is No. 1.

Dehydration in Children
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Dehydration as a result of vomiting and diarrhea is one of the most common problems of infancy and early childhood. Oral rehydration therapy, readily available in fluid form for home use, is saving children's lives both in the United States and abroad.

Adults Need Tetanus Shots, Too
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Though most people are aware that infants and children need to be immunized against tetanus as part of their routine vaccination program, it may come as news that this condition can threaten the lives of adults as well.

Sickle Cell Anemia : Hydroxyurea Studies, Part 2, Inheritance
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Many questions about hydroxyurea in the treatment of sickle cell anemia remain unanswered, said Bonds. Doctors do not know what the most effective and least toxic dose of the drug is or whether taking it for many years presents health risks.

Sickle Cell Anemia : Life Expectancy, Hydroxyurea Studies
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Despite the absence of an effective treatment, life expectancy for individuals with sickle cell anemia has improved, said Bonds, as a result of early identification through neonatal screening, early initiation of penicillin therapy, close medical

Sickle Cell Anemia
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
In the past, individuals with sickle cell anemia often died in childhood. Today, many with this inherited disease live at least into their 40s thanks to early diagnosis, drugs, and other therapies. And new treatments are on the horizon.