|
Primary Biliary Cholangitis
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), previously known as primary biliary cirrhosis, is an autoimmune disease of the liver. It results from a slow, progressive destruction of the small bile ducts of the liver, causing bile and other toxins to build up in the liver, a condition called cholestasis. Further slow damage to the liver tissue can lead to scarring, fibrosis, and eventually cirrhosis. Common symptoms are tiredness, itching, and in more advanced cases, jaundice. In early cases, the only changes may be those seen in blood tests. PBC is a relatively rare disease, affecting up to one in 3,000–4,000 people. As with many other autoimmune diseases, it is much more common in women, with a sex ratio of at least 9:1 female to male. The reasons for this disparity are unclear, but may involve the expression of sex hormones such as estrogen, which impact immune system response. The condition has been recognised since at least 1851, and was named "primary biliary cirrhosis" in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Micrograph
A micrograph is an image, captured photographically or digitally, taken through a microscope or similar device to show a magnify, magnified image of an object. This is opposed to a macrograph or photomacrograph, an image which is also taken on a microscope but is only slightly magnified, usually less than 10 times. Micrography is the practice or art of using microscopes to make photographs. A photographic micrograph is a photomicrograph, and one taken with an electron microscope is an electron micrograph. A micrograph contains extensive details of microstructure. A wealth of information can be obtained from a simple micrograph like behavior of the material under different conditions, the phases found in the system, failure analysis, grain size estimation, elemental analysis and so on. Micrographs are widely used in all fields of microscopy. Types Photomicrograph A light micrograph or photomicrograph is a micrograph prepared using an optical microscope, a process referred to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cholestyramine
Colestyramine ( INN) or cholestyramine ( USAN) (trade names Questran, Questran Light, Cholybar, Olestyr, Quantalan, Vasosan) is a bile acid sequestrant, which binds bile in the gastrointestinal tract to prevent its reabsorption. It is a strong ion exchange resin, which means it can exchange its chloride anions with anionic bile acids in the gastrointestinal tract and bind them strongly in the resin matrix. The functional group of the anion exchange resin is a quaternary ammonium group attached to an inert styrene- divinylbenzene copolymer. Colestyramine removes bile acids from the body by forming insoluble complexes with bile acids in the intestine, which are then excreted in the feces. As a result of this loss of bile acids, more plasma cholesterol is converted to bile acids in the liver to normalise levels. This conversion of cholesterol into bile acids lowers plasma cholesterol levels. Medical uses Bile acid sequestrants such as colestyramine were first used to treat hype ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bone Density
Bone density, or bone mineral density, is the amount of bone mineral in bone tissue. The concept is of mass of mineral per volume of bone (relating to density in the physics sense), although medicine#Clinical practice, clinically it is measured by proxy according to optical density per square centimetre of bone surface upon medical imaging, imaging. Bone density measurement is used in clinical medicine as an indirect indicator of osteoporosis and fracture risk. It is measured by a procedure called densitometry, often performed in the radiology or nuclear medicine departments of hospitals or clinics. The measurement is painless and non-invasive and involves low radiation exposure. Measurements are most commonly made over the lumbar spine and over the upper part of the hip. The forearm may be scanned if the hip and lumbar spine are not accessible. There is a statistics, statistical association between poor bone density and higher probability of fracture. Fractures of the legs and pel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Itch
An itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes a strong desire or reflex to scratch. Itches have resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itches have many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasant sensory experiences, their behavioral response patterns are different. Pain creates a withdrawal reflex, whereas itches leads to a scratch reflex. Unmyelinated nerve fibers for itches and pain both originate in the skin. Information for them is conveyed centrally in two distinct systems that both use the same nerve bundle and spinothalamic tract. Classification Most commonly, an itch is felt in one place. If it is felt all over the body, then it is called ''generalized itch'' or ''generalized pruritus''. Generalized itch is infrequently a symptom of a serious underlying condition, such as cholestatic liver disease. If the sensation of itching persists for six weeks or longer, then it is called ''chronic itch'' or ''c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patient Advocacy
Patient advocacy is a process in health care concerned with advocacy for patients, survivors, and caregivers. The patient advocate may be an individual or an organization, concerned with healthcare standards or with one specific group of disorders. The terms ''patient advocate'' and ''patient advocacy'' can refer both to individual advocates providing services that organizations also provide, and to organizations whose functions extend to individual patients. Some patient advocates are independent (with no conflict-of-loyalty issues) and some work for the organizations that are directly responsible for the patient's care. Typical advocacy activities are the following: safeguarding patients from errors, Fitness to practise, incompetence and misconduct; Patients' rights, patient rights, matters of Medical privacy, privacy, Confidentiality#Medical confidentiality, confidentiality or informed consent, patient representation, awareness-building, support and Patient education, educat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Estrogen
Estrogen (also spelled oestrogen in British English; see spelling differences) is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal activity: estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). Estradiol, an estrane, is the most potent and prevalent. Another estrogen called estetrol (E4) is produced only during pregnancy. Estrogens are synthesized in all vertebrates and some insects. Quantitatively, estrogens circulate at lower levels than androgens in both men and women. While estrogen levels are significantly lower in males than in females, estrogens nevertheless have important physiological roles in males. Like all steroid hormones, estrogens readily diffuse across the cell membrane. Once inside the cell, they bind to and activate estrogen receptors (ERs) which in turn modulate the expression of many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sex Ratio
A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, either periodically or permanently. These include parthenogenic and androgenetic species, periodically mating organisms such as aphids, some eusocial wasps, bees, ants, and termites. Types In most species, the sex ratio varies according to the age profile of the population. It is generally divided into four subdivisions: * — ratio at fertilization * — ratio at birth * — ratio in sexually mature organisms ** The tertiary sex ratio is equivalent to the (ASR), which is defined as the ratio of adult males to females in a population. ** The operational sex ratio (OSR) is the ratio of ''sexually active'' males to females in a population, and is therefore derived from a subset of the individuals included when calculating the ASR. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaundice
Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme metabolism, liver dysfunction, or biliary-tract obstruction. The prevalence of jaundice in adults is rare, while jaundice in babies is common, with an estimated 80% affected during their first week of life. The most commonly associated symptoms of jaundice are itchiness, pale feces, and dark urine. Normal levels of bilirubin in blood are below 1.0 mg/ dl (17 μmol/ L), while levels over 2–3 mg/dl (34–51 μmol/L) typically result in jaundice. High blood bilirubin is divided into two types: unconjugated and conjugated bilirubin. Causes of jaundice vary from relatively benign to potentially fatal. High unconjugated bilirubin may be due to excess red blood cell breakdown, large bruises, gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fatigue (physical)
Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated with medical conditions including autoimmune disease, organ failure, chronic pain conditions, mood disorders, heart disease, infectious diseases, and post-infectious-disease states. However, fatigue is complex and in up to a third of primary care cases no medical or psychiatric diagnosis is found. Fatigue (in the general usage sense of normal tiredness) often follows prolonged physical or mental activity. Physical fatigue results from muscle fatigue brought about by intense physical activity. Mental fatigue results from prolonged periods of cognitive activity which impairs cognitive ability, can manifest as sleepiness, lethargy, or directed attention fatigue, and can also impair physical performance. Definition Fatigue in a medical context is used to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced with scar tissue (fibrosis) and regenerative nodule (medicine), nodules as a result of chronic liver disease. Damage to the liver leads to repair of liver tissue and subsequent formation of scar tissue. Over time, scar tissue and nodules of regenerating hepatocytes can replace the parenchyma, causing increased resistance to blood flow in the liver's capillaries—the hepatic sinusoids—and consequently portal hypertension, as well as impairment in other aspects of liver function. The disease typically develops slowly over months or years. Stages include compensated cirrhosis and decompensated cirrhosis. Early symptoms may include Fatigue (medicine), tiredness, Asthenia, weakness, Anorexia (symptom), loss of appetite, weight loss, unexpla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fibrosis
Fibrosis, also known as fibrotic scarring, is the development of fibrous connective tissue in response to an injury. Fibrosis can be a normal connective tissue deposition or excessive tissue deposition caused by a disease. Repeated injuries, chronic inflammation and repair are susceptible to fibrosis, where an accidental excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix components, such as the collagen, is produced by fibroblasts, leading to the formation of a permanent fibrotic scar. In response to injury, this is called scarring, and if fibrosis arises from a single cell line, this is called a fibroma. Physiologically, fibrosis acts to deposit connective tissue, which can interfere with or totally inhibit the normal architecture and function of the underlying organ or tissue. Fibrosis can be used to describe the pathological state of excess deposition of fibrous tissue, as well as the process of connective tissue deposition in healing. Defined by the pathological accumulation of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cholestasis
Cholestasis is a condition where the flow of bile from the liver to the duodenum is impaired. The two basic distinctions are: * obstructive type of cholestasis, where there is a mechanical blockage in the duct system that can occur from a gallstone or malignancy, and * metabolic type of cholestasis, in which there are disturbances in bile formation that can occur because of genetic defects or acquired as a side effect of many medications. Classification is further divided into acute or chronic and extrahepatic or intrahepatic. Signs and symptoms The signs and symptoms of cholestasis vary according to the cause. In case of sudden onset, the disease is likely to be acute, while the gradual appearance of symptoms suggests chronic pathology. In many cases, patients may experience pain in the abdominal area. Localization of pain to the upper right quadrant can be indicative of cholecystitis or choledocholithiasis, which can progress to cholestasis. Pruritus or itching is often pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
