Archive for the ‘Anemia’ Category

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Cat Health Issues – Anemia


2010
08.21

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Anemia is a cat health issue that many cat owners deal with. It is usually noticed first when the cat yawns and you see its normally pink mouth is a little whiter than usual. Other symptoms you may notice include a pale tongue and pale gums around it’s teeth. If you notice these things odds are your cat may have anemia.

Other things you can check to determine if your pet has anemia is to look at the conjunctiva, the pink area around the eyes. If they appear to be pale or have a transparent tone instead of being light pink in color, you may well be dealing with anemia. If you find these symptoms you may then want to have a vet check your pet over to get a proper diagnosis. Anemia will affect your cat’s mood making them weak, listless and lethargic. Other symptoms you may see include shallow breathing, fever and discolored urine.

Veterinarians can determine anemia by taking some blood and doing a blood count. This checks the amount of red blood cells and other data. Some vets will also complete a test for Feline Leukemia Virus also to help determine the problem.

If the vet finds abnormal readings this may be the indicator of anemia. Always remember that at times the cat may look healthy to you but still be anemic.

Anemia appears with different severity. The more extreme cases of anemia may be deadly to your loving pet. To avoid having bad scenarios with anemia in your cat you should take care of your cats health by getting routine checkups. Early detection and prevention are key factors in protecting your pet.

Anemia is caused by a reduction in the number of red blood cells produced by the bone marrow or a reduction in the amount of circulating cells.

In severe cases your cat may need a transfusion which also includes making sure that the blood your pet is receiving is a compatible blood type. In less severe cases your cat may be treated with medicine and diet. Erythropoietin replacement is used for cats with chronic kidney failure. Other types of anemia may be caused by cancers or terminal infections that are not treated effectively.

Monitor your cats health routinely to enjoy a long happy life together.

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Kidney Failure And Its Treatment


2010
08.12

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Kidney failure also called as renal failure. It is a critical disease which can have a main effect on life, and can eventually be deadly. Nevertheless, it can be cured.

Kidney failure is also related with an upsurge in the quantity of water in the body which can effect in a swelling of the tissues.

Healthy kidneys wash your blood by taking away surplus fluid, minerals and wastes. They make hormones that guard your bones strong and your blood well too. But if the organs are harmed, they don’t run appropriately.

Harmful wastes can augment in your body. Your blood pressure could get higher. Your body might keep surplus fluid and not make enough red blood cells. This is named kidney failure. Hence, it is a state in which the kidneys fail to work sufficiently.

Kidney failure can generally be divided into two types: acute kidney failure and chronic kidney disease. Acute failure is the hasty loss of the capacity of the kidneys to take away waste and deliberate urine with no losing electrolytes.

The sort of kidney failure (acute vs. chronic) is established by the trend in the serum creatinine. Other things which possibly will assist to distinguish acute and chronic kidney disease consist of the presence of anemia and the kidney size on ultrasound. Long-standing, i.e. chronic, kidney disease commonly cause anemia and little kidney size.

At least, there are three alternatives when treating kidney failure:

1. Hemodialysis

2. Peritoneal dialysis

3. Kidney transplant

Every treatment has advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of which treatment you select, you’ll have to make some alterations in your life, comprising how you eat and arrange your activities. But with the assistance of healthcare providers, family and friends, the majority people with kidney failure can run satisfied and energetic lives.

For the appropriate patient at the appropriate time, a transplant is the finest treatment for kidney failure. If it operates properly the patient will be fully free from dialysis. Many patients with kidney failure are proper for a transplant.

Kidney failure can take place rapidly (days) or more unhurriedly (months or years). A lot of disease can bring about kidneys to fail, comprising diabetes and high blood pressure. Lots of people with chronic kidney failure necessitate take medicines, and many necessitate dialysis.

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How I Cope With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome


2010
08.05

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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a controversial condition with no precise definition or single known cause. Various things can cause it and the only way known to diagnose it is through a diagnosis of exclusion of all other pathologies known to cause chronic fatigue such diabetes, depression, anemia, leukemia, malnutrition, etc. However there are some specific terms or conditions associated with CFS such as encephalomyelitis, post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS), Epstein-Barr virus, adrenal fatigue, etc. The condition must also be present for more than 6 months for it to match most diagnostic criteria.

More women than men are said to have this disorder and it has been more commonly diagnosed in young children and especially teenagers. Many other symptoms ranging from mild to life-threatening such as cardiac problems, asthma, muscle fatigue, pain, spacey feelings, digestive problems, depression, immune weakness, and oversensitivity have been reported by those suffering from CFS but are not officially a part of this ailment. Some get better over a period of time and some cases do respond to various treatments.

The main symptom of CFS is an unrelenting tiredness not relieved by rest and greatly exaggerated through even the smallest amounts of exertion. One often feels like one is walking through molasses with weights tied to every part of one’s body. Some days are so bad that one may need to stay in bed and sleep all day. Also not only physical body is affected, the mind and emotions are equally thwarted. CFS is an extremely serious and very frustrating condition to deal with as all aspects of one’s life are seriously compromised if not ruined. It may take four times as much effort to accomplish one tenth of what the average person can achieve.

I suffered periods of what seemed to be CFS throughout most of my life starting at very early age. I was considered “lazy” and inattentive at school and used to “daydream” during class. I was actually going into deep meditative states even though no one, not even myself, realized it at the time. After a long day at high school I would often feel so exhausted that I would immediately go to sleep the moment I entered my room at 3:00 in the afternoon (school usually started at 8:00 AM and finished around 2:35 PM). I had a tough time finding enough mental energy to get any homework done and needed 14 hours of sleep!

My symptoms were quite worrisome and this problem continued in various degrees of severity throughout my life and had very little sympathy, only accusations of being “lazy” which really upset me. I never was able to overcome this problem until I regularly took the correct amounts of the right combination of certain herbs, vitamins and antioxidants. Like I said in so many other articles I have written on health, drinking loads of alkalized water also seemed to help. Not surprised because alkalized (negatively ionized) water acts as a buffer to neutralize acidic toxins of metabolism. Quercetin helps because it protects the potency of adrenalin in the body, therefore increasing overall energy efficiency.

If you or someone you care about appears to be suffering from CFS, you are going to have to get a thorough diagnosis to rule out all kinds of possible causes. I was checked and double-checked and it turned out my anxiety-disorder was to blame. I found out that my CFS would tend to get much worse after very stressful days. Depression also greatly effected it. Therefore even though I had definite symptoms of fatigue, they may not been the official, bona fide form of CFS. Instead, my chronic fatigue was most likely a “spinoff” of other problems I was presently suffering from such as my anxiety disorder and depression while developing agoraphobia. But none of this knowledge satisfied my main concern as to how to really get rid of this devastating problem, which alone was making my life miserable.

I proved to myself it was a part of my depression by noticing that when my moods would swing back toward anxiety, I would seem to have more energy. After all, even though high anxiety is not at all a positive energy, at least it was some form of energy nevertheless forcing me to get things done to distract me from the sheer terror of the highly undesirable thoughts and feelings I would often suffer from.

It was not until much later that I came across two books by Patrick Holford: Natural Highs: Feel Good All the Time and Optimum Nutrition for the Mind that I found out I was pyroluric and suffering from a common metabolic disorder known as pyroluria. There is actually a one in ten chance that you, the reader of this article could actually have at least a trace of this condition, however, not everyone reacts to it the same way. Strangely enough, some may actually have no depression, anxiety, or fatigue whatsoever, just a greater tendency toward contracting lung cancer. Anyway, I saw my entire life story written all over the symptoms related to pyroluria. After taking the zinc, B6, niacin, and many antioxidants regularly things got somewhat better. Now I feel much more emotionally balanced, however, it did take a few months and I’m still not 100% perfect. Trying to find complete wellness and maintain it is very tricky business.

My search never really comes to an end, there always seems to be something more I need to learn and use to improve my condition even further. I recently learned that chronic fatigue syndrome can also be a symptom of one or several endocrine gland disorders involving mainly the adrenal glands, sometimes the thyroid and even the pituitary and hypothalamus. Recent saliva and blood tests revealed that indeed I have adrenal and thyroid insufficiency which is a result of massive emotional stress starting from very early in life.

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He Died After Chemotherapy And A Shot of Blood-Count-Boosting (Epoetin) Injection


2010
07.13

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Some years ago, one young man came to see me for his cancer. He was prescribed some herbs which he did not take. He preferred to go for chemotherapy instead. Not too long after that his wife came to my house in the middle of the night and asked for help. She told me that after chemotherapy, her husband’s red blood counts dropped drastically. The doctor gave him an injection to boost up the blood counts. He suffered a blood clot in his thigh and had to undergo an emergency operation. She wanted me to help him with the herbs. But it was not to be, her husband died soon afterwards.

In the early days of my practice, I did not document patients who came to see me. So, I only have vague recollection of some outstanding cases. This was one outstanding case that I remember, involving a young professional. When he had cancer, I could see the agony and hopelessness in the face of his young wife.

This case would not have resurface and find itself in print if not for some articles I have just read in the net about erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs). ESA is commonly used to treat anemia, i.e., a lower than normal number of red blood cells. Examples of such drugs are Procrit, Epogen and Aranesp. These are synthetic, genetically engineered version of a natural glycoprotein known as erythroprotein. The US-FDA had approved the use of ESAs to treat anemia in patients with chronic kidney failure and in patients with cancer after chemotherapy had lowered their blood counts. To patients in Malaysia, each injection cost a good tidy sum of money.

According to Alison Tonka, associate editor of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) “thousands of patients worldwide rely on synthetic ESAs to alleviate the anemia that accompanies chronic renal disease and chemotherapy for cancer.” Two news articles in the BMJ had these titles: “Safety of anemia drug erythopoitin is to be reviewed” and “FDA calls for warning on anaemia drugs amid reports of incentives to doctors.” The main message from these articles is that more patients treated with ESAs died from the treatment rather than live longer or are helped. That is to say, ESAs increase the risk of death. Studies also showed that at a dose higher than indicated ESAs could cause increased risk of blood clots, stroke and heart attack. In patients with head and neck cancer, higher doses of ESAs promoted tumour growth.

In November 2006, February and March 2007, the US-FDA put out safety alerts informing the public about this safety concerns. From the net, I learn the following:

1. ESAs can cause serious and life-threatening side effects.

2. A greater number of deaths occurred in patients treated with these blood-count-boosting injections than in patients who did not receive chemotherapy.

3. ESAs cause increased rate of tumour growth in patients who had radiation therapy for their head and neck cancers and chemotherapy for their metastatic breast cancer.

4. ESAs cause higher chance of death and increased number of blood clots, strokes, heart failure and heart attacks in patients with chronic kidney failure.

All users of this blood-count-boosting drugs need to be told that they are at increased risk of death as well as serious cardiovascular complications including stroke, heart attack, blood clots to the heart, lungs, brain and major blood vessels. Those with chronic kidney failure given ESAs may suffer from seizures and hypertensive encephalopathy, i.e., swelling of the brain caused by very high blood pressure.

I now know why this young man met his premature death after chemotherapy plus a shot of erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA) that the doctor gave him. Goethe, a German philosopher once wrote: “There is nothing more frightening than active ignorance.”

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Treatment of Congestive Heart Failure


2010
07.10

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Usually, the loss in the heart’s pumping action is a symptom of an underlying heart problem.

Heart valve disease caused by past rheumatic fever or other infections

Infections of the heart valves and/or heart muscle (i.e., endocarditis)

Cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats)

Cardiomyopathy, or another primary disease of the heart muscle

Chronic lung disease

Anemia

High blood pressure (hypertension)

Hemorrhage (excessive bleeding)

CHF leads to breathlessness, fatigue, and accumulation of fluid in the lungs or the veins (primarily in the legs) or both.

People with CHF have insufficient oxygenation of the heart, which can damage the heart muscle. Such damage may be reduced by taking L-carnitine supplements.5 L-carnitine is a natural substance made from the amino acids, lysine and methionine. Levels of L-carnitine are low in people with CHF;6 therefore, many doctors recommend that those with CHF take 500 mg of L-carnitine two to three times per day.

Most L-carnitine/CHF research has used a modified form of the supplement called propionyl-L-carnitine (PC). In one double-blind trial, people using 500 mg of PC per day had a 26% increase in exercise capacity after six months.7 In double-blind research, other indices of heart function have also improved after taking 1 gram of PC twice per day.8 It remains unclear whether propionyl-L-carnitine has unique advantages over L-carnitine, as limited research in animals and humans has also shown very promising effects of the more common L-carnitine.9

Magnesium deficiency frequently occurs in people with CHF, and such a deficiency may lead to heart arrhythmias. Magnesium supplements have reduced the risk of these arrhythmias.10 People with CHF are often given drugs that deplete both magnesium and potassium; a deficiency of either of these minerals may lead to an arrhythmia.11 Many doctors suggest magnesium supplements of 300 mg per day.

Whole fruit and fruit and vegetable juice, which are high in potassium, are also recommended by some doctors. One study showed that elderly men who consumed food prepared with potassium-enriched salt (containing about half potassium chloride and half sodium chloride) had a 70% reduction in deaths due to heart failure and a significant reduction in medical costs for cardiovascular disease, when compared with men who continued to use regular salt.12 While increasing potassium intake can be beneficial for heart patients, this dietary change should be discussed with a healthcare provider, because several drugs given to people with CHF may actually cause retention of potassium, making dietary potassium, even from fruit, dangerous.

Albany Medical Center is the first healthcare institution in the region to introduce aquapheresis-an innovative therapy which removes dangerous levels of excess fluid in patients suffering from congestive heart failure. The therapy has proven to be more effective in removing excess fluid than standard treatment and reduces the likelihood of re-hospitalization for congestive heart failure.

According to Edward Philbin, M.D., medical director of the Heart Failure Program and George Pataki Chair in Cardiology at Albany Medical Center, heart failure is characteristically accompanied by significant fluid retention. Aquapheresis is the first major advancement for acute fluid removal in the setting of acute heart failure since the introduction of diuretics, more than 50 years ago.

Aquapheresis uses the process of ultrafiltration to remove excess sodium and water from the body. Blood is withdrawn through a catheter and circulated through the filter system that separates the fluids from the blood. Once filtered, the clean blood is returned back to the body through a second catheter. Aquapheresis uses a peripheral intravenous line (a catheter inserted into a vein in the arm). By using this system, up to four liters of fluid can be removed in an eight-hour period, with no significant impact on blood pressure, kidney function, or electrolyte balance.

Conversely, treatment for congestive heart failure using intravenous or oral diuretic drugs can cause decreases in blood pressure and levels of potassium or magnesium, and may cause disruption of normal kidney function. Moreover, diuretics can take a longer period of time than aquapheresis to be completely effective. Overall, aquapheresis removes more fluid, more rapidly, than standard treatment with diuretics alone.

Even with severe disease, appropriate exercise can benefit those with CHF.1, 2 In a controlled trial, long-term (one year) exercise training led to improvements in quality of life and functional capacity in people with CHF.3 Nonetheless, too much exercise can be life-threatening for those with CHF. How much is “too much” varies from person to person; therefore, any exercise program undertaken by someone with CHF requires professional supervision.

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ABC’s of Male Infertility


2010
06.26

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Age: It is not clear what the effect of aging is on male fertility. However, evidence of late suggests that it may be a factor (although not to the degree that it is in women). This evidence shows that age-related sperm changes in men is a gradual process. Aging can adversely affect sperm counts and sperm’s ability to swim quickly and move in a straight line.

Bicycling has been linked to impotence in men and also may affect fertility. Pressure from the bike seat may damage blood vessels and nerves that are responsible for erections.

Certain cancers and their treatments, especially testicular cancer, hinder sperm production, often severely. Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation can damage sperm quality and quantity, causing infertility.

Defective Genetic Material: Sperm carry half the genetic material necessary to make a human being. Infertile men have been reported to have a relatively high percentage of sperm with broken or damaged DNA.

Environmental Assaults:Exposure to toxins, chemicals, or infections may reduce sperm count either by direct effects on testicular function or by altering hormone systems, although the extent of the impact and specific environmental assaults involved are questionable. Some experts believe it is contributing to a general worldwide decline in male fertility.

Excessive Exercise has been associated with reduced sperm production.

Fertilizing a woman’s egg must be achieved in order to get his partner pregnant. Therefore, a man must be able to deliver healthy sperm into the vagina. Sperm must be properly shaped and able to move toward the egg for fertilization to occur. If the shape and structure (morphology) of the sperm are abnormal or the movement (motility) is impaired, sperm may not be able to reach or penetrate the egg.

Glandular Infections in the Urinary Tract or Genitals: Glandular infections that may affect fertility include prostatitis (in the prostate gland), orchitis (in the testicle), semino-vesculitis (in the glands that produce semen), or urethritis (in the urethra), possibly by altering sperm motility.

Heavy Substance Abuse: Cocaine or heavy marijuana use appears to temporarily reduce the number and quality of sperm by as much as 50%. Sperm have receptors for certain compounds in marijuana that may affect the sperm’s ability to swim and also keep them from penetrating the egg. Very heavy alcohol use can also affect fertility.

Impotence: (Erectile Dysfunction) is when a man has problems getting or maintaining an erection long enough for sex. It happens when not enough blood flows to the penis.

Inherited Disorders that Affect Fertility: Certain inherited disorders can impair fertility such as Cystic fibrosis, Klinefelter syndrome, Kartagener syndrome and Polycystic kidney disease.

Jumpstart Fertility by acquiring healthy habits. Eat healthy. Exercise moderately and abstain from heavy substance abuse.

Kidney or liver failure, chronic anemia, diabetes HIV, thyroid disease, Cushing syndrome, heart attack, or any severe injury or major surgery are medical conditions that can affect male fertility.

Low Sperm Count: There has to be enough sperm in the semen to make pregnancy likely. A normal sperm concentration is greater than or equal to 20 million sperm per milliliter of semen. A count of 10 million or fewer sperm per milliliter of semen indicates low sperm concentration (subfertility).

Lubricants used with condoms, including spermicides, oils, and Vaseline, can affect fertility. Astroglide, Replens, or mineral oil may not be as harmful to sperm. However, oil-based lubricants can damage latex condoms and should be avoided.

Medications: The effects of medications on sperm quality and count have not been studied in depth, and many medicines are commonly prescribed without knowing whether they impair fertility. Anabolic steroids (which have been overly abused by weight lifters and other athletes) deserve special attention because they are known to severely harm sperm production. Among the other drugs that can affect male fertility are cimetidine (Tagamet), sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), salazopyrine, colchicine, methadone, methotrexate (Folex), phenytoin (Dilantin), corticosteroids, spironolactone (Aldactone), thioridazine (Mellaril), and calcium channel blockers.

Mumps: When mumps develop after puberty, it damages the testicles in 25% of men afflicted with the disease.

Mycoplasma is an infectious organism that appears to fasten itself to sperm cells and render them less motile.

No semen (ejaculate). The absence of ejaculate may occur in men with spinal cord injuries or diseases. This fluid carries the sperm from the penis into the vagina.

Obesity may be a risk factor for male infertility. A 2006 epidemiological study found that a 20-pound increase in a man’s weight increased the chance for infertility by about 10 percent.

Premature ejaculation can occasionally make fertilization difficult or impossible for couples who are trying to become pregnant.

Question your doctor: When a couple has failed to conceive after one year of well-timed intercourse, they should seek expert care. In cases where the woman is older than age 35, treatment should be sought after six months of well-timed intercourse.

Repeated Chlamydia trachomatis or gonorrhea infections are most often associated with male infertility. Such infections can cause scarring and block sperm passage. Human papilloma viruses, the cause of genital warts, may also impair sperm function.

Smoking impairs sperm motility, reduces sperm lifespan, and may cause genetic changes that affect the offspring.

Stress may interfere with the hormone GnRH and reduce sperm counts.

Testicular Overheating: High fevers, saunas, and hot tubs, may temporarily lower sperm count. Persistent exposure to high temperatures during work may impair fertility.

Undescended testicle: The testicles make male hormones and sperm. Usually both testicles are inside the scrotum. While male babies are still growing inside the uterus, their testicles are inside their abdomen. The testicles usually move down into the scrotum just before or just after birth. An undescended testicle is one that did not move down into the scrotum.

Varicocele: This is when the veins in the scrotum become enlarged, twisted or swollen (similar to varicose veins in the leg). This heats the inside of the scrotum and may affect sperm production.

Wearing tight-fitting pants and underwear. According to a study on “Tight-fitting Underwear and Sperm Quality” published June 29, 1996, in the scientific journal The Lancet. Tight-fitting underwear is not recommended for men trying to father a child because it may raise testes temperature to a point where it interferes with sperm production.

X Chromosomes play a role in some forms of male infertility that result from low sperm counts. Scientists have found that almost half the genes related to sperm production reside in the X chromosome, universally thought of as the female sex chromosome. Many genes for early male sperm production reside on the X Chromosome.

Your loss of libido (reduced or lost interest in sex) can also be a factor in male infertility.

Zinc, folate, selenium, vitamins C & E deficiencies in men may be particular risk factors for infertility.

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