Addison's Disease (By Leandra Daniel)

What is Addison’s disease?

Addison’s disease is an autoimmune disorder that occurs when your body produces insufficient amounts of a certain hormone produced by your Adrenal gland.

In this disease, your Adrenal gland produces too little Cortisol and often insufficient levels of Aldosteron as well.

Addison’s disease occurs in all age groups and affects both sexes but occurs most frequently in middle-aged females. It can also be life- threatening to some point if not treated.

CAUSES OF ADDISON’S DISEASE

Addison’s disease results when your adrenal glands are damaged, and produces insufficient amounts of the hormones mentioned earlier.

Just in case you didn’t know, but the Adrenal glands are located on top of each of the kidneys as shown in the picture below.

 As a part of your endocrine system, they normally produce hormones that give instructions to virtually every organ and tissue in your body.

Addison’s disease, which is our main focus here, occurs when the cortex is damaged and doesn’t produce its hormone in adequate quantities. Doctors refer to this condition involving damage to the adrenal gland as Primary Adrenal Insufficiency.

Adrenal insufficiency can also occur if your pituitary gland is diseased. The pituitary gland makes a hormone called Adrenocortictroipic Hormone (ACTH), which stimulates the adrenal cortex to produce its hormones.

Inadequate production of ACTH can lead to insufficient production of hormones normally produced by your adrenal glands, even though your adrenal glands aren’t damaged. Doctors call this condition Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency.

SYMPTOMS OF ADDISON’S DISEASE

Addison’s disease usually develops slowly, often over several months and may include the following symptoms:

• ·      Extreme fatigue
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•         Weight loss and decrease appetite
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•         Darkening of your skin (hypo pigmentation)
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• ·        Low blood pressure, even fainting
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•         Salt craving
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• ·      Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• 
  
•         Nausea, diarrhea or vomiting
• 
  
•         Abdominal pains
• 
  
•         Muscle or joint pains
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•         Irritability
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• ·        Depression
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• ·        Body hair loss or sexual dysfunction in                                                                 

  

See your doctor if you have sign and symptoms that commonly occur in people with this disease.

Your doctor can help determine weather Addison’s disease or some other medical condition may be causing these symptoms.

TREATMENTS FOR ADDISON’S DISEASE

Treatment for Addison’s disease involves taking hormones to replace the insufficient amount being made by your adrenal glands, in order to mimic the beneficial effects produced by your naturally made hormones.

There can also be a hormone replacement therapy to correct the levels of steroid hormones your body isn’t producing. Some options for treatments include Oral corticosteroids and corticosteroid injections.

LOOK CLOSER (BY SHAHID DEFOE)

Did you know that a simple photograph could provide potentially life-saving information about the health of a child's eyes?According to an old article circulating around social media which was featured on channel 3 news was “One day Tara Taylor posted a photograph of her 3-year-old daughter on Facebook, friends in her social network informed her that the glow in the girl's eye could indicate something wrong.” As a result, Rylee Taylor was diagnosed with a rare eye disease that can cause vision loss, but thanks to early detection was able to save her sight. Paying close attention to photos of children can actually clue us into both common and rare eye problems signaled by the reflection of the camera flash off the retina, also known as the "red reflex."
A red reflex is produced when the flash of a camera lights up the blood-rich retina. If the eyes are looking directly at the camera lens and the color of the reflex in both eyes is red, in most cases that's a good indication that the retinas of both eyes are unobstructed and healthy.An "abnormal red reflex" is a white, yellow or black reflection in one or both eyes. This can be a warning sign for the presence of an eye condition, which can be diagnosed by a pediatric ophthalmologist (specializes in the care of children's eyes)
On rare occasions, abnormal red reflexes can signal more dangerous eye conditions.

An asymmetrical red reflex, when only one eye reflex appears red, or one eye's red reflex is dimmer than the other, may be an indicator of strabismus, or misalignment of the eyes, a condition in which both eyes do not look at the same place at the same time. Treatment for strabismus may include eyeglasses, prisms, patching or blurring the strong eye, or eye muscle surgery. If detected and treated early, strabismus often can be corrected with excellent results.

A white reflex that covers most of the pupil, also known as leukocoria, can be a red flag for several serious eye disorders including cataracts, retinal detachments and infections inside the eye. It can also be a warning sign of retinoblastoma, an extremely rare and very serious childhood cancer of the eye. When caught and treated early, retinoblastoma is curable 95 percent of the time.

A yellow reflex can be a sign of Coats' disease, when blood vessels inside the eye that provide blood and oxygen to the retina become twisted and leaky, creating a blockage in the retina that can cause vision loss or retinal detachment. It occurs mostly in boys under age 10, and usually affects only one eye. Treatment can include laser surgery, cryotherapy or, in later stages of the disease, more invasive surgery.

Coats' disease can be difficult to distinguish from a retinoblastoma through photographs because the white and yellow reflexes look similar.

Children pictures taken especially at night where the glow could be seen clearly should be looked over because early discovery about a rare disease could save many lives.

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Why is this Healing drug KILLING me?! (By M.John)

For many of us, after the first sign of a flu or common cold, we run to the drug store to get pills or fluids to save the day. It seems as if flu season is the best business time for Jolly’s Pharmacy.

The common idea behind this is that medications of all kinds were created with the purpose of ‘curing’ or helping the body to cure itself. According to Merriam Webster online dictionary Medication/medicine refers to “a drug or other preparation for the treatment or prevention of disease”.

However, recent occurrences across the western world have escalated a major cause for concern in regards to the health threats associated with these drugs, particularly antibiotics.

Is there a true issue with the drug or its use? Let’s find out.

As a child I remember having a terrible flu and even after recovering I opted to continue taking the medication prescribed. My small mind reasoned that I was doing so for ‘precaution’. It was then my brother’s slightly more mature mind relayed to me “That’s so stupid”. Now I grew up and I finally understood why this was so “stupid”.

At least thirty- eight prescribed and over the counter drugs in the United States of the America are known to cause a rather strange and rare case of an auto immune disease called Drug-induced lupus erythematosus (DILE).  Across The United states annually, approximately 15000 to 30000 persons of all ages are patients of this type of lupus.

Lupus occurs when a person’s immune system attacks the healthy tissue in their body. Drug induced lupus is one of the least common and sever cases of lupus, although mortality may result in chronic situations. Drug induced lupus may be caused by the mere use of a drug or the excessive intake of a drug, triggering an auto-immune response.

Patients who suffer with this auto immune disease are usually clueless as to how harmful over dosing on a drug maybe to them. One common mistake made by persons on antibiotics is to take the drugs for extended periods for ‘precaution’, even long after the infection is gone. This in itself is a guaranteed ticket to DILE city; of course depending on the drug used.

So here is what really happens. Certain medications including those listed below, trigger the production of auto antibodies called antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) that bind to the contents of the cell nucleus. Actually, it’s not that simple.

The medications (antibiotics usually) stimulate the creation on white blood cells. Consequently, this high production of white blood cells results in a RESPIRATORY BURST! Nope this is not a burst of respiration…if that is even a thing. 

 A respiration burst is the rapid release of reactive oxygen species, particularly from neutrophils and monocytes. The monocytes in particular detect the antigen and relays the information to the T-helper cells AND these are the cells that produce the antinuclear antibodies, to the antigens of human cells. Sadly, this often results in cell apoptosis (cell death) of many tissues including the skin and joints.

 Symptoms and signs of DILE include:

• Blurred vision
• Fever
• General ill feeling (malaise)
• Joint pain
• Joint swelling
• Loss of appetite
• Pleuritic chest pain
• Skin rash that gets worse with sunlight. (It may appear as a "butterfly" rash across bridge of nose and cheeks.)

Persons who suffered with DILE have shared their experiences with this disorder and many had related stories. One very striking story shared remained with me. “I felt like I was dying. It was then I found out that this drug was slowly killing me” – anonymous blogger. (Hence the name of my post). It amazes me how easily one thing can lead to another so innocently.

DIL is usually detected by physicians after a complete blood count is done and analyzed by lab specialists. Otherwise, symptoms usually go untreated and can result in chronic pain and often lead to misdiagnosis.

Treatment: Discontinuation of the use of the drug.

It’s that simple. If the drug use is ended symptoms usually terminate in a couple days to weeks after. Of course, more extensive situations would require further levels of treatment. After all, one would patch holes on a proper highway as opposed to the craters on farm roads; resurfacing would be a better option. Some extreme conditions result in chronic infection of the heart or lungs which most likely requires corrective surgeries.

Drugs that may induce lupus:

High risk:

·         Hydralazine (antihypertensive)

Moderate to low risk:

·         Isoniazid (antibiotic)

·         Minocycline (antibiotic)

·         Pyrazinamide (antibiotic)

·         Quinidine (antiarrhythmic)

·         D-Penicillamine (anti-inflammatory)

·         Chlorpromazine (antipsychotic)

·         Minoxidil (antihypertensive vasodilator)

Does this mean that in all cases, excessive intake of these drugs will lead to DILE? Absolutely not! Although research is not complete as yet, many scientists are convinced that certain conditions make persons predisposed to the disorder. One such factor is the rate at which the body metabolizes the drug, usually controlled by an enzyme - N-acetyltransferase.  Persons with the disorder usually have slow action of this enzyme, which facilitate overproduction of monocytes.

So the answer to your question “Am I at risk?” is not if you take the necessary precautions. Do not take medications after the suggested time frame has passed. 

I do hope that you all will share this with your peers and family who may be just as small minded as I was back then. Now you can say to them “That’s so stupid” with a reason!

The Deadliest of Them All! By Almira Lewis

A friend of mine messaged me, saying, that their cousin had coronary heart disease. Now, I’ve heard of this deadly disease, but was not fully versed with its origin, cure or any other important facts about it. As such, I decided to do some research. Here’s what I learnt, which I think is important, seeing that we spoke of blood’s role in the transportation of oxygen.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle and other body parts. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. It is the leading cause of death in the United States in both men and women. However, in the Caribbean research done, by the Pan American Health Organization, in 2014 suggests that more than 30% of our population is obese. What does this mean? It means we consume a lot of fatty foods! Therefore, we are just as susceptible to plaque/ cholesterol build-up overtime. So, it is important that we take note.

When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis. The buildup of plaque occurs over many years.According to medlineplus.gov, CAD happens when the arteries that supply blood to heart muscle become hardened and narrowed. This is due, to the buildup of cholesterol and other material, called plaque, on their inner walls.. This can lead to chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. Most heart attacks happen when a blood clot suddenly cuts of the hearts' blood supply, causing permanent heart damage.

In light of this information, our blood contains erythrocytes with hemoglobin, that carry oxygen. When hemoglobin and oxygen combine, oxyhemoglobin results. Therefore, after blood in the heart, obtains oxygen and becomes oxygenated blood (has bright red color) it can’t be carried to the body properly. So, the heart’s muscles and other organs of the body, don’t get their regular oxygen supply. What does this mean? These organs get no energy to work and so, YOU COULD POSSIBLY DIE!

How can you know that you have this disorder though? Here’s a table of available tests, one can do:

Test	What does it do?
ECD or EKG (electrocardiogram)	Measures the electrical activity, rate, and regularity of your heartbeat.
Echocardiogram	Uses ultrasound (special sound wave) to create a picture of the heart.
Exercise stress test	Measures your heart rate while you walk on a treadmill. This helps to determine how well your heart is working when it has to pump more blood.
Chest X-ray	Uses x-rays to create a picture of the heart, lungs, and other organs in the chest.
Cardiac catheterization	Checks the inside of your arteries for blockage by inserting a thin, flexible tube through an artery in the groin, arm, or neck to reach the heart. Health care professionals can measure blood pressure within the heart and the strength of blood flow through the heart’s chambers as well as collect blood samples from the heart or inject dye into the arteries of the heart (coronary arteries).
Coronary angiogram	Monitors blockage and flow of blood through the coronary arteries. Uses X-rays to detect dye injected via cardiac catheterization.

Prior to these tests, let’s look at some symptoms to be sure that you’re safe!

These would include:

1) Constant Chest Pain

2) Shortness of breath

3) A heart attack

However, these symptoms can be prevented, if we take precautionary steps. They always say, precaution is better than cure!

 The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, gives some awesome precautionary tips:

·         Lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthier (lower sodium, lower fat) diet, increasing physical activity, and quitting smoking.

·         Medications to treat the risk factors for CAD, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, and low blood flow.

·         Surgical procedures to help restore blood flow to the heart.

Now, I’m sure you may be asking for possible treatment; especially, if you feel like you or someone else has the disease. You may also just be curious. Well, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute provides this information.

Treatment seems to include: healthy dietary and exercise changes, quitting smoking, managing stress and medical treatment like Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (a type of surgery in which arteries or veins from other areas in your body are used to bypass (that is, go around) your narrowed coronary arteries. CABG can improve blood flow to your heart, relieve chest pain, and possibly prevent a heart attack.) or Cardiac Rehabilitation (your doctor may prescribe cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) for angina or after CABG, angioplasty, or a heart attack. Cardiac rehab is a medically supervised program that may help improve the health and well-being of people who have heart problems.)

However, as I have said before, precaution is better than cure. So, cut down on the KFC, do more than steal wifi and if you smoke or think about, please DON’T!It would also be wise ,to look at your family's history concerning high cholesterol and various heart diseases to prevent them.

Thank you for reading and I wish you a life free from CAD!  🙋🙋🌝🌝🌝🌝🌝

https://youtu.be/puTqZP0ETfQ Ths youtube video, is awesome! Check it out for more information. 

Osteoporosis: Tired bones or tired hormones?? (By: V.Lake)

Whenever I have time on my hands  I always try to visit my grandma. For the past few visits she has been complaining about aching bones and sore feet. She said it even hurts when she sits down too fast! I urged her to visit a doctor, but you know old folks... they always want to try out some herbal medicine or local bush teas to remedy all and any kind of illnesses.

After doing that and still not feeling any relief, she finally decided to stop ignoring my advice and visit her doctor. The next time I went to see her she was telling about the doctor visit. The doctor diagnosed her with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease where the bones become extremely weak and brittle. This makes them much more susceptible to breaks and fractures. Fortunately the disease was in an early stage, so overall it was a mild case.

 My grandma was prescribed calcium supplements, estrogen pills and pain killers. As she was reading the medicine labels, with a confused look printed on her face she blurted out, "Estrogen?!?! At my age that crazy doctor thinks I'm pregnant.. really?? Why he give birth control pills?!"
I could not contain my outbursts of laughter 😂😂.

She was wrong on so many levels!!

I began to educate her about her illness and I explained why the doctor prescribed the estrogen pills. After all... what's the point of studying biology for two years at college if you cant even help those around you right?

Firstly, it is natural for bone loss to occur with aging. The endocrine system and more specifically hormones play an important role in bone health; under-secretion or over-secretion of certain hormones can cause osteoporosis. Bone formation is affected by the sex hormones: testosterone and estrogen in both males and females. The hormones aid in maintaining bone mass and as we age their secretion dwindles. Therefore, the rate of bone loss increases.

In my grandma's case her estrogen level was low due to her age and menopause (ovaries secrete less estrogen). Hence why her bones were becoming weaker. The doctor prescribed the pills, as a form of hormone replacement theory, in combination with calcium supplements  to make her bones stronger. Calcium is responsible for giving bones its hard, strong nature.

Other endocrine/ hormonal causes of osteoporosis include hyperparathyroidism. This is a case where the parathyroid glands, located in the cervical region, become overactive and secrete excess parathyroid hormone (PTH). The over activity is usually as a result of a tumor on one or more of the parathyroid glands and excess PTH secretion rapid bone degradation in order to release calcium into the bloodstream. The excess breakdown of bones causes them to become extremely weak as they lose their hardness and density.

After these explanations my silly grandma realized the doctor wasn't crazy after all. Also, many people believe that osteoporosis is strictly a bone disease and fail to realize that in most cases the underlying cause is some fault with the endocrine system. 

References :

1. Castro, J. (2013). 11 Surprising Facts About the Endocrine System. Live Science. Retrieved 11 February 2017, from http://www.livescience.com/40386-endocrine-system-surprising-facts.html
2. The connections between Osteoporosis & the Endocrine system. Hormone.org. Retrieved 11 February 2017, from http://www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/bone-health/hormones-and-your-bones

Supermom to the rescue! (By J. Francois)

Super mom to the rescue!

Ever see stories on the internet talking about supermom strength? You now like how a mother can seemingly become the incredible hulk and lift a 3,500-pound vehicle to save her children or other similar examples? Well, these stories aren’t that far from reality, in fact they are pretty close.

In 2006, in Ivujivik, Quebec resident Lydia Angiyou fought a polar bear when it approached one of her two sons. Spoiler alert; she won the fight (didn’t die). Lydia was able to wrestle with bear for long enough for help to arrive and the bear was eventually shot and killed. Not only did Lydia fight a Polar bear WITH HER FISTS, she only suffered a black eye and a few scratches. To read more, the article of the story can be found here.

Lydia Angiyou receiving the medal of “acts of good citizenship” for her heroic act in 2006.

Another example of this is when in 1982, Mrs. Angela Cavallo lifted a 3,000 pound  1964 Chevy Impala 4 inches off the ground, long enough for their neighbor to get help and eventually pull her son out from underneath the vehicle.

These seemingly superhuman bursts of strength are known as “Hysterical strength”, which is defined as: “a display of extreme strength by humans, beyond what is believed to be normal, usually occurring when people are in life and death situations.” How is it possible for the body to seemingly defy its capabilities? Well the culprits are two small pyramid shaped glands fitted like caps on the kidneys, the adrenal glands. They release hormones called “Epinephrine and norepinephrine” or as we know, adrenaline. Adrenaline is released when the body is stressed and in potential danger and causes us to go through what is called an “adrenaline rush”, or “fight or flight mode”

When released, adrenaline increases blood flow to the muscles, output of the heart, pupil dilation and blood sugar, basically for a moment you are in a heightened state and you are basically like an anime character. Another thing that adrenaline does is that it is able to nullify pain temporarily, which would allow us to put more strain on our muscles than we would be able to do normally, allowing our “supermoms” to seemingly summon superhuman strength. Some of you may be wondering “well if our body is capable of such feats, why can’t we do them all the time?” The answer is simple, while adrenaline does vastly increase the body’s performance it also places the body under a lot of stress. Remember it only nullifies the pain, it does not stop the muscles from tearing or straining, or the effects of the increased blood pressure and blood sugar which as we know is all sorts of bad. Think of it this way, your phone is able to run multiple apps in the background, right? But if you do that what’s gonna happen? Your battery will die quicker, the same applies to the body if the blood flow and heart rate is always high you will lose a lot of energy quickly, which is against one of the most basic functions of any organism, to be efficient. 

So, the next time a child is in Life-Threatening danger there’s no need to fear! With the help of adrenaline, supermom is to the rescue!

Man-boobs cruel joke or medical condition?!? (By K. Richards)

I have a cousin Jack who spends a great deal of time with us since his immediate family leaves out of town and he attends school in Roseau. Last year one week after Jack started high school a teacher asked him "to move himself he and his breast."
This comment was made in front of his whole class. He came home so dejected that my parents, brother and I decided to investigate with the hope to help him find a solution. Males like females have breast tissues and estrogen however in our society more and more males are being observed to have enlarged breast tissue referred to callously sometimes as man boobs. This however is a medical condition known as Gynecomastia that is becoming more prevalent in our society and many of the males with this condition are very self-conscious about it. My cousin for example is extremely self conscious about his condition. he is no longer able to go to the beach, sulphur springs or any other activity where his shirt needs to be off in front of people.

                   Picture comparing breast tissue of male without and with gynecomastia

Gynecomastia is a medical condition observed in new-borns, boys and men. This condition is as a result of an imbalance of the hormone levels of estrogen and testosterone resulting in enlarged breast tissue of either one or both breast. WebMD reports that on average seventy percent (70%) of boys suffer from gynecomastia before and especially during puberty. This is because of natural changes in estrogen and testosterone levels during that time of development. New-borns may also suffer from this condition due to the presence of estrogen in their blood from their mother. In new-borns, the condition is called short term gynecomastia and is often outgrown shortly after breast feeding has stopped. Middle aged and older males also suffer from this condition that as they grow older changes occur in their testosterone and estrogen levels this causes the breast tissue to develop and often appears the size of females their age or even bigger; which is often an embarrassing situation for many of these individuals.

Picture of middle aged man with gynecomastia

Though this condition has become more and more common, it has been realized that many are still unaware that the main reason for this increase in the appearance of gynecomastia is the medications taken and foods eaten by males. Some of these medications include:

-          Antibiotics

-          Heart medicines

-          Anti-anxiety drugs

-          AIDs medications

-          Chemotherapy

-          Heart burn medications

-          Asthma and bronchial anti-inflammatory drugs

According to Jack's doctor his condition is as a result of constant use of his asthma medication. About a year before the incident described above, he had an asthma flare up and was put on a lot of asthma medication. The problem with these medications is the high levels of steroids, hormones and side effects present in them. These disrupt the normal hormone levels in the blood and result in different complications like gynecomastia. Also, foods with a lot of preservatives and soy based products which most foods today contain increase the estrogen levels again resulting in complications and conditions like gynecomastia,

Depending on the cause of gynecomastia it tends to regress over a period of six months to two years. If the cause of the gynecomastia is hypogonadism, malnutrition or cirrhosis or it lasts over two years after periodic visits to their doctor, however treatment is needed. Treatment methods for gynecomastia include:

-        Stopping or substituting medications and foods that cause gynecomastia

-        Medications used to treat breast cancer and other conditions, such as tamoxifen (Soltamox), raloxifene (Evista) and aromatase inhibitors (Arimidex)

-         Surgery

1.      Liposuction: This surgery removes breast fat, but not the breast gland tissue itself

2.      Mastectomy: This type of surgery removes the breast gland tissue. This surgery is often done endoscopically that is, only small incisions are used. This is a less invasive type of surgery involves less recovery time.

Picture of gynecomastia patient before (left) and after (right) surgery

Since a major problem males with this condition face is bullying, low self esteem and low self confidence, males like Jack are investing in gynecomastia compression shirts. These shirts are extremely tight and conceal the appearance of gynecomastia making them appear to have normal chest this tends to increase their confidence levels and boost their self esteem. Since Jack has began to wear these vests he is a lot more confident, has higher self esteem and is more comfortable with his body. He is currently contemplating having the surgery, however his doctor has advised that he monitor the size of his breast tissue to ensure their I no change in size before having the surgery.

This condition is one that is physically painless but the psychological damage and pain is great I hope this blog helps someone be a little more conscious about the psychological effects Jack and many others like him suffer through and as a result will show more empathy when encountering the many young men with this condition in their schools, playgrounds, neighbourhoods and workplaces.