Peanuts: The Cure for Peanut Allergies
12-million Americans suffer from food allergies. More than three-million of them are allergic to peanuts. While there are drugs to treat an allergic reaction, there's nothing that can fix food allergies for good. Now, doctors are using peanuts themselves to treat allergies. The goal is to cure the potentially life-threatening condition.The new treatment mixes a tiny amount of peanut powder -- about one-thousandth of a peanut -- into a child's food. Gradually, they increase the dose over time.
"We see the first changes to the immune system happen about six months into treatment and then further changes happen beyond a couple years of the treatment," Wesley Burks, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center.
In the four-year study, 89-percent of the kids with severe peanut allergies could eat up to 15 peanuts. 12 percent had to drop out because they couldn't handle the treatment, but another 25 percent lost their peanut allergies altogether in another part of the study.
Doctor Burks says this was a medically-supervised study, and parents should not try the approach at home. Doctors at Duke University and Arkansas children's hospital are still enrolling kids in more peanut allergy studies. They believe there will be a treatment for peanut allergies in the next two or three years.
Cancer Detecting Mouthwash
For a patient with head and neck cancer, the cure rate is only 30 percent. That's because the disease is often detected in the late stages. Now catching the cancer earlier may be as simple as gargling and spitting in a cup. A new mouthwash may be able to see what doctors can't.For patients, late stage diagnosis makes treating neck cancer more difficult. Researchers developed a quick, inexpensive mouthwash to detect head and neck cancers earlier.
The patient rinses with the saline mouthwash. After they spit it out, doctors add antibodies that identify molecules involved with cancer. In about 48 hours, if there's cancer detected in the saliva, the molecules show up in color.
"We've found that these molecules show up differently in the oral rinses from patients that have cancer compared to patients that don't have cancer," Elizabeth Franzmann, M.D., an otolaryngologist at Sylvester Cancer Center at the University of Miami.
In a study that included 102 head and neck cancer patients and 69 patients with benign disease, the oral rinse distinguished cancer from benign disease nearly 90 percent of the time.
If head and neck cancer is caught early, doctors say they could be able to cure at least 80 percent of cases. They're working on a version of the mouthwash that can be used as an over-the-counter test or administered at community health centers.
Understanding Down Syndrome
What Is Down Syndrome?
Down Syndrome is one of the most common birth defects. Usually, children born with the condition have some degree of mental retardation, as well as characteristic physical features. Many of these children also have other health problems.
Each year in the United States, approximately one in every 800 to 1,000 newborns has Down syndrome. This translates to approximately 5,000 children. In the United States today, Down syndrome affects approximately 350,000 people. As many as 80% of adults with this condition reach age 55, and many live longer.
The most common form of Down syndrome is often called " trisomy 21" because individuals with this condition have three copies of the 21st chromosome.
What Causes It?
Normally, each cell in the human body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, which contain the genetic material that determines all our inherited characteristics. We receive half of each chromosome pair from our mother and the other half from our father. Individuals with the most common form of Down syndrome, trisomy 21, have an extra 21st chromosome.
No one knows exactly why this chromosomal error occurs, but it does appear to be related to the age of the mother. At age 25, a woman has a one in 1,250 risk for having a child with Down syndrome. The risk increases to one in 952 at age 30, to one in 378 at age 35, to one in 106 at age 40 and one in 35 at age 45. However, 80% of children born with Down syndrome are born to mothers under the age of 35. This is because most babies, in general, are born to younger women.
Down Syndrome is one of the most common birth defects. Usually, children born with the condition have some degree of mental retardation, as well as characteristic physical features. Many of these children also have other health problems.
Each year in the United States, approximately one in every 800 to 1,000 newborns has Down syndrome. This translates to approximately 5,000 children. In the United States today, Down syndrome affects approximately 350,000 people. As many as 80% of adults with this condition reach age 55, and many live longer.
The most common form of Down syndrome is often called " trisomy 21" because individuals with this condition have three copies of the 21st chromosome.
What Causes It?
Normally, each cell in the human body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, which contain the genetic material that determines all our inherited characteristics. We receive half of each chromosome pair from our mother and the other half from our father. Individuals with the most common form of Down syndrome, trisomy 21, have an extra 21st chromosome.
No one knows exactly why this chromosomal error occurs, but it does appear to be related to the age of the mother. At age 25, a woman has a one in 1,250 risk for having a child with Down syndrome. The risk increases to one in 952 at age 30, to one in 378 at age 35, to one in 106 at age 40 and one in 35 at age 45. However, 80% of children born with Down syndrome are born to mothers under the age of 35. This is because most babies, in general, are born to younger women.
Too Much Exercise May Pose Arthritis Risk
Weekend warriors, take note: Too much exercise may place you at risk for arthritis.A new study shows that middle-aged men and women who engage in high levels of physical activity -- at home and at work as well as at the gym -- may be unwittingly damaging their knees and increasing their risk for osteoarthritis.
The study involved men and women of healthy weight, without pain or other symptoms. Knee injuries were more common and more severe among those who engaged in the highest levels of physical activity, says Christoph Stehling, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of Muenster, in Germany.
The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
High-Impact Exercises Worse for Knee Health
Doctors aren't sure that painless cartilage and bone damage can lead to osteoarthritis, but they think they do, says RSNA spokesman Joseph Tashjian, MD, president of St. Paul Radiology, in Minnesota.
What is known, he tells WebMD, is that high-impact, weight-bearing activities such as running and jumping are worse for knee health and carry a greater risk of injury over time.
"Conversely, low-impact activities, such as swimming and cycling, may protect diseased cartilage and prevent healthy cartilage from developing disease," Stehling says.
Osteoarthritis, in which the wear and tear of joints over the years leads to the breakdown of cartilage, affects about 27 million Americans, according to the CDC.
More Activity, More Knee Damage
The study involved 136 women and 100 men, ages 45 to 55, within a healthy weight range. The participants were separated into low-, middle-, and high-activity groups based on their level of physical activities, which included everything from running to yard work and washing the kitchen floor.
"A person whose activity level is classified as high typically might engage in several hours of walking, sports or other types of exercise per week, as well as yard work and other household chores," Stehling says.
The researchers took MRI scans of study participants' knees, looking for signs of bone, joint and cartilage damage.
Results showed that people in the high-activity group had much more damage, including cartilage and ligament lesions and buildup of fluid in the bone marrow, than those in the low-activity group.
For example, 93% of people in the high-activity groups suffered cartilage damage vs. 60% in the low-activity group. And cartilage damage was three times more severe in the high-activity group.
The participants' age or sex didn't affect their risk of knee injury, Stehling says.
The researchers are continuing to follow the participants to see if those in the high-activity group actually develop arthritis and if low-impact vs. high-impact activities affect their risk.
Researchers Say CT Scan Images Sent via iPhone Clear Enough for Appendicitis Diagnosis
CT Scan images sent via an iPhone, using a $19.99 app that's available on iTunes, were clear enough for correct diagnoses to be made in 99% of cases, researchers say.Yes, There is an app for it!
In fact, almost any smart phone will do, says Elliot Fishman, MD, director of diagnostic imaging and body CT at Johns Hopkins University.
"The promise is that we can look at anything anywhere" says Fishman, who is familiar with but not involved in the research.
The technology can expedite diagnosis and, therefore, treatment, he tells WebMD.
CT Scan Images Sent on Smart Phone
For the study, researchers took CT images of 25 patients suspected of having appendicitis and sent them via iPhone to five radiology residents. Then, the residents were asked to make a diagnosis based on what they could see on their phones.
Only one reader failed to make the right diagnosis.
In every other case, the residents correctly determined that 15 of the patients were suffering from appendicitis and that 10 of the patients did not have appendicitis and did not require treatment.
Asim Choudhri, MD, a fellow in neuroradiology at Johns Hopkins who performed the study while at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, presented the findings here at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Smart Phone Not for Final Diagnosis
Choudhri tells WebMD that a detailed image can be sent in one to five minutes on a smart phone depending on the type of connection that's being used.
Joseph Tashjian, MD, president of St. Paul Radiology and a spokesman for RSNA, says that the application might also be useful for patients who want to bring their medical records along when visiting another facility.
But the application, which is not approved by the FDA, should not be used to make a final diagnosis, he tells WebMD.
"It's a distribution method that can facilitate decision-making," Tashjian says.
"Transmitting the images over a mobile device allows for instant consultation and diagnosis from a remote location. It can also aid in surgical planning," he says.
In fact, almost any smart phone will do, says Elliot Fishman, MD, director of diagnostic imaging and body CT at Johns Hopkins University.
"The promise is that we can look at anything anywhere" says Fishman, who is familiar with but not involved in the research.
The technology can expedite diagnosis and, therefore, treatment, he tells WebMD.
CT Scan Images Sent on Smart Phone
For the study, researchers took CT images of 25 patients suspected of having appendicitis and sent them via iPhone to five radiology residents. Then, the residents were asked to make a diagnosis based on what they could see on their phones.
Only one reader failed to make the right diagnosis.
In every other case, the residents correctly determined that 15 of the patients were suffering from appendicitis and that 10 of the patients did not have appendicitis and did not require treatment.
Asim Choudhri, MD, a fellow in neuroradiology at Johns Hopkins who performed the study while at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, presented the findings here at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Smart Phone Not for Final Diagnosis
Choudhri tells WebMD that a detailed image can be sent in one to five minutes on a smart phone depending on the type of connection that's being used.
Joseph Tashjian, MD, president of St. Paul Radiology and a spokesman for RSNA, says that the application might also be useful for patients who want to bring their medical records along when visiting another facility.
But the application, which is not approved by the FDA, should not be used to make a final diagnosis, he tells WebMD.
"It's a distribution method that can facilitate decision-making," Tashjian says.
"Transmitting the images over a mobile device allows for instant consultation and diagnosis from a remote location. It can also aid in surgical planning," he says.
What Is Esophageal Cancer? What Is Cancer Of The Esophagus?
Esophageal cancer occurs in the esophagus which is a long hollow tube that runs from the throat to the stomach. The esophagus carries the food that is swallowed all the way to the stomach to be digested. Esophageal cancer usually begins in the cells that line the inside of the esophagus. Cancer happens when some of the cells multiply in an abnormal way, causing a growth called a tumor to form. Tumors can be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). They can occur in any part of the body where the cells multiply abnormally. Esophageal cancer is not common. In areas of the world, such as Asia and parts of Africa, esophageal cancer is much more common. Men and people over the age of 55 are most commonly affected esophageal cancer.
Types of cancer of the esophagus:
Squamous cell carcinoma forms in the upper part of the esophagus when cells on the inside lining of the esophagus multiply abnormally.
Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus forms in the lower part of the esophagus when cells inside the mucous glands that line the esophagus multiply abnormally. Mucous glands produce a slimy substance to help food slide down the esophagus more easily.
Other rare types Rare forms of esophageal cancer include choriocarcinoma, sarcoma and small cell cancer.
What are the signs and symptoms of cancer of the esophagus?
A symptom is something the patient feels and reports, while a sign is something other people, such as the doctor detect. For example, pain may be a symptom while a rash may be a sign. When cancer of the esophagus first develops, it rarely causes any symptoms. This is because the tumor will initially be very small. It is only when the cancer starts to become larger and more advanced that symptoms start to develop.
Signs and symptoms of esophageal cancer include:
Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), Unintentional weight loss, Vomiting, Hoarseness, Indigestion, Heartburn, Chest, back and neck pain.
What causes cancer of the esophagus? The precise cause of esophageal cancer is still unclear. However, there are several risk factors that can increase the chances of developing this form of cancer.
Alcohol, Smoking, Chronic acid reflux, Barrett's esophagus, Diet, Age, Chemicals and pollutants. Chemicals and pollutants which are known to increase the risk of esophageal cancer.
The stages of esophageal cancer are:
Stage I. Cancer occurs only in the top layer of cells lining the esophagus.
Stage II. At this stage, the cancer has invaded deeper layers of the esophagus lining and may have spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage III. The cancer has spread to the deepest layers of the wall of the esophagus and to nearby tissues or lymph nodes.
Stage IV. At this stage, the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
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