The composer of some of the most influential pieces of music ever written, Ludwig van Beethoven created a bridge between the 18th-century classical period and the new beginnings of Romanticism. His greatest breakthroughs in composition came in his instrumental work, including his symphonies. Unlike his predecessor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for whom writing music seemed to…
A sexually transmitted disease is not the same as genital disease. Most genital diseases are not caused by sexually transmitted organisms. But most sexually transmitted infections do involve the genitals. Infection of the rectum, throat, and the eye are also common. A lot of sexually transmitted diseases spread from a single place and produce sores…
Small pox, which was once the most feared disease known by mankind started out in the days of Christopher Columbus. The disease set out to change the lives of the people in the worse way. It became known as an epidemic disease that ended up killing hundreds of people. Small pox started out in Hispaniola…
Insomnia Insomnia is a chronic sleeping disorder in which it is very difficult to start and continue sleeping. One of the other symptoms of insomnia that is most recognized is waking up repeatedly in the middle of the night. Lack of sleep leads to two other things, daytime fatigue and restlessness. These are bad on…
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by a germ (bacterium) called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This germ primarily affects the lungs and may infect anyone at any age. In the United States, the number of TB cases steadily decreased until 1986 when an increase was noted; TB has continued to rise since. Today, ten million individuals…
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic disorders that cause inflammation or ulceration in the small and large intestines. Most often IBD is classified as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease but may be referred to as colitis, enteritis, ileitis, and proctitis. Ulcerative colitis causes ulceration and inflammation of the inner lining of a…
Does it hurt to move your arm? Is it tender and radiating pain to your neck and finger tips? Do you have a fever? If you answered yes to two or more of these questions then you may have typical joint injury called bursitis. Bursitis is an inflammation of the bursa that is easily prevented,…
Angina pectoris is a medical condition that literally means a choked chest. The victim feels acute pain in his chest for a few seconds, and then it goes away. This occurs when myocardium cells, the muscle portion of your heart, are temporarily denied oxygen. At this stage they do not die, but maybe weakened. If…
Beta-carotene is a member of the carotenoid family and has over 500 relatives. Carotenoids are yellow-to-red pigments found in all green plant tissues and in some species of algae. So far 21 different carotenoids have been found in human blood. The most abundant ones are alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin. A molecule of…
What is the Disease? ALS is an extremely deadly disease affecting the nerve cells that control the victim’s voluntary muscles. These nerves shrink and eventually die, leaving the muscles without stimulation. As these muscles go without stimulation, they too eventually shrink and die. The victim progressively weakens to the point of complete paralysis of all…
In 1991, Governor William Weld modified parole regulations and permitted women to seek commutation if they could present evidence indicating they suffered from battered women’s syndrome. A short while later, the Governor, citing spousal abuse as his impetus, released seven women convicted of killing their husbands, and the Great and General Court of Massachusetts enacted…
Clinical Characteristics DSM IV – for major (unipolar) depression, 5 of the following should occur nearly every day for at least 2 weeks: Emotional symptoms – sadness, depressed mood, loss of appetite, loss of motivation for usual activities. Somatic symptoms – insomnia/hyperinsomnia, weight loss/gain, tiredness. Cognitive symptoms – negative self-concept, low self esteem, apathy, self-blame,…
GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyrate, is a nutrient that is part of the metabolism process in mammalians. It can be found in every cell of the human body. The greatest quantities can be found in the kidney, heart, skeletal muscles, and brown fat tissues (Chin and Kreutzer, 1992). Chin and Kruetzer also believe it to be a…
Phrenology is basically the study of personality through the study of the shape of the skull. The basis of this theory is that the brain conforms to the shape of the head and its contours. This pseudoscience says that because we have isolated where different parts of personality come from we can tell how dominant…
Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder. It is a disease that makes it difficult for a person to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, to think logically, to have normal emotional responses to other, and to behave normally in social situations. People with schizophrenia may also have difficulty in remembering, talking, and behaving…
Lyme disease is a tick-transmitted inflammatory disorder characterized by an early focal skin lesion, and subsequently a growing red area on the skin (erythema chronicum migrans or ECM). The disorder may be followed weeks later by neurological, heart or joint abnormalities. Symptoms The first symptom of Lyme disease is a skin lesion. Known as erythema…
The potent drug cocaine was first prescribed as an anesthetic and a painkiller by doctors who believed that it was a safe substitute for morphine. The drug is a white, crystalline compound that has been processed from the leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca), a tropical shrub commonly found wild in Peru and Bolivia…
Anabolic steroids are performance enhancing drugs. They are a synthetic form of the chemical testosterone that is normally found in the body. By taking anabolic steroids, a person’s testosterone level can be raised up to a hundred times more than the usual amount of 2.5 to 10 mg. Per day. The increase in testosterone increases…
There are many possible reasons why a child may grow slowly, including: hereditary factors (short parents), diseases affecting the kidneys; heart, lungs or intestines; hormone imbalances; severe stress or emotional deprivation; infections in the womb before birth; bonediseases; and genetic or chromosomal abnormalities. The Turner Syndrome (known as Ullrich-Turner Syndrome in Germany) is a congenital…
Memory loses are sometimes trivial and meaningless and go unrecognized. However, when these loses are so great that a person does not know who or where they are the concerns are quite grave. Although it is realize that Alzheimer’s disease destroys the brain memory function, many do not realize precisely how the memory is destroyed…
