What is Paget's disease of bone?
Paget's disease of bone is a chronic bone disorder. Normally, there is a process in which your bones break down and then regrow. In Paget's disease, this process is abnormal. There is excessive breakdown and regrowth of bone. Because the bones regrow too quickly, they are bigger and softer than normal. They may be misshapen and easily fractured (broken). Paget's usually affects just one or a few bones.
What causes Paget's disease of bone?Researchers do not know for sure what causes Paget's disease. Environmental factors may play a role. In some cases, the disease runs in families, and several genes have been linked to the disease.
Who is at risk for Paget's disease of bone?The disease is more common in older people and those of northern European heritage. If you have a close relative who has Paget's, you are much more likely to have it.
What are the symptoms of Paget's disease of bone?Many people do not know that they have Paget's, because it often has no symptoms. When there are symptoms, they are similar to those of arthritis and other disorders. The symptoms include:
Usually, Paget's disease gets worse slowly over time. It does not spread to normal bones.
What other problems can Paget's disease of bone cause?Paget's disease can lead to other complications, such as:
Your health care provider may use many tools to make a diagnosis:
Sometimes the disease is found by accident when one of these tests is done for another reason.
What are the treatments for Paget's disease of bone?To avoid complications, it is important to find and treat Paget's disease early. The treatments include:
Diet and exercise do not treat Paget's, but they can help to keep your skeleton healthy. If you do not have kidney stones, you should make sure to get enough calcium and vitamin D through your diet and supplements. Besides keeping your skeleton healthy, exercise can prevent weight gain and maintain the mobility of your joints. Talk with your health care provider before you start a new exercise program. You need to make sure that the exercise does not put too much stress on the affected bones.
NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a type of movement disorder. It happens when nerve cells in the brain don't produce enough of a brain chemical called dopamine. Sometimes it is genetic, but most cases do not seem to run in families. Exposure to chemicals in the environment might play a role.
Symptoms begin gradually, often on one side of the body. Later they affect both sides. They include:
As symptoms get worse, people with the disease may have trouble walking, talking, or doing simple tasks. They may also have problems such as depression, sleep problems, or trouble chewing, swallowing, or speaking.
There is no specific test for PD, so it can be difficult to diagnose. Doctors use a medical history and a neurological examination to diagnose it.
PD usually begins around age 60, but it can start earlier. It is more common in men than in women. There is no cure for PD. A variety of medicines sometimes help symptoms dramatically. Surgery and deep brain stimulation (DBS) can help severe cases. With DBS, electrodes are surgically implanted in the brain. They send electrical pulses to stimulate the parts of the brain that control movement.
NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
What is sleep?
Sleep is a complex biological process. While you are sleeping, you are unconscious, but your brain and body functions are still active. They are doing a number of important jobs that help you stay healthy and function at your best. So when you don't get enough quality sleep, it does more than just make you feel tired. It can affect your physical and mental health, thinking, and daily functioning.
What are sleep disorders?Sleep disorders are conditions that disturb your normal sleep patterns. There are more than 80 different sleep disorders. Some major types include:
Some people who feel tired during the day have a true sleep disorder. But for others, the real problem is not allowing enough time for sleep. It's important to get enough sleep every night. The amount of sleep you need depends on several factors, including your age, lifestyle, health, and whether you have been getting enough sleep recently. Most adults need about 7-8 hours each night.
What causes sleep disorders?There are different causes for different sleep disorders, including:
Sometimes the cause is unknown.
There are also some factors that can contribute to sleep problems, including:
The symptoms of sleep disorders depend on the specific disorder. Some signs that you may have a sleep disorder include that:
To make a diagnosis, your health care provider will use your medical history, your sleep history, and a physical exam. You may also have a sleep study (polysomnogram). The most common types of sleep studies monitor and record data about your body during a full night of sleep. The data includes:
Other types of sleep studies may check how quickly you fall asleep during daytime naps or whether you are able to stay awake and alert during the day.
What are the treatments for sleep disorders?Treatments for sleep disorders depend on which disorder you have. They may include:
Statins are drugs used to lower cholesterol. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries and narrow or even block them.
If diet and exercise don't reduce your cholesterol levels, you may need to take cholesterol medicine. Often, this medicine is a statin. Statins interfere with the production of cholesterol in your liver. They lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels. This can slow the formation of plaques in your arteries.
Statins are relatively safe for most people. But they are not recommended for pregnant patients or those with active or chronic liver disease. They can also cause serious muscle problems. Some statins also interact adversely with other drugs. You may have fewer side effects with one statin drug than another.
Researchers are also studying the use of statins for other conditions.
Food and Drug Administration
Stem cells are cells with the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. They serve as a repair system for the body. There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.
Stem cells are different from other cells in the body in three ways:
Doctors and scientists are excited about stem cells because they could help in many different areas of health and medical research. Studying stem cells may help explain how serious conditions such as birth defects and cancer come about. Stem cells may one day be used to make cells and tissues for therapy of many diseases. Examples include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injury, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.
NIH: National Institutes of Health