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What is Addisons Disease

Addison’s disease is a hormonal disorder that occurs when the adrenal glands in the body (which reside just above your kidneys) don’t produce enough of the hormones cortisol (and or aldosterone). It’s the common name for the medical term hypoadrenocorticism or adrenal insufficiency. It occurs in all age groups and seems to affect both men and women equally. Having said that, it’s not something that occurs commonly - typically only affecting about one in 100,000 people.

Addisons Disease Medical Symptoms

Addisons disease is typically characterized by loss of weight, weakness in the muscles, tiredness/fatigue, low blood pressure(which can cause fainting episodes), and at times a darkening of the skin in areas of the body. People with Addisons disease are commonly irritable and can be depressed. They also tend to crave salty foods. Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is commonly seen in children with Addisons. And with some women, they may notice that their menstrual cycle becomes irregular or stop altogether. Addisons disease can be life threatening and these episodes are often referred to as an Addisonian crisis. Medical symptoms of an Addisonian crisis include sudden penetrating pain in the lower back, abdomen, or legs, severe vomiting and diarrhea, which is often followed by dehydration; low blood pressure; and loss of consciousness.

These medical symptoms occur as a direct result of the low concentrations of the hormones that the adrenal glands are supposed to produce. Let’s look at the hormones in detail. Starting with the usual one that’s reduced in Addisons disease - cortisol. Cortisol belongs to a class of hormones called glucocorticoids and this hormone pretty much has it’s foot in every the proper functioning of most organs in the body. Principally however, the most important function of cortisol is a stress regulator. When your body undergoes stress, it releases cortisol to cope with it and it does so by slowing the immune system’s inflammatory response, maintaining your blood pressure, regulating the breakdown of sugar for energy and the metabolism of proteins and fats. Control of the amount of cortisol released by the adrenal glands is maintained by the pituitary gland in your brain which releases a stimulatory hormone called ACTH (adrenocorticotropin) which triggers the adrenals to release cortisol into the circulatory system in response to stress. In Addisons disease the ability to release cortisol is markedly reduced and therefore the individual finds it impossible to deal with stressful situations. The other important hormone that is sometimes reduced in Addisons disease is aldosterone (which is in a class of hormones called mineralocorticoids). It’s primary function is to help the kidney regulate the salt and water balance in the body which in turn regulates blood pressure.

Causes of Addisons Disease

There are 2 general reasons for the failure of the adrenals to produce enough cortisol :

• Primary adrenal insufficiency - where the fault lies in the adrenal glands itself ie they cortisol producing cells have been destroyed by either autoimmune disorders (where the body decides for some reason or another to turn on itself and take out certain cell lines) or cancer.
• Secondary adrenal insufficiency - where the failure lies in the inadequate production of the stimulatory hormone ACTH from the pituitary gland. This can sometimes occur because a person’s taking medications like prednisone (a glucocorticoid) which sends signals to the brain that the body already has sufficient cortisol swimming around the system and therefore to halt the orders to make more. Other causes are the side effects of having had surgery for benign tumours of the pituitary gland and if the surgeon has taken too much out, then the result is Addisons disease.

Diagnosis of Addisons Disease

Addisons disease is notoriously hard to diagnose because the medical symptoms are vague and often mimic other illnesses. A series of blood/urine tests (ACTH Stimulation test, Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia Test) are usually conducted to diagnose Addisons disease. Further tests include xrays and possible CT Scans of the adrenal and pituitary glands.

If the patient presents with an Addisonian crisis, the doctor will usually commence treatment first and then wait for the patient to stabilize before testing for Addisons disease.

Treatment of Addisons Disease

Generally, treatment involves oral replacement of the hormones that are lacking - synthetic glucocorticoids are taken once or twice daily. If aldosterone is also deficient, then another drug called fludrocortisone is taken orally once daily, at the same time, most of these patients are also advised to increase their intake of salt in their diet. In addition to this, most patients are also told to avoid stressful situations if possible and if they anticipate a stressful event in the near future to adapt their dosage regime to cater to the increase requirement for cortisol in their body - these events would include potential surgery, pregnancy. It’s also advised to tell their family members and loved ones about the symptoms of an addisonian crisis and to have an action plan devised if it occurs - this usually involves injecting the patient with cortisol. Medic Alert bracelets are a life saver and a necessity in these situations.

For years the mainstay for long term pain relief lay in the class of drugs known as opioids (or morphine and methadone) and no other option was even close to making it close to overtaking them in the pain relief stakes. Problem is, about 5-15% of people don’t respond to these drugs and live in chronic constant pain. Enter the humble chilli pepper - or more accurately the more potent cousin of the chilli pepper. Turns out the self same chemical (aka resiniferatoxin or RTX) that feels like it’s burning a hole in your mouth is the same one that will selectively burn out/poison nerve cells that are responsible for heat-related or inflammatory pain and therefore effectively taking out the ’signals’ to the brain to ‘feel’ the pain. The beauty of this chemical is that it’s selective in what nerve cells it targets, only hitting the necessary ones and leaving the useful ones eg like the one that lets you feel sharp pain when you trod on something pointy intact.

Studies have been conducted on dogs with terminal cancer and RTX has been injected into their spines with startling results. Owners have reported their dogs who were in horrible pain from bone cancer suddenly starting to weight bear on their ‘painful’ legs again. Whilst all the dogs eventually succumbed to the cancer, their owners reported weeks-months of playing and increased activity which is a far cry from the usual pain ridden sub existence in someone dying slowly from the cancer.

The only setback seems to be that the drug needs to be injected like an epidural (eg for pregnant women) and it seems to have the habit of burning BEFORE it deadens the pain and therefore the subject has to be under general anesthetic for the injection to take place. A side effect that occured in most of the dogs in the study was that they woke up after the injection panting heavily for hours after - supposedly they were experiencing the flush similar to what people experience after eating hot peppers. Presumably this would be translated to humans sweating it out for hours until after the drug has taken its effect. Researchers are hopeful and excited because of initial trials.

The challenge now remains in finding a pharmaceutical company who’s willing to take up the funding and final production of the drug for general consumption which may prove difficult as the potential market for this drug is small.

As published in HealthDay today - there’s a list of cancer fighting foods that have been proven to actually prevent the onset of a variety of cancers. These foods include the much touted gingko biloba, garlic, cabbage and also would you believe brocolli sprouts (so grandma was right in advising you to eat your sprouts!

Brocolli sprouts - the stomach protector and stomach cancer fighting food

Studies conducted in the University of Tsukuba Japen found that in 20 people who ate a diet rich in brocolli sprouts had significantly reduced numbers of Helicobacter pylori (the stomach ulcer forming bug). This bug has been found to be a major factor in the formation of stomach ulcers and stomach cancer. Whilst the diet rich in brocolli sprouts did not eliminate the bacteria totally, it’s certainly a good (and safe) way to encourage people already with the condition that with a simple change in their dietary intake of brocolli sprouts they can significantly reduce the likelihood of more peptic ulcers and stomach cancer formation. The active ingredient in brocolli sprouts that have the cancer fighting properties is sulforaphane - a highly effective anti-oxidant. On another note, another study (this time in skin cancer) found that an extract of brocolli sprouts when smeared on the skin of hairless mice reduced the chances of skin cancer formation by 1/2.

Cabbage and sauerkraut - breast cancer fighting food

A Polish women’s health study has shown an association between eating cabbage and sauerkraut the and lowering of the risk of breast cancer. Before you head out to buy more cabbage, note that the study showed that the effect seemed to be the highest among women who eat high amount from adolescence and keep on keeping on till adulthood. The best protective effects were found in people who ate raw or mildly cooked cabbage.

Gingko biloba - ovarian cancer fighting food

Gingko biloba has been found by Boston researchers to lower the risk of women developing ovarian cancer. This wonder ingredient has been used in herbal supplements (especially in Chinese medicine) for ages in the treatment of cancer but as yet there had been little scientific evidence to support its use. It was discovered that 2 primary compounds in gingko biloba- ginkgolide A and B were the most active components contributing to this cancer protective effect. The good news is that the proliferation rates in certain types of cancer cells was inhibited by 80 percent with these compounds.

Garlic - the condiment with class and protective effects

In the final study, researchers found that garlic may help ward off carcinogens produced by meat cooked at high temperatures. Cooking meats and eggs at high temperatures releases a chemical called PhIP, which may be a carcinogen. Garlic contains diallyl sulfide (DAS) and appears to inhibit the effects of PhIP that can cause DNA damage or transform substances in the body into carcinogens. Using human breast epithelial cells, equal amounts of PhIP and DAS were added to the cells separately, and the two together, for periods ranging from three to 24 hours. The study showed that whilst PhIP induced expression of the cancer-causing enzyme at every stage, up to 40-fold, DAS (found in garlic) actually completely inhibited the PhIP enzyme from becoming carcinogen - a cancer forming agent.

So where does this leave us? Increasing your daily consumption of vegetables and fruit is a must if you are serious about reducing your chances of getting cancer.

Find Nutritional supplements at the health shop at 40-70% off retail prices.

What is meningitis?

Meningitis is specifically an inflammation of the meninges - which are the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis can be caused by viruses or bacteria and less commonly something like a fungal infection. The problem that you have is that a lot of the bugs that do cause meningitis in some are pretty common and are often associated with everyday illnesses. Although there are some culprits that do crop up on most occasions, others are just your everyday enteroviruses (stomach ‘flu bugs’). So in general most doctors when they suspect a patient of having meningitis will want to know (and will conduct tests to find out) whether the patient has bacterial meningitis or viral meningitis.

Viral meningitis symptoms

Viral meningitis more common and tends to be far less serious than bacterial meningitis. The symptoms of viral meningitis often mimics the flu and therefore a lot of the times it remains undiagnosed. Due to the link to particular viral agents eg enteroviruses (your stomach bugs), doctors will tend to see more cases in the warmer months of summer and fall. It used to be the mumps virus which was the main virus causing meningitis but now with the advent of MMR vaccinations, the number of cases has dropped dramatically.

Symptoms may include :

• usually starts off with a cold and runny nose
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• fever
• lethargy
• irritability
• headache
• stiff neck
• avoiding the light - photophobia
• seizures
• rash - petechiae - little spots or larger bruising spots

Bacterial meningitis symptoms

Bacterial meningitis is often a lot more severe than viral meningitis and can be potentially life threatening. These are the cases you often see highlighted in current affair shows where the patient ends up with neurological deficits if prompt treatment wasn’t given. The se neurological problems include hearing loss, visual problems, seizures, and learning disabilities. Other organs like the heart, kidneys, and adrenal glands may also be affected. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is the key to have the disease resolve with no long term complications.

Bacterial meningitis symptoms are similar to that mentioned above in the list under viral meningitis although most bacterial meningitis cases, the fever does tend to be higher and the patient more ‘ill’.

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Pneumonia - what is it

Put simply, it’s an infection involving the lungs. Sometimes it’s referred to as bronchopneumonia (involving the bronchi or bronchioles - which are the larger airways in the lungs) or pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs).

Pneumonia symptoms

Okay it’s going to be hard to miss. Most people with pneumonia have the following symptoms :

• severe coughing - often productive and pus like secretions with the cough
• chest pains
• breathing difficulties - often increased rate of breathing
• wheezing
• fatigue from usual everyday activity and feeling breathless with minor activity (short of breath)
• fever with cold chills

These symptoms are often difficult to pick in young infants or children but any child that has a persistent cough and a fever that lasts for more than 48 hours should be checked by a doctor. Young children have smaller airways which tend to clog up with mucus and also constrict more readily which can result in wheeziness and an increased risk in developing complications from cold/flu/pneumococcus virus. It’s often best to try to catch the illness early BEFORE it develops into pneumonia and treat it before it gets any worse.

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