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

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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

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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