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CDC H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and you
CDC H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and you
What is swine flu?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.
Are there human infections with swine flu in the U.S.?
In late March and early April 2009, cases of human infection with swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses were first reported in Southern California and near Guadalupe County, Texas. Other U.S. states have reported cases of swine flu infection in humans and cases have been reported internationally as well. An updated case count of confirmed swine flu infections in the United States is kept at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/investigation.htm CDC and local and state health agencies are working together to investigate this situation.
Is this swine flu virus contagious?
CDC has determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it is not known how easily the virus spreads between people.
Swine Flu More Condition_symptoms
SWINE FLU COMES TO AMERICA
WASHINGTON, DC – The Swine Flu epidemic has reached the United States. This new mutated strand of influenza starts as a normal flu, then turns people into pigs.
The world is in the grip of fear over an outbreak of a new Swine Flu. A previous strain affected pigs by making them grow enormous and vicious. This flu has since mutated, mixing with human and avian viruses, to create a new and more dangerous Swine Flu. This flu begins with typical symptoms, such as sneezing fever and lethargy, but soon makes humans grow larger and more angry. Then, by the first full moon, sufferers turn into mutated pigs!
Continue ReadingGuten Free Diet and Symptoms of Celiac Disease
Symptoms of celiac disease include: chronic diarrhea, muscle cramps, malabsorption of nutrients, iron deficient anemia, weight loss, excessive gas, fatigue, elevated liver enzymes and calcium/vitamin D deficiency. Talk to your doctor if you have any of these symptoms. Eating a gluten free diet can have many health benefits are seen below in the article from Natural News.
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(NaturalNews) Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who eat a gluten-free vegan diet could be better protected against heart attacks and stroke. RA is a major risk factor for these cardiovascular diseases, but a gluten-free vegan diet was shown to lower cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and oxidized LDL (OxLDL), as well as raise the levels of natural antibodies against the damaging compounds in the body that cause symptoms of the chronic inflammatory disease rheumatoid arthritis, such as phosphorylcholine.
Continue ReadingNew H1Z1 Swine Flu strain
Similar to a scare originally found in Cambodia back in 2005, victims of a new strain of the swine flu virus H1N1 have been reported in London.
After death, this virus is able to restart the heart of it’s victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believe to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during “resurrection.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alert to phase six, its highest level, and advised governments to activate pandemic contingency plans.
Continue ReadingSwine Flu More Condition_Symptoms
Swine flu symptoms: Checklist to see if you may be infected
SWINE FLU SYMPTOMS
The symptoms are similar to those experienced by people infected by other flu strains. In the past, pneumonia and respiratory failure and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause chronic medical conditions to worsen.
How can you tell if you might have swine flu and should see a doctor? Here’s a checklist of symptoms linked to the disease, which is suspected of killing more than 150 people in Mexico and sickening hundreds more around the globe:
Continue ReadingHealth Talk: Tay-Sachs disease
Possibly one of the most devastating genetic disorders, Tay-Sachs disease is fatal, and children who are diagnosed with the disease rarely live beyond four years. Children with Tay-Sachs disease appear normal at birth, but when they are around 3 to 6 months old, they develop symptoms ranging from deafness and blindness to seizures and dementia, which eventually results in death. The Mayo Clinic elaborates on certain other symptoms of the disease that include decreased eye contact in infants, lack of crawling or smiling, and exhibiting slow body growth. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, those suffering from this disorder also have a characteristic “cherry-red spot” in their eyes. In fact, it was this cherry-red spot that first led to the characterization of the disease by British ophthalmologist Warren Tay in 1881.
Considering the debilitating effects of the disorder, it is hard not to wonder what causes the disease. The Genetics Home Reference website describes Tay-Sachs as a disease caused by the build-up of a fatty substance called GM2 ganglioside in the brain. The buildup of the ganglioside is caused by disrupted activity of the enzyme beta-hexosaminidase A, which is present in the lysosomes of cells and is normally responsible for degrading GM2 ganglioside. If beta-hexosaminidase A malfunctions, GM2 ganglioside builds up inside the cells to toxic levels. This buildup is particularly prominent in neurons in the brain and spinal cord, and hence the disease affects the nervous system. The hereditary component of the disease is due to the fact that individuals with the disease have a mutation in the HEX A gene, which is responsible for creating the beta-hexosaminidase A enzyme. A mutation in the HEX A gene causes defects in the formation of the enzyme, which prevents the enzyme from being able to degrade GM2 ganglioside.
In spite of the diseases being fatal, according to the National Genome Research Institute, one in 250 people possesses the mutated version of HEX A. With such a high rate of occurrence, it would seem that the disease is fairly common and should affect a large number of people. To understand why this is not the case, we need to go back to the basics of genetics, which state that genes always come in pairs; hence, there is a pair of HEX A genes in the body. If only one of these genes is mutated, the person is perfectly normal and shows no symptoms of the disease. People with just one copy of the gene are called carriers of the disease. The disease manifests itself only when a person contains two mutated copies of the gene. Children receive one of gene of the pair from one parent and the other from the other parent. Thus a child of one carrier parent and one parent without the mutated gene will be perfectly normal; children of two carriers, however have a 25 percent chance of contracting the disease. As stated on www.tay-sachs.org, the disease is fairly common in those of Eastern European Jewish descent, with one in 27 of them being carriers. Currently, there is no cure for the disease, and the disease is fatal for anyone with two defective copies of the HEX A gene. Tests for detecting whether one is a carrier of the gene do exist. The tests are simple blood tests and can easily help couples decide whether they want to have children if both parents turn out to be carriers.
Continue ReadingGuillain-Barré Syndrome, What is Guillain-Barré Syndrome?
What is Guillain-Barré Syndrome?
Guillain-Barré syndrome is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. In many instances, the weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body. These symptoms can increase in intensity until the muscles cannot be used at all and the patient is almost totally paralyzed. In these cases, the disorder is life-threatening and is considered a medical emergency. The patient is often put on a respirator to assist with breathing. Most patients, however, recover from even the most severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, although some continue to have some degree of weakness. Guillain-Barré syndrome is rare. Usually Guillain-Barré occurs a few days or weeks after the patient has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. Occasionally, surgery or vaccinations will trigger the syndrome. The disorder can develop over the course of hours or days, or it may take up to 3 to 4 weeks. No one yet knows why Guillain-Barré strikes some people and not others or what sets the disease in motion. What scientists do know is that the body’s immune system begins to attack the body itself, causing what is known as an autoimmune disease. Guillain-Barré is called a syndrome rather than a disease because it is not clear that a specific disease-causing agent is involved. Reflexes such as knee jerks are usually lost. Because the signals traveling along the nerve are slower, a nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test can give a doctor clues to aid the diagnosis. The cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the spinal cord and brain contains more protein than usual, so a physician may decide to perform a spinal tap.
Is there any treatment?
There is no known cure for Guillain-Barré syndrome, but therapies can lessen the severity of the illness and accelerate the recovery in most patients. There are also a number of ways to treat the complications of the disease. Currently, plasmapheresis and high-dose immunoglobulin therapy are used. Plasmapheresis seems to reduce the severity and duration of the Guillain-Barré episode. In high-dose immunoglobulin therapy, doctors give intravenous injections of the proteins that in small quantities, the immune system uses naturally to attack invading organism. Investigators have found that giving high doses of these immunoglobulins, derived from a pool of thousands of normal donors, to Guillain-Barré patients can lessen the immune attack on the nervous system. The most critical part of the treatment for this syndrome consists of keeping the patient’s body functioning during recovery of the nervous system. This can sometimes require placing the patient on a respirator, a heart monitor, or other machines that assist body function.
What is the prognosis?
Guillain-Barré syndrome can be a devastating disorder because of its sudden and unexpected onset. Most people reach the stage of greatest weakness within the first 2 weeks after symptoms appear, and by the third week of the illness 90 percent of all patients are at their weakest. The recovery period may be as little as a few weeks or as long as a few years. About 30 percent of those with Guillain-Barré still have a residual weakness after 3 years. About 3 percent may suffer a relapse of muscle weakness and tingling sensations many years after the initial attack.
Continue ReadingVCFS: What is velocardiofacial syndrome(VCFS)? Quinn Bradlee and VCFS
What is velocardiofacial syndrome(VCFS)?
Velocardiofacial Syndrome might be referred to by other names including Shprintzen Syndrome, Craniofacial Syndrome, or Conotruncal Anomaly Face Syndrome.
The name Shprintzen Syndrome comes from physician Dr. Robert Shprintzen of the Center for Craniofacial Disorders, who, in 1978, described a series of 12 children with a cleft palate (incomplete closure of the roof of the mouth), heart defects (abnormalities of the heart from the time of birth) and similar facial characteristics.
The name Velocardiofacial Syndrome(VCFS) comes from the Latin words “velum” meaning palate, “cardia” meaning heart, and “facies” having to do with the face thus incorporating the most common features of cleft palate, heart defects, and a characteristic facial appearance.
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