Alcohol Abuse

Alcohol slows down brain activity. Because alcohol affects alertness, judgment, coordination, and reaction time--drinking increases the risk of falls and accidents. Some research has shown that it takes less alcohol to affect older people than younger ones. Over time, heavy drinking permanently damages the brain and central nervous system, as well as the liver, heart, kidneys, and stomach. Alcohol’s effects can make some medical problems hard to diagnose. For example, alcohol causes changes in the heart and blood vessels that can dull pain that might be a warning sign of a heart attack. It also can cause forgetfulness and confusion, which can seem like Alzheimer’s disease.

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Allergies

The most common types of allergic reactions-hay fever, some kinds of asthma, and hives-are produced when the immune system responds to a false alarm. In a susceptible person, a normally harmless substance-grass pollen or house dust, for example-is perceived as a threat and is attacked.

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Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is a condition that causes progressive deterioration of brain functions. Symptoms include the gradual loss of memory, reason, language and the ability to care for oneself.

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The absence or abnormal ceasing (stoppage) of menstrual periods. The absence of cyclical menstruation, amenorrhea, most frequently reflects an abnormality in hypothalamic/pituitary and/or ovarian function. Central amenorrhea can be caused by disease of the brain or pituitary gland. The former may be rarely due to a genetic defect or more commonly to acquired disease leading to a deficit in the production of GnRH, which controls the secretion of pituitary gonadotropins. Changes in body mass, stress (both physical and psychological), and drug abuse may cause hypothalamic amenorrhea due to brain dysfunction.

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive, fatal neurological disease affecting as many as 20,000 Americans with 5,000 new cases occurring in the United States each year. The disorder belongs to a class of disorders known as motor neuron diseases. ALS occurs when specific nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary movement gradually degenerate.  The loss of these motor neurons causes the muscles under their control to weaken and waste away, leading to paralysis. 

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Anemia is having less than the normal number of red blood cells or less hemoglobin than normal in the blood.  Even those with mild anemia can experience some weakness and fatigue. Moderate to severe anemia can also cause shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness, headache, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), irritability, pale skin, restless leg syndrome, and mental confusion. Anemia may occur without symptoms, however, and be detected only during a medical examination that includes a blood test. In spite of the common association of anemia with thinness and pallor, a normal to heavy weight and healthy-looking skin color do not rule out anemia in people with risk factors and other symptoms.

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ANGINA PECTORIS ("ANGINA") IS A recurring pain or discomfort in the chest that happens when some part of the heart does not receive enough blood. It is a common symptom of coronary heart disease (CHD), which occurs when vessels that carry blood to the heart become narrowed and blocked due to atherosclerosis

Angina feels like a pressing or squeezing pain, usually in the chest under the breast bone, but sometimes in the shoulders, arms, neck, jaws, or back.

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Anovulation means "lack of ovulation." Some women do not ovulate regularly, they may only ovulate every few cycles, or not at all. A woman can have what seems like regular periods and still not ovulate. Though, more often than not, her periods are not normal at all. She may have no periods as a result of no ovulation, or her periods may be very heavy and far apart. Women with anovulatory cycles generally have irregular spotting between periods, or if they don't, they have long periods that are often painless.

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Anxiety disorders are the most common of all the mental disorders. 

Anxiety disorders tend to be chronic and may become quite disabling. Fortunately, they are among the most successfully treated emotional disorders in medical practice.

There are several types of anxiety disorders each with its own distinct features:

• Panic Disorder - is characterized by repeated panic or anxiety attacks.
• Agoraphobia - is characterized by persistent avoidance of places or situations in which one feels trapped or fears having a panic attack and/or being unable to escape from the situation.
• Social Phobia -  is characterized by the experience of significant anxiety in certain types of social or performance situations.
• Specific Phobia - is characterized by excessive anxiety brought on by exposure to a specific feared object or situation, often leading to avoidance behaviour. It involves a sense of dread so intense that the individual will do everything to avoid the source of their fear.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - is characterized by recurrent, intrusive, and unpleasant thoughts, images or impulses, which are referred to as obsessions.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - is a condition that occurs when an individual has survived the experience of a terrifying, often life-threatening event, such as a serious car accident or a violent attack. Persons who have survived a traumatic event may become so preoccupied with the experience that they are not able to live a normal life.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder - is characterized by excessive anxiety and worry about a number of ordinary events or activities such as work or school performance, their health or safety, or simply just the thought of making it through the day.

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Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix, a small portion of the large intestine that hangs down from the lower
right side. Although the appendix does not seem to serve any purpose, it can still become diseased. If untreated, an
inflamed appendix can burst, causing infection and even death.

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An arrhythmia is a change in the rhythm of your heartbeat. When the heart beats too fast, it's called tachycardia.
When it beats too slow, it's called bradycardia. An arrhythmia can also mean that your heart beats irregularly
(skips a beat or has an extra beat). At some time or another, most people have felt their heart race or skip a beat.
These occasional changes can be brought on by strong emotions or exercise. They usually are not a cause for alarm.
Arrhythmias that occur more often or cause symptoms  may be more serious and need to be
discussed with your doctor.

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ATHEROSCLEROSIS it is characterized by a narrowing of the arteries caused by cholesterol-rich plaques of immune-system cells. Key risk factors for atherosclerosis, which can be genetic and/or environmental, include: elevated levels of cholesterol and triglyceride in the blood, high blood pressure and cigarette smoke.
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Arthritis causes pain and loss of movement. It can affect joints in any part of the body. Arthritis is usually chronic, meaning it can occur over a long period of time. The more serious forms can cause swelling, warmth, redness, and pain. The three most common kinds of arthritis in older people are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout.

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Asthma is a respiratory condition characterized by episodes of airflow obstruction in the bronchial tubes. Symptoms caused by this obstruction include coughing, chest tightness, wheezing and shortness of breath. Although problems are often separated by symptom-free periods, asthma is a chronic illness.

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Autism is classified as one of the pervasive developmental disorders of the brain. It is not a disease. People with
classical autism show three types of symptoms: impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal
communication, and unusual or severely limited activities and interests.

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The word "auto" is the Greek word for self. The immune system is a complicated network of cells and cell components (called molecules) that normally work to defend the body and eliminate infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and other invading microbes. If a person has an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakenly attacks self, targeting the cells, tissues, and organs of a person's own body. A collection of immune system cells and molecules at a target site is broadly referred to as inflammation.

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Breast cancer, a common cancer in women, is a disease in which cancer(malignant) cells are found in the tissues of the breast. The most common type of breast cancer is ductal cancer.

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Bursitis is inflammation or irritation of a bursa. Bursa are small sacs located between bone and other moving structures such as muscles, skin or tendons. The bursa allows smooth gliding between these structures.

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Cancer is a group of more than 100 different diseases. Cancer occurs when cells become abnormal and keep dividing and forming more cells without control or order.

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Cerebral aneurysm is a common cerebrovascular disorder caused by a weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein. The disorder may result from congenital defects or from preexisting conditions such as hypertensive vascular disease and atherosclerosis (build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries), or from head trauma. Cerebral aneurysms occur more commonly in adults than in children and are slightly more common in women than in men, however they may occur at any age.

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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

The term Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) refers to a symptom complex of marked and prolonged fatigue for which no identifiable cause can be found. Other symptoms frequently present include generalised muscle weakness and pain, low-grade fever, sore throat, painful lymph nodes in the neck and armpits, exacerbation of fatigue after moderate or strenuous exercise for periods of 24 hours or more, transient pains in a number of joints, and various disturbances of neuropsychological function including confusion, irritability, poor concentration and visual changes.

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In cirrhosis of the liver, scar tissue replaces normal, healthy tissue, blocking the flow of blood through the organ and preventing it from working as it should. Cirrhosis is the eighth leading cause of death by disease, killing about 25,000 people each year. Also, the cost of cirrhosis in terms of human suffering, hospital costs, and lost productivity is high.

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A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. People with a depressive illness cannot merely "pull themselves together" and get better.

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Dermatomyositis is one of a group of acquired muscle diseases called inflammatory myopathies. The disease, which
has a subacute (somewhat short and relatively severe) onset, affects both children and adults. Females are more often
affected than males. Dermatomyositis is characterized by a rash accompanying, or more often, preceding muscle
weakness. The rash is described as patchy, bluish-purple discolorations on the face, neck, shoulders, upper chest,
elbows, knees, knuckles, and back.

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DIABETES is a chronic metabolic disorder that adversely affects the body's ability to manufacture and use insulin, a hormone necessary for the conversion of food into energy. The disease greatly increases the risk of blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, neurological disease and other conditions for the approximately 16 million Americans who are affected by it. Type I, or juvenile onset diabetes, is the more severe form of the illness.
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Diarrhea refers to a familiar phenomenon with unusually frequent or liquid bowel movements, excessive watery evacuations of fecal material. Diarrhea is the opposite of constipation.
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Two of the most common eating disorders—anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Eating disorders often are chronic in nature and, as a result, may require long-term treatment. The medical consequences of anorexia, which include death in about 10 percent of the cases, usually are more severe than bulimia. The earlier these disorders are diagnosed and treated, the better the prospects are for full recovery. 

Anorexia nervosa—People who have this disorder often develop elaborate rituals around food, continue to lose weight, and can literally starve themselves to death. They also may exercise excessively. 

Bulimia nervosa—Those who have bulimia gorge themselves, then almost immediately make themselves vomit or use laxatives or diuretics to purge their bodies of food. This often is referred to as the “binge/purge” cycle. Preoccupation with weight is a primary trait of both disorders.

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The word eczema is used to describe all kinds of red, blistering, oozing, scaly, brownish, thickened, and itching skin conditions. Examples of eczema include dermatitis, allergic contact eczema; seborrheic eczema; and nummular eczema.

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The name endometriosis comes from the word "endometrium," the tissue that lines the inside of the uterus. If a woman is not pregnant this tissue builds up and is shed each month. It is discharged as menstrual flow at the end of each cycle. In endometriosis, tissue that looks and acts like endometrial tissue is found outside the uterus, usually inside the abdominal cavity. 

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Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain sometimes signal abnormally. Neurons normally generate electrochemical impulses that act on other neurons, glands, and muscles to produce human thoughts, feelings, and actions. In epilepsy, the normal pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbed, causing strange sensations, emotions, and behavior, or sometimes convulsions, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness.

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Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors within or around the uterine wall. Although they are often asymptomatic, it is important to know that depending on their size and location they can become troublesome and dangerous over time.

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Uterine fibroids are nodules of smooth muscle cells and fibrous connective tissue that develop within the wall of the uterus (womb). Medically they are called uterine leiomyomata (singular: leiomyoma).Fibroids may grow as a single nodule or in clusters and may range in size from 1 mm to more than 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter. They may grow within the wall of the uterus or they may project into the interior cavity or toward the outer surface of the uterus. In rare cases, they may grow on stalks or peduncles projecting from the surface of the uterus.

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Fibromyalgia (AKA FMS) originally named fibrositis, is a mysteriously debilitating syndrome that attacks women more often than men. It is not physically damaging to the body in any way, but is characterized by the constant presence of widespread pain that often moves about the body. Fibromyalgia can be so severe that it is often incapacitating. Other symptoms include, but are not limited to; chronic muscle pain, aching, stiffness, disturbed sleep, depression, and fatigue.

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Gastritis is defined as inflammation of the lining of the stomach (mucosa).  This inflammation occurs when Helicobacter pylori infects the stomach.  Sometimes the inflammation in the stomach mucosa can become so severe that an actual break in the stomach lining occurs.  One then has an ulcer which is an actual break in the stomach mucosa. 

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Excess fat stored in the body. Obesity is a known risk factor for chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and some forms of cancer.

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Genital warts (condylomata acuminata or venereal warts) are caused by only a few of the many types of HPV. Other common types of HPV infections, such as those that cause warts on the hands and soles of the feet, do not cause genital warts. Genital warts are spread by sexual contact with an infected partner and are very contagious. Approximatel