Cervical Spondylosis

Cervical spondylosis is also known as arthritis of the cervical vertebrae. Cervical spondylosis is more commonly found in individuals fifty and over. It is caused by possible spurs that have developed on the the cervical vertebrae or possible by issues with disks or ligaments. This causes neck discomfort; people find it difficult to move their neck and function correctly throughout the day.

When I mention functioning correctly, I mean this can cause discomfort in other areas of the body. Symptoms of this disease would be neck pain, difficulty in walking, loss of balance, neck popping, headaches, neck stiffness, and muscle spasms found in the neck; all these can be from cervical arthritis. All of these symptoms can occur from other diseases, so with that various studies need to be done in order to rule out other diseases. After all the other diseases are ruled out, than the individual may receive proper treatment for their illness.

If the pain lasts longer than a few months, than it is most likely that they have chronic cervical spondylosis. Non surgical treatment includes wearing a soft neck brace; this limits neck motion. Another non surgical treatment would be medication and physical therapy. If the individual has bone spurs than surgery may be the answer in removing these spurs. All of these treatments are options to relieve pain.

Information: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00369

Carotid body tumor

A carotid body tumor is basically a tumor located in the superior portion of the neck, in one of the two carotid arteries. The carotid arteries are two of the larger arteries that supply blood to the anterior portion of the brain. These tumors do not typically cause death, however they are known to keep coming back after being removed.

Carotid body tumors are seen more in females. They are also linked to people who live at higher altitudes. They can make the neck feel tender and sore. They may cause dysphagia. They range to about 5 cm or larger. These tumors do need treatment in order to retain the normal blood flow needed to the brain.

Treatment would involve possible radiation due to the fact that these tumors may keep reappearing after being removed. Another treatment possiblity would be a transcathater embolization, which would reduce the blood flow going to the tumor. This is done by inserting a catheter and injecting medication that would occlude these vessels linked to the tumor. Treatments for the carotid body tumor are usually very successful however may cause nerve damage or a stroke. However, these risks appear to be very low. Treatment would be the best option for this tumor.

Information: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/vascular/carotid_body_tumors.aspx

Sjogren's syndrome

Sjogren's syndrome is when a person's autoimmune system produces defected antibodies in the blood and begins to fight against tissues in the body. This can occur in the salivary glands, lacrimal glands, and other locations in the body. It is a syndrome that decreases water production of these glands. The production of defected antibodies causes inflammation to these glands. Sjogren's syndrome is connected with other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, erythematosus, systemic lupus, and scleroderma. Ninety percent of people who have this syndrome are female. It is unsure what causes this syndrome, however they believe that genetics are linked. They say this because usually if a person has this diagnosis, more times than not, another family member has already has it or one of the following dieseases mentioned above.

Symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome includes dryness of the tear duct and salivary gland. With this, a person's eyes will not be able to produce proper tears, which in return dries out the eye. This can irritate the eye, meaning it may become itchy and red. As far as the salivary glands go, it causes the mouth and lips to be very dry. This makes it hard to swallow and chew, can cause tooth decay, gum disease, mouth sores, and infection of the cheeks. So, while dryness of the eyes and mouth seem so simple, it can be difficult to live with.

Treatment for Sjogren's syndrome is pretty simple. As far as the eyes go, eye drops, staying away from hair dryers and heaters, and closing the tear duct so the tears that are produced stay there for a longer period of time. Now, as far as salivary glands go, a person can get over-the-counter toothpaste and mouth wash that stimulates more saliva production, suck on sugarless lemon drops, drink lots of fluids, take prescribed medications, or use glycerin swabs. While this syndrome is not a convient one, it isn't really life or death. However at least these are simple treatments and inexpensive ones that may use to treat this syndrome.

Information: http://www.medicinenet.com/sjogrens_syndrome/page2.htm

Images: http://www.nature.com/nrrheum/journal/v2/n5/images/ncprheum0165-f3.jpg

http://santamonicaarthritis.com/photos/sjogrens_syndrome.jpg

Moyamoya disease

Moyamoya disease involves blocked arteries located in the basal ganglia, located in the lower portion of the brain. Moyamoya disease was first found in Japan but recently in the past fourty years has been documented in the United States. It is most commonly found in children, however it can occur in adults. Since the disease is seen most common in children, it is a possibility that it is a genetic disease. Basically it causes strokes or trasient ischemic attacks (mini strokes) to occur in the brain.

There are symptoms that occur with this disease. These symptoms include aphasia, involuntary movements, sensory impairments, altered level of consciousness, vision difficulties, and cognitive impairments. When reviewing these symptoms, they are similar to those of strokes. However when they are occuring a lot and in children, it is most likely that they will be diagnosed as having moyamoya disease. They will continue to have these symptoms until they are properly treated.

Proper treatment for moyamoya diseaes would be surgery. Surgery would include bypass surgery of the blocked arteries or possibly a different way in order to restore the blood flow. On the positive side, children respond better to revascularization surgeries than adults do. If the patient does not receive surgery, than chances are they will remain having these mini strokes until the arteries are properly unblocked.

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Information: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/moyamoya/moyamoya.htm

Images: http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/content-nw/full/223/2/384/F1A

http://www.medscape.com/content/2003/00/45/12/451261/art-nf451261.fig4.jpg

Chronic Sinusitis

Chronic sinusitis is inflamation of the sinuses. Sinuses are air-filled cavities located throughout your head. These sinuses are located behind the cheeks, forehead, and eyes; which if thinking about it are all the areas that are affected with sinus infections or colds. People more often than not have acute sinusitis, however there are some people who just keep getting it, having it for a long period of time. Chronic sinusitis can be caused by allergies, infection, deviated septums, tumors located in the nose, and tooth abscesses.

Symptoms that last longer than three months gives a doctor reason to believe that this individual has chronic sinusitis. These symptoms include fatique, headaches, pain where sinuses are located, nasal drainage, and nasal congestion. These are basically cold like symptoms, however these last a long time and often.

Chronic sinusitis is treatable. One treatment for sinusitis would be antibiotics. It takes these antibiotics about three to four weeks to start working properly. Nasal sprays are a good way to break down mucus. If there is a tremendous amount of mucus build up then surgery may be required to properly remove all of it. Also, surgery is a good way to fix a deviated septum in order to prevent future sinusitis.

Information: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000677.htm

Images: https://services.epnet.com/GetImage.aspx/getImage.aspx?ImageIID=2561

Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma is a cancerous tumor located in the retina of the eye. The retina is the part of the eye in which you are able to see color and light. This cancerous tumor can be hereditary, on the other hand it may not be. This tumor is usually seen in children. In the US, two hundred and fifty children are diagnosed with this each year. What happens is there is a mutation on RB1, which is contained in chromosome 13. Parents can pass this on, and if the child has mutations in both RB1s that were passed on, than that child will most likely be diagnosed with retinoblastoma. If the child has an genetic retinoblastoma, than it is likely that they are at risk for other cancers, such as bone cancer, tisse cancer, melanoma, and so on.

Symptoms for this tumor located in the retina varies. Some symptoms include pain in the eye, white spots seen on the pupil, crossed eyes, blindness, and redness. Children with these symptoms need to see a physician to make sure there is not a tumor, due to the fact that the cancer could spread. If it spreads throughout the brain or other parts of the body, this means the likely of curing the tumor has decreased.

There are a couple different treatments that may be used on a child with retinoblastoma. One treatment would be laser surgery. Most likely if the tumor is localized and had not spread, laser surgery would be the best option. However, removal of the eye may have to be an option. If the tumor has overtaken the eye itself, than to ensure no further spreading anywhere else, than the result may be to just take the eye itself. Although for a child this would be devastating, it would be better than a chance of it spreading to the brain.

Information: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=retinoblastoma

Image: http://www.aao.org/aao/news/eyenet/200404/images/AMR2.jpg

Prolactinoma

Prolactinoma is a tumor that occurs on the pituitary gland. It is a benign tumor. It is also the most common pituitary tumor that people are diagnosed with. Statistically in the US, 25 percent of people have pituitary tumors, and 40 percent of those individuals have prolactinoma tumors.

A prolactinoma tumor does present symptoms in indiviuals. Some of the symptoms that may occur will be headaches, blurry vision, lactation, variation in the menstrual cycle of women, and possible a decline in sex drive. If the tumor is big enough to push against the nerves in the eye, people will most likely experience blurry vision and headaches. The tumor increase levels of prolactin, so lactation in either men and women may occur.

There are a range of treatments that are available for this tumor. Medication, such as ones that make the body think its getting higher leves of dopamine. Dopamine inhibits the prolactin in the body, so if you are receiving dopamine, then the increasing release of prolactin should discontinued. If this works, it should shrink the pituitary gland and stop the high levels of prolactin being released in the body. With the pituitary tumor getting smaller, the symptoms should stop. If medication does not work, then surgery may have to be an option in order to restore normal functions in the body. If the tumor is small, then the neurosurgeon has a better chance to completley remove the whole entire tumor, meaning prolactin levels should go back to normal. However, if it is a large tumor, than the tumor may not be able to be fully removed. This in return, means medication may have to be taken post surgery in order to get prolactin levels back to normal.

Information: http://www.endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/prolact/prolact.htm

Image: http://neurosurgery.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=212