| Blood or liver problems usually associated with jaundice | | Posted Tuesday, October 24, 2006 2:59:36 AM by Blog57 Team | | JAUNDICE is a yellow discoloration of the skin and the whites of the eyes resulting from abnormal accumulation of blood products (bilirubin) in the tissues. The human body is constantly making new red blood cells and getting rid of old ones. When red blood cells are destroyed, one of the waste products is bilirubin. Normally, bilirubin is eliminated from the body through the liver, where it is processed (conjugated). It then passes through the bile ducts into the intestine, giving the stool its characteristic color. However, bilirubin will accumulate in body tissues if too much is delivered to the liver, or if there is poor liver function or drainage. Physicians classify the causes of jaundice depending on the site of the underlying abnormality. Pre-hepatic refers to hemolytic causes in which too many red blood cells are broken down.... | |
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| | | DONATE LIFE: Raven Shipsey needed a new liver at age 6 | | Posted Monday, September 25, 2006 12:58:18 PM by Blog57 Team | | Debbie Friedman didn't realize just how sick her little girl was until doctors told her Raven had only days to live if she didn't get a liver transplant. "It happened so fast, and I was scared, but what do you do? You don't want to be scared in front of her," Debbie says. "The doctors said, ?She won't live without a transplant. We have five or six days.'" It all started when Raven Shipsey, then 6, suddenly didn't feel good. "It just came on. One day I came home from school and my skin was yellow, my eyes were turning yellow," says Raven, 14. Debbie took her to St. Elizabeth Health Services, where she tested negative for hepatitis. Then Dr. Clare Heriza referred them to Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland. The two climbed in the car and headed west.... | |
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| | | New Method Shows That Neocortical Nerve Cells Are Not Renewed | | Posted Monday, August 14, 2006 6:58:10 AM by Blog57 Team | | Most bodily organs continually die and regrow a little at a time. It takes two years, for example, for all the cells of the liver to be replaced by fresh ones. Research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now shows that there is one important exception to this -- the nerve cells of the brain remain the same throughout a person's life. .... | |
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| | | Medical Condition Causes Boys, Men to Grow Breasts | | Posted Thursday, July 13, 2006 5:05:27 AM by Blog57 Team | | OAKLAND, Calif., July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Who would think an invitation to a beach, lake, or pool party could strike terror in a boy's -- or man's -- heart? Yet these summer pastimes can seem a fate worse than death for a boy or man with gynecomastia, the development of breast tissue that leads many males to hide in shame and humiliation. In his new book, Demystifying Gynecomastia: Men With Breasts, psychotherapist Merle Yost reports that up to one-third of males may have to deal with problem gynecomastia at some time. Although adolescent onset is most common, adult-onset gynecomastia is on the rise with men's increased use of prescription drugs -- including anti-depressants -- and this country's obesity epidemic. Yost himself has been affected since age 11. "I was a skinny little boy who grew noticeable A-cup breasts," says Yost.... | |
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