Skin is the largest organ in the body. It plays very important role in the body functioning. Skin allergy is common for allergens to cause a reaction to the skin. Skin allergy is the common problem and difficult to diagnose also, skin allergy is confusing diseases to diagnose reported by many allergists. Skin allergy symptoms are inflammation to hives and drug-related rashes to eczema.

Dermatitis or inflammation of the skin is often referred to as eczema as a general term. This type of skin allergies causes the skin to feel dry and itchy. It may flake, scale or even look irritated and red. Skin allergies such as eczema often begin in childhood. Many times it will be worse in the winter months when the air is dry. Read the rest of this entry »

A new study has revealed that smoking even just 15 cigarettes a day can cause a new mutation to appear in a smoker’s DNA each day. The scientists created a genetic map of the lung tumor of a 55-year-old man, which discovered 22,910 different mutations, most caused by carcinogenic agents found in cigarette smoke.

Lung cancer generally develops amongst those who have smoked an average of 365,000 cigarettes or the equivalent of a pack a day over 50 years. The scientists say that this average means that the patient probably developed a new mutation for every 15 cigarettes he smoked.

The scientist who leads the research, Peter Campbell of the Wellcome Tryst Sanger Institute, described the findings as ‘a little like Russian roulette.’ He said, “Every time you smoke a cigarette you are firing mutagens into the lung. Most do nothing but every so often they cause a mutation that can contribute to cancer. @”

The findings will go a long way to explaining the link between smoking and lung cancer, which is already known to be significant. It is estimated that 90% of lung cancers are related to smoking.  The discovery of the genetic destruction smoking causes is only one part of the project to map the entire genome of the patient’s tumor and it is expected that the map will lead to many other discoveries over the next ten years. The findings will add considerable weight to the NHS’s call to prioritise anti-smoking initiatives and quell critics of the smoking ban, introduced in 2007. The NHS say that people aiming to quit smoking should seek medical help, as smoking cessation treatments such as nicotine replacement therapies and drugs like Champix and Zyban can significantly increase their chances of success.

However smoking cessation treatments, Champix and counseling for would-be smokers do not come cheaply and the NHS spends large sums each year on anti-smoking campaigns.  Nonetheless, as the research provides conclusive evidence about the cancer-creating properties of tobacco, even spending hundreds to help an individual quit proves considerably cheaper than paying for the cost of cancer treatment.

Professor Carlos Caldas, of Cancer Research’s Cambridge Research Institute, called the study ‘ground breaking’. He said, “The hope and excitement for the future is that we’ll eventually have a detailed picture of how different cancers develop, and ultimately how better to treat and prevent them.”

Neurodevelopment disorder is also known as disorder of neural development or brain development disorder. Physically, it is characterized as impairment of brain or central nervous system. Psychologically, it is defined as a condition of abnormal brain function that effects the children’s emotion, learning ability and memory as they grow. The condition happens in the early year of their life and if not treat, it may inflict their social behaviour, learning ability, etc.

I. Causes
The causes of brain development disorder are still unknown, but many researchers suggest the following
1. Genetic passing through metabolic diseases
The disease is passed through from the parent to the inborn. Genetic and metabolic disorder are hard to diagnosis in the new born. The infant
may be look healthy and with no any symptom when they were born, because the disease won ‘t strike until the time when children start to make directed contact with their surrounding environment. The typical cases are
a) Down syndrome
It is known as trisomy 21, is caused by the abnormality of chromosome number 21.
b) William syndrome
It is caused the abnormality of chromosome number 7
c) Fragile X syndrome
d) Rett syndrome

2. Immune disorders
For what ever reason, the immune function becomes over react to certain situations and starts to attackthe brain tissues, leading to abnormal movements of the body, emotional disturbance and obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms.

3. Infectious diseases
Infectious diseases is defined as a type of disease which can transmit from the carrier to other person through one or more of diverse pathways, including physical contact, share food, body fluid, etc.
a) Mealse is one of the infectious disease that can cause subacute sclerosing panencephalitis as resulting of persistence infection by measle virus, leading to brain development disorder (cortical dysfunction).
b) Toxoplasmosis is a parasite disease caused by the protozoan toxoplasma gondii. People contact this type of diseases see their flu like symptoms disappearing within a few week, but for infants who normally have weakened immune system may see the disease progress, leading to encephalitis and severe brain tissues being damaged.
c) Meningitis
Most cases of meningitis is caused by bacteria infection, leading to inflammation, causing severe brain damage to the new born, including deafness.
d) Encephalitis
Encephalitis is another form of virus infectious disease, the new born can contact the virus when pass through an infected birth canal, leading to brain infection. The virus sometimes can stay inactive until the child comes under stress or sickness. Read the rest of this entry »

The tonsils are fleshy clusters of tissue that lie in bands on both sides of the back of the throat, above and behind the tongue. The tonsils’ major function is to catch incoming germs before the germs cause infections in the throat, mouth, or sinuses. Tonsils contain infection-fighting cells and antibodies that stop the spread of the germs further into the body.

There are 3 main types of tonsillitis: acute, subacute and chronic. Acute tonsillitis can either be bacterial or viral (75%) in origin. Subacute tonsillitis (which can last between 3 weeks and 3 months) is caused by the bacterium Actinomyces. Chronic tonsillitis, which can last for long periods if not treated, is almost always bacterial.

As children grow and develop, the tonsils and adenoids eventually begin to shrink and are probably no longer important in protecting against disease-causing germs. Even in young children, removal of infected tonsils or adenoids does not seem to weaken the body’s defenses. There are many other tissues in the body that are part of the immune system. These tissues, known as lymphoid tissues , also make antibodies to fight against infection. Read the rest of this entry »

Meningitis is an inflammation of the leptomeninges and underlying subarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the central nervous system, known collectively as the meninges. Meningitis is a disease involving inflammation, or irritation, of the meninges. Most cases of meningitis are caused by microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, or parasites, that spread into the blood and into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Many of the bacteria or viruses that can cause meningitis are fairly common and are more often associated with other everyday illnesses. Sometimes, however, they spread to the meninges from an infection in another part of the body. The meninges are composed of three layers of membranes enclosing the brain and spinal cord. Pia mater is the innermost layer. It is akin to a tissue paper that closely adheres to the brain and spinal cord, dipping into the various folds and crevices. Arachnoid mater is the middle layer. It is a filmy membrane that is joined to the pia mater by fine threads resembling a cobweb. Read the rest of this entry »