Bone density scans for osteoporosis
Bone scans measure the amount of bone in a particular site of the body, usually the lower part of the spine, the hip, the forearm or the heel. Doctors use the scans to help them to assess the likelihood of future bone fractures and whether any ... [... more]
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Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a disease affecting the joints and affects almost everybody as they get older. Around 8 out of 10 people over the age of 50 are affected. Mr Dai Rees, consultant orthopaedic surgeon and Dr John Pillinger, GP The process starts ... [... more]
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Dementia
Dementia is an illness of the brain. When someone has dementia, brain cells are damaged and die faster than they would normally. Losing brain cells means that the brain does not work as well as it should, and gradually people lose the ability to ... [... more]
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Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease (HD) was described by George Huntington (1850-1916) who was born in Long Island, New York. He described this disorder in his only known written article called 'on chorea'. Dr Linda Appai-Kubi, King's College Hospital and ... [... more]
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Coping with Parkinson's disease
With Parkinson's, it's important to keep yourself as physically and mentally active as possible. In this way, mind and body functions can be maintained to the greatest possible degree. For the mind, frequent, stimulating interaction with ... [... more]
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Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, affecting over half of all dementia sufferers. Deteriorating memory can be the first sign of a treatable disease. Don't accept the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease before it has been ... [... more]
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Gout (podagra or uric acid)
Gout, otherwise known as podagra or uric acid arthropathy is a rheumatic complaint, that usually attacks a single joint at a time. The disease has a preference for the big toe of middle-aged men - it swells, turns red and becomes sore. The ... [... more]
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Multi-infarct dementia
Multi-infarct dementia is a form of dementia caused by large numbers of small blood clots (emboli) in the brain that starve the brain cells of oxygen. This disease mainly affects elderly people with arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). ... [... more]
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Smoking: cutting down or quitting
Addiction to tobacco is both physical and psychological. Every smoker knows how difficult it is to stop smoking or even cut down. Reducing the amount you smoke is a start - and better than nothing, but the ultimate goal should be to quit ... [... more]
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Osteoporosis: preventing falls
About 1 in 20 falls at home results in a bone fracture and of these, one in five is a hip fracture. Hip fractures have a high mortality rate; some 10 per cent of patients are dead within a month. In addition many older people lose their ... [... more]
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Nocturia (night-time urination)
Nocturia - having to get up during the night to go to the toilet - is more likely to occur as people get older. The problem is extremely common among older men because it can be caused by an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia). The ... [... more]
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Smoking - health risks
You can eat five portions of fruit and veg a day and exercise regularly, but healthy behaviour means little if you continue to smoke. The message that 'smoking is bad for you' is an old one, so not everyone gives it their full attention. Below we ... [... more]
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