The hypothalamus is a small but important area in the center of the brain. It plays an important role in hormone production and helps to stimulate many important processes in the body and is located in the brain, between the pituitary gland and thalamus.
When the hypothalamus is not working properly, it can cause problems in the body that lead to a wide range of rare disorders. Maintaining hypothalamic health is vital because of this.
Hypothalamic dysfunction is a problem with part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus helps control the pituitary gland and regulates many body functions.
The thyroid gland produces two related hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which play a critical role in thermogenic and metabolic homeostasis. T4 and T3 are normally synthesized and released in response to a combined hypothalamic pituitary signal mediated by thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) from the anterior pituitary and thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) from the hypothalamus. There is a negative feedback from thyroid hormone concentration, primarily T3, to TSH production, causing total T4, total T3, free T4, and free T3 concentrations to move in opposition to TSH concentration.
Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland is functionally inadequate. Causes of hypothyroidism include autoimmune disorders, such as Hashimoto?s thyroiditis, atrophic thyroiditis, and postpartum thyroiditis; iodine deficiency, the most common cause of hypothyroidism in underdeveloped areas; congenital defects; medications or treatments that can result in hypothyroidism; central hypothyroidism in which the thyroid is not stimulated by the pituitary or hypothalamus; and infiltrative processes that may damage thyroid, pituitary, or hypothalamus. These different causes of hypothyroidism are often interrelated. Usually, the exact cause of the hypothyroidism cannot be definitively differentiated.
The prostate gland (the prostate) is an organ of the male reproductive system. It is about the size of a walnut and is found at the base of the bladder. The thin tube that allows urine and semen to pass out of the penis (the urethra) runs through the prostate gland. Alkaline fluid produced by the prostate gland helps to nourish sperm and leaves the urethra as ejaculate (semen). The prostate undergoes two main growth spurts. The first is fuelled by the sex hormones made by the testes during puberty. This prompts the prostate to reach an average weight of 20 grams. The second growth spurt begins when men are in their thirties.
Around 25 per cent of men aged 55 years and over have a prostate condition. This increases to 50 per cent by the age of 70 years. Early stages of prostate disease may have no symptoms.
If you are a man and you are in your 50s or 60s, talk to your doctor about whether you need to have your prostate gland checked and, if so, how often. If you have a family history of prostate disease (or if you have particular concerns), talk to your doctor earlier about when prostate checks might be suitable for you.
Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which the body does not make enough insulin to control blood sugar levels. Diabetes of type 1 was previously called insulin-dependent diabetes or diabetes juvenile.
During digestion, food is broken down into basic components. Carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars, primarily glucose. Glucose is a critically important source of energy for the body's cells. To provide energy to the cells, glucose needs to leave the blood and get inside the cells.
Type 1 diabetes is not caused by the amount of sugar in a person's diet before the disease develops.
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease. It is diagnosed most commonly between ages 10 and 16. Type 1 diabetes equally affects males and females.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. This means it begins when the body's immune system attacks cells in the body. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells (beta cells) in the pancreas.
Why the immune system attacks the beta cells remains a mystery. Some people are genetically predisposed to the disease. That does not mean they will necessarily get the disease. It just means that they are more likely to do so. Something in the environment, such as particular viral infections or something about the diet, may trigger this autoimmune disease in people with a genetic predisposition.
Insulin traveling in the blood signals the cells to take up glucose. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. When levels of glucose in the blood rise, like following a meal, the pancreas normally produces more insulin.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when some or all of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed. This leaves the patient with little or no insulin. Without insulin, sugar accumulates in the bloodstream rather than entering the cells. As a result, the body cannot use this glucose for energy. In addition, the high levels of glucose that remain in the blood cause excessive urination and dehydration, and damage tissues of the body.
Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside some of your bones, such as your hip and thigh bones. It contains stem cells. The stem cells can develop into the red blood cells that carry oxygen through your body, the white blood cells that fight infections, and the platelets that help with blood clotting.
With bone marrow disease, there are problems with the stem cells or how they develop:
In leukemia, a cancer of the blood, the bone marrow makes abnormal white blood cells In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow doesn't make red blood cells In myeloproliferative disorders, the bone marrow makes too many white blood cells Other diseases, such as lymphoma, can spread into the bone marrow and affect the production of blood cells
Definition of Diabetes mellitus type 2:
Type 2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes, is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes mainly from the food you eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose get into your cells to be used for energy. In type 2 diabetes, your body doesn?t make enough insulin or doesn?t use insulin well. Too much glucose then stays in your blood, and not enough reaches your cells.
Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that keeps your body from using insulin the way it should. People with type 2 diabetes are said to have insulin resistance.
People who are middle-aged or older are most likely to get this kind of diabetes, so it used to be called adult-onset diabetes. But type 2 diabetes also affects kids and teens, mainly because of childhood obesity.
It?s the most common type of diabetes. There are about 29 million people in the U.S. with type 2. Another 84 million have prediabetes, meaning their blood sugar (or blood glucose) is high but not high enough to be diabetes yet.
Blood sugar control is at the center of any diabetes treatment plan. High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, is a major concern, and can affect people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes . There are two main kinds:
Frequent or ongoing high blood sugar can cause damage to your nerves, blood vessels, and organs. It can also lead to other serious conditions. People with type 1 diabetes are prone to a build-up of acids in the blood called ketoacidosis.
If you have type 2 diabetes or if you?re at risk for it, extremely high blood sugar can lead to a potentially deadly condition in which your body can?t process sugar. It's called hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome (HHNS). You?ll pee more often at first, and then less often later on, but your urine may become dark and you could get severely dehydrated.
High blood sugar (hyperglycemia) affects people who have diabetes. Several factors can contribute to hyperglycemia in people with diabetes, including food and physical activity choices, illness, nondiabetes medications, or skipping or not taking enough glucose-lowering medication.
It's important to treat hyperglycemia, because if left untreated, hyperglycemia can become severe and lead to serious complications requiring emergency care, such as a diabetic coma. In the long term, persistent hyperglycemia, even if not severe, can lead to complications affecting your eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart.
Kidney stones (also called renal calculi, nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis) are hard deposits made of minerals and salts that form inside your kidneys.
Diet, excess body weight, some medical conditions, and certain supplements and medications are among the many causes of kidney stones. Kidney stones can affect any part of your urinary tract ? from your kidneys to your bladder. Often, stones form when the urine becomes concentrated, allowing minerals to crystallize and stick together.
Passing kidney stones can be quite painful, but the stones usually cause no permanent damage if they're recognized in a timely fashion. Depending on your situation, you may need nothing more than to take pain medication and drink lots of water to pass a kidney stone. In other instances ? for example, if stones become lodged in the urinary tract, are associated with a urinary infection or cause complications ? surgery may be needed.
Your doctor may recommend preventive treatment to reduce your risk of recurrent kidney stones if you're at increased risk of developing them again.
Not all kidney stones are made up of the same crystals. The different types of kidney stones include:
Calcium stones are the most common. They?re often made of calcium oxalate (though they can consist of calcium phosphate or maleate). Eating fewer oxalate-rich foods can reduce your risk of developing this type of stone. High-oxalate foods include:
However, even though some kidney stones are made of calcium, getting enough calcium in your diet can prevent stones from forming.
This type of stone develops when urine is too acidic. A diet rich in purines can increase urine?s acidic level. Purine is a colorless substance in animal proteins, such as fish, shellfish, and meats.
This type of stone is found mostly in women with urinary tract infections (UTIs). These stones can be large and cause urinary obstruction. They result from a kidney infection. Treating an underlying infection can prevent the development of struvite stones.
Cystine stones are rare. They occur in both men and women who have the genetic disorder cystinuria. With this type of stone, cystine ? an acid that occurs naturally in the body ? leaks from the kidneys into the urine.
Ovarian cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the ovaries. The female reproductive system contains two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus. The ovaries ? each about the size of an almond ? produce eggs (ova) as well as the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it has spread within the pelvis and abdomen. At this late stage, ovarian cancer is more difficult to treat. Early-stage ovarian cancer, in which the disease is confined to the ovary, is more likely to be treated successfully.
Ovarian cancer refers to any cancerous growth that begins in the ovary. This is the part of the female body that produces eggs.
Ovarian cancer is now the fifth most common cause of cancer-related death among females in the United States. That said, deaths from ovarian cancer have been falling in the U.S. over the past 2 decades, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
The ACS estimate that in 2019, around 22,530 people may receive a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Around 13,980 people are likely to die from this condition.
Chronic kidney disease, also called chronic kidney failure, describes the gradual loss of kidney function. Your kidneys filter wastes and excess fluids from your blood, which are then excreted in your urine. When chronic kidney disease reaches an advanced stage, dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes can build up in your body.
In the early stages of chronic kidney disease, you may have few signs or symptoms. Chronic kidney disease may not become apparent until your kidney function is significantly impaired.
Treatment for chronic kidney disease focuses on slowing the progression of the kidney damage, usually by controlling the underlying cause. Chronic kidney disease can progress to end-stage kidney failure, which is fatal without artificial filtering (dialysis) or a kidney transplant.
In the United States, the estimated number of people over 18 years of age with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes is 30.2 million. The figure represents between 27.9 and 32.7 percent of the population.
Without ongoing, careful management, diabetes can lead to a buildup of sugars in the blood, which can increase the risk of dangerous complications, including stroke and heart disease.
Different kinds of diabetes can occur, and managing the condition depends on the type. Not all forms of diabetes stem from a person being overweight or leading an inactive lifestyle. In fact, some are present from childhood.
Diabetes insipidus is a rare disorder that occurs when a person's kidneys pass an abnormally large volume of urine that is insipid?dilute and odorless. In most people, the kidneys pass about 1 to 2 quarts of urine a day. In people with diabetes insipidus, the kidneys can pass 3 to 20 quarts of urine a day. As a result, a person with diabetes insipidus may feel the need to drink large amounts of liquids.
Diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus?which includes both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes?are unrelated, although both conditions cause frequent urination and constant thirst. Diabetes mellitus causes high blood glucose, or blood sugar, resulting from the body's inability to use blood glucose for energy. People with diabetes insipidus have normal blood glucose levels; however, their kidneys cannot balance fluid in the body.
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar. The hormone insulin moves sugar from the blood into your cells to be stored or used for energy. With diabetes, your body either doesn?t make enough insulin or can?t effectively use the insulin it does make.
Untreated high blood sugar from diabetes can damage your nerves, eyes, kidneys, and other organs.
There are a few different types of diabetes:
A rare condition called diabetes insipidus is not related to diabetes mellitus, although it has a similar name. It?s a different condition in which your kidneys remove too much fluid from your body.
Each type of diabetes has unique symptoms, causes, and treatments. Learn more about how these types differ from one another.
During pregnancy, some women develop high blood sugar levels. This condition is known as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes typically develops between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it?s estimated to occur in 2 to 10 percent of pregnancies in the United States.
If you develop gestational diabetes while you?re pregnant, it doesn?t mean that you had diabetes before your pregnancy or will have it afterward. But gestational diabetes does raise your risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.
If poorly managed, it can also raise your child?s risk of developing diabetes and increase the risk of complications for you and your baby during pregnancy and delivery.
Gestational diabetes is diabetes diagnosed for the first time during pregnancy (gestation). Like other types of diabetes, gestational diabetes affects how your cells use sugar (glucose). Gestational diabetes causes high blood sugar that can affect your pregnancy and your baby's health.
While any pregnancy complication is concerning, there's good news. Expectant mothers can help control gestational diabetes by eating healthy foods, exercising and, if necessary, taking medication. Controlling blood sugar can keep you and your baby healthy and prevent a difficult delivery.
In women with gestational diabetes, blood sugar usually returns to normal soon after delivery. But if you've had gestational diabetes, you have a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes. You'll need to be tested for changes in blood sugar more often.
Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI). A person can transmit it during any kind of sexual contact. With an early diagnosis, effective treatment is usually available. However, without treatment, gonorrhea can result in long-term complications. Gonorrhea is an infection caused by a sexually transmitted bacterium that infects both males and females. Gonorrhea most often affects the urethra, rectum or throat. In females, gonorrhea can also infect the cervix.
Gonorrhea is most commonly spread during vaginal, oral or anal sex. But babies of infected mothers can be infected during childbirth. In babies, gonorrhea most commonly affects the eyes.
Abstaining from sex, using a condom if you have sex and being in a mutually monogamous relationship are the best ways to prevent sexually transmitted infections.