There are different kinds of anemia, but for this article, the word anemia will refer specifically to iron deficiency anemia. And yes, iron deficiency anemia can make your diabetes test inaccurate. How is diabetes monitored? The monitoring of diabetes treatment is done with the blood test called Glycated Hemoglobin or Hemoglobin A1c or HbA1c for…
What is Performance Status? In medicine, particularly in cancer treatment, Performance Status (PS) is a measure of a cancer patient’s over-all well being and ability to do daily activities. PS gives the oncologist (cancer specialist) an idea if the cancer patient can handle the treatment plan. Cancer treatment may involve a combination of chemotherapy, radiation,…
Hundreds of medical studies are published regularly. Medical Guidelines are made by different physician specialty groups to assist physicians in screening and treatment of various medical conditions. These guidelines are not carved in stone and change with time as better quality studies emerge. The changes are made if the previous medical recommendation or practice…
A report from the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) predicts a shortage of 122,000 physicians by 2032. This shortage will be across the board and affect Primary Care Physicians and ALL specialties. But 2032 is 13 years from now. Why should I care? Diabetes complications and coronary artery disease do not pop out of…
Some may think that having a coronary artery disease or a heart attack is not that big of a deal. That is because there are medical procedures that can open up a blocked artery. One way is to have a coronary stent. A coronary stent is a medical device that is inserted inside the blood vessels…
Smoking is a significant risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). It amplifies the negative effect of other CAD risk factors like diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. That is why smokers are always encouraged to quit. How effective is quitting smoking? The benefits of quitting the cigarette habit are seen within weeks. Those…
Who Benefits from This Article? Anyone planning to get old. Anyone who knows or is taking care of elderly people. The Senior, Elderly, or the Young Once. Why do the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) test? The TUG test predicts the risk of falls. Weakness is a reflection of sarcopenia or loss of muscle…
What is Dialysis? Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) usually progresses to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). When that happens, dialysis has to be done to remove the waste materials, salt, and water from the body that cannot be removed by any other means. Hemodialysis Dialysis can be done in two ways. Hemodialysis is when a shunt is…
Insulin resistance leads to Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Obesity, high caloric intake, and a sedentary lifestyle all contribute to insulin resistance. Some medications also cause insulin resistance, and they are commonly used. Thiazides Thiazides are “water pills.” It is one of the front line medications used to treat hypertension as recommended by the ACC/AHA Guidelines….
In the August edition of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, an interesting article caught my eye. The study is entitled The Influence of Change in Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Short-Term Exercise Training on Mortality Risk From The Ball State Adult Fitness Longitudinal Lifestyle Study. The study followed 683 men and women to see what the relationship between their CRF…
This article lists the diseases associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Anyone with three or more of the following five conditions—hypertension, high blood sugar, high blood triglycerides, low HDL, and obesity—qualifies for a diagnosis of MetS. Any single condition in the five components of MetS produces many other reactions that interact with the effects of the…
Glaucoma happens when fluid builds up in front of the eye according to the American College of Ophthalmology. It is a leading cause of blindness in the over 60-year-old age group. Open-angle glaucoma (OAG) occurs when the fluid in the front part of the eye does not drain well. It is usually painless at first….
The pain of renal colic is one of the most severe pains in the emergency department. Kidney stone pains are agonizing and relentless. Usually, the patients are writhing in pain and vomiting and sweating profusely. Kidney stones are formed in the kidney. As the stone travels down the ureter to get to the urinary bladder,…
Heart failure is one of the risk factors or comorbidities associated with death from COVID-19. Heart failure does not happen overnight but can develop over the years. Many people will not know this but many people are unaware that they have Stage A heart failure. Medications for heart failure but attention to the underlying cause…
Insulin resistance is the linchpin of many diseases of modern life like metabolic syndrome, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes. Knowing about how insulin resistance develops provides a better understanding of the familiar and deadly diseases that may be affecting you or someone you know. Normal Glucose Metabolism All the cells in the body need a…
caption id=”attachment_2147″ align=”aligncenter” width=”293″] Acanthosis Nigricans in the Armpit[/caption] The dark discoloration in the skin could be Acanthosis Nigricans (AN). AN is typically a dark raised area and can be velvety. It can show up anywhere in the skin. Common locations are the armpits, the face, elbows, knuckles, back of the neck, chest, and groin….
Imagine being an owner of a large plantation, and you have a servant who takes care of the farmstead. That servant obeys everything that you order. It plants, waters, and harvest whenever you tell it. Whatever you command, it does. If there is an order from you that he cannot perform, he learns and adjusts…
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive and severely disabling disease that affects both wrists, fingers, hip, knees, and ankles. 1.3 million U.S. adults have RA. While no definite cause of RA has been found, RA is associated with body-wide inflammation, similar to metabolic syndrome (MetS). Epidemiological studies have shown that MetS can be present in…
Starting a bonfire with damp wood can be challenging, and it is like asking a sedentary person to start an exercise program. Where I grew up, this huge mango tree gave us lots of fruits during the summertime. I used to sweep our front yard daily to clean up the dried leaves and burn them…
This article is about how exercise stimulates the production of new brain cells, also known as neurogenesis. About 700 neurons are generated every day but that decrease as we age. Stress can hamper neurogenesis by the production of endogenous steroids. Lack of new brain cells can present as anxiety, depression, and later as neurodegenerative diseases…
