Monthly Archives: July 2013

Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

Autoimmune thyroid disease entails some sort of dysfunction from the body’s defense mechanism, in which the body does not distinguish its own organs and tissues, and rejects them, triggering inflammation and sometimes destruction. It can manifest either as hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) or hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). The main types of autoimmune thyroid disease are focal thyroiditis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, atrophic thyroiditis, silent thyroiditis, postpartum thyroiditis and Graves’ disease. Focal thyroiditis may not present with a goiter and blood examination will show normal or sub-clinical hypothyroidism. Sub-clinical hypothyroidism means that the thyroid stimulating hormone level is high which reflects an underactive thyroid but » » » [Read more]

Thyroid Cancer

A thyroid tumor can be classified whether it is benign or malignant. Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine cancer. The management of these cancers involves surgery to remove the tumor with or without radioactive iodine to ablate remaining cancerous cells followed by medical therapy that usually consists of thyroid hormone replacement. Types of Thyroid Cancer 95% of thyroid cancers belong to the well-differentiated type, the rest are medullary and anaplastic cancers. Well differentiated thyroid cancers can be further subdivided into Papillary thyroid cancer and Follicular thyroid cancer. The most common type of thyroid cancer is Papillary Thyroid Cancer. Papillary » » » [Read more]

At Your Desk – Exercises for Repetitive Stress Injury

At Your Desk – Exercises for Repetitive Stress Injury image

If you’re struggling with the RSI, or else known as repetitive stress injury, there are several relaxation workouts that can be done at the desk throughout time that will assist your problem. These types of workouts may also assist in preventing repeated stress. You don’t need to perform them all, but for optimal results, we advise you do as many as possible. Each one of the workouts can lead to a few stretches and you ought to make an effort to maintain every stretch for around 15 in order to thirty seconds. You will want to replicate every stretch 3 » » » [Read more]

Association Of Vitamin D Level And Insulin Resistance

It has come as a surprise to see a lot of people with vitamin d deficiency in a tropical country like the Philippines with almost a year-round sunshine. Vitamin D, also called the sunshine hormone, has effect on our bone, immune system, metabolism and even mood. Studies say that the reduced pigmentation of light-skinned individuals results in higher vitamin D level. On the other hand, melanin, the skin pigment, which is present in greater quantity in dark-skinned individuals, act like a sun-block resulting to decreased conversion of vitamin D precursors in the skin. This is the reason why dark-skinned individuals » » » [Read more]

Stupid Guideline Tricks: Am I Fat Enough, Yet?

Stupid Guideline Tricks: Am I Fat Enough, Yet? image

Thinking is hard work. This is why so few people bother. At least voluntarily. So whenever it seems like the threat of brainwork looms in modern American medicine, we can thank our lucky stars for the geniuses behind healthcare “reform” and guidelines of care. This comes up as a result of a conversation that I had with a patient the other day. A pleasant, obese gentleman. He had been struggling with his weight and Type II diabetes for some time, and there were now some early indications of some potentially serious long-term complications. He mentioned to me that he was » » » [Read more]

Why Don't Patients Take Their Meds

Why Don't Patients Take Their Meds image

A good chunk of every medical visit is spent writing prescriptions. Before we had an electronic medical record, this was often an arduous task, leading to serious writer’s cramp. Now the computer makes it easier on the doctor, but it doesn’t seem to have much effect on the patient. An article in the Journal of General Internal Medicine highlighted what most doctors have suspected all along, that a good chunk for these beautifully printed, fully legible prescriptions never make it to the drug store to be converted into actual pills. The study utilized an electronic system to trace nearly 200,000 » » » [Read more]

What Are The Types Of Repetitive Stress Injury?

What Are The Types Of Repetitive Stress Injury? image

As most cases, repetitive stress injury is classified into two respective types. Below is the explanation of each type and how they differ from each other. Type-1 Repetitive Stress Injury Repetitive stress injury that fall in this category are based on one thing, it can be diagnosed by a physician through its recognized signs and symptoms. These symptoms usually involve inflammation and swelling of soft tissues like tendons or muscles affected by stress. Some of the signs and symptoms that are clinically seen on an Repetitive Stress Injury case Bursitis Bursitis is defined as the inflammation of the bursa. Bursa » » » [Read more]

Diabetic Ketoacidosis In A Patient With Thyroid Storm: A Case Report

Diabetic Ketoacidosis In A Patient With Thyroid Storm:  A Case Report image

M.K., a 25 year-old female, Filipina-Japanese, presented at the Emergency Room due to abdominal pain. Her aunt stated that she had been noted to be very irritable for the past week before consult but attributed it to stress from the patient’s new job. She had been complaining of epigastric pain but only took AlMgOH, an antacid, which provided slight relief. The patient also claimed that she had been having nausea and had poor appetite, hence did not inject insulin for the past 2 days. She also experienced palpitation, heat intolerance, hyperdefecation and lightheadedness. The patient is a diagnosed case of » » » [Read more]

Why Is Obesity A Problem

Why Is Obesity A Problem image

Obesity is a multifactorial problem. It does not only result from overeating and sedentary lifestyles but as well as cultural attitudes, genetic predisposition and lack of proper knowledge on nutrition. With the rising economy and advancing technology, people tend to depend on fast food and ready-to-eat pre-packed easy-to-prepare frozen food to beat their hunger and allot more time for other activities like surfing the internet, working on the computer, or simply watching TV after work. Combined with the advancement in technologies which gives us the accessibility of cars for transportation to go to places, even just the near ones like » » » [Read more]