Are Appendectomies Always the Best Option?

Your appendix is part of the large intestine system of organs. While many researchers in the past have wondered if there is any use for the appendix, new research shows that it has a function. The appendix has been found to be a place where good bacteria live until they are needed by your body. They can be used after a nasty case of diarrhea or an illness, bringing you needed good bacteria and making you healthy.

Sometimes, the appendix can become inflamed and threatens to burst. While this affects less than 8 percent of the population, it can happen. Typically, an inflamed appendix is more common among those under the age of 30. When the appendix is inflamed, it is called appendicitis. Currently, the most common option to treat this condition is called an appendectomy, which result in the removal of the appendix.

Appendectomies are typically used to prevent the appendix from bursting. A burst appendix can be dangerous to your health, as there are bacteria stored in the appendix that can be harmful to you. While there are few options, an appendectomy can be a good solution, particularly in an emergency situation where your appendix may be ready to burst.

A common treatment for appendicitis is surgery, where the doctor will remove all, or part your appendix. There are different types of surgery, with two types of methods that are common today. The first option includes the surgeon making a large incision in your belly to remove the appendix. Another option is for the surgeon to use a laparoscope to remove the appendix. With this method, there is usually a smaller incision made in your abdominal region. While both options are surgical, they are normally not too invasive or difficult.

How do you know if you need to remove your appendix? If you feel belly pain, this can be a symptom. The pain may be located close to the belly button and can be intense. Sometimes people even feel it along their side or along their lower back. It can also move to the lower right side of the belly in some case. Coughing, moving, walking or exercise may make the pain more severe. Additional symptoms may include a fever or a feeling of being sick to your stomach.

The pain may also be hard to identify, it may feel like a stomach ache. Some people have reported feeling no pain at all before needing an appendectomy. Regardless, if you feel like something is wrong, it is best to see a doctor to determine if you need an appendectomy or other treatment.

While the surgery can be invasive, often it only takes a couple of weeks for patients to resume normal activities. Initially, antibiotics may be part of the treatment after surgery.

An appendectomy is a reasonable option in an emergency situation, but talk to your doctor if this is needed. A surgeon or medical specialist will best help you make the decision if an appendectomy is the right choice for you.

Radical Prostatectomy to Cure Chronic Prostatitis

Radical prostatectomy has significant benefits in terms of longevity for prostate cancer patients under the age of 50, research has revealed.

A study carried out by Henry Ford Hospital notes the difference the procedure can make to the life expectancy of younger sufferers of the disease.

The researchers note that the over-65s are the age group most at risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

But they add that it is growing in prevalence among younger men – including those even younger than the group tested in this study.

In the under-40s, one in 10,000 men in the US are predicted to be diagnosed with the condition during 2009.

The Henry Ford study examined three possible modes of treatment – watchful waiting, external beam radiotherapy and surgery.

Life expectancy was significantly greater with the surgical option, the research found, leading to radical prostatectomy being “strongly recommended”.

The process removes not only the prostate gland in its entirety, but also some of the connective tissue to which it is attached.

Earlier in the year, the American Urological Association published the findings of investigations into alternative treatment for prostate cancer.

The organisation reported that the immunotherapy sipuleucel-T, marketed as Provenge, had been associated with a 38 per cent increase in survival rates at three years from diagnosis.

How Ovarian Cancer Causes Death

New research into ovarian cancer from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions holds potential implications for women’s sexual health.

The healthcare research establishment has found that the body’s immune system may be unable to combat the formation of ovarian cancer, putting women’s sexual health at risk.

Researchers discovered that cancerous ovarian tissue secretes fluids known as ascites which are capable of combating the functionality of the immune system.

This suppression occurs as the fluids prevent T-cells from being activated, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions explains.

As such, the immune response from the body cannot begin as it is these T-cells which cause antibodies to be produced.

The effect is not always seen to be completely overpowering; however, the scientists report suppression in the range of ten to 100 per cent.

Such a discovery could shed light on why ovarian cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of the disease.

More than seven in ten women diagnosed with the illness die within the subsequent five years, the researchers note.

A team including representatives of Weill Cornell Medical College recently studied the impact of pre-surgery radiation on pancreatic cancer patients.

They explained that, by causing shrinkage within cancerous tissue, radiation can permit tumours to be removed more fully without damaging surrounding blood vessels.

Statins ‘Can Cause Muscle Problems’

While recent health advice has noted the benefits of statins for patients with cardiovascular risk, new research indicates that there may be negative effects of such treatment on muscle tissue.

Jill Slade, assistant professor of radiology and osteopathic manipulative medicine at Michigan State University, explains that statins help to prevent the formation of cholesterol.

But she warns that they may have an unwanted effect on healthy muscle cells in parallel with their health benefits in, for example, the liver.

She adds that previous estimates of the extent to which statins cause unwanted muscular effects may have been conservative in comparison to the actual impact on patients.

Among the symptoms associated with statin therapy are muscle fatigue, tissue deterioration and weakness.

However, other recent health advice has focused on the positive aspects of treatment using statins – in particular the drug rosuvastin.

Researchers from McGill University Health Centre found that the treatment can reduce mortality rates by 21 per cent and diminish cardiac risk by 44 per cent.

Their discoveries were considered of such importance that they ended the trial ahead of its scheduled completion date in order that they may be able to present their findings to the scientific community more quickly.

Post-Attack Cardiac Risk ‘Highest in Early Stages’

Following a heart attack, the risk of an individual suffering sudden cardiac death is highest in the early stages, it has been affirmed.

A study conducted by the Mayo Clinic indicates that the period immediately following a heart attack or similar event is the most likely time for a person to die.

The healthcare organization is now stressing that medical professionals must remain in close contact with patients after a cardiac event.

By doing so, the research foundation asserts that health advice may be given to counteract any remaining symptoms in a safe manner.

While the first month after a heart attack is identified as the most dangerous time, the need for contact remains into the future.

According to the Mayo Clinic, individuals may need health advice should any one of a number of symptoms develop at any subsequent point.

These include shortness of breath, confusion, fatigue, bloating, or persistent wheezing and coughing.

Meanwhile, the American Heart Association recently noted that many of the negative after-effects of cardiac arrest can be treated to minimise the long-term damage to a patient’s body.

Suggested actions to take include checking for blocked arteries, as well as administering therapeutic hypothermia, where the body’s temperature is cooled to reduce the risk of brain damage.

How to Mend a Broken Heart

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is aiming to make broken hearts a thing of the past with the development of new scaffolding technology.

The innovation aims to encourage healthy living in patients with cardiac damage by patching up any weak spots on the heart’s surface.

Such a patch is created by growing heart or stem cells over a scaffolding structure.

This biological sticking plaster may then be fused on to the heart, eventually being absorbed into the organ by the recipient’s body.

According to the developers of the system, it has a number of benefits over previous methods of patching up the heart which could help patients to achieve healthy living conditions post-treatment.

These include a response to electrical stimulation in line with that of natural tissue – whereby the cells contract in a specific direction when an impulse is received.

Meanwhile, an innate ability to be stretched more easily longitudinally than circumferentially has also been reported.

Such features lead the developers to claim that this is the first graft for heart tissue to be designed specifically to mimic the natural function of cells in the organ.

Previous research conducted in collaboration between the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto found that a congenital heart defect may not increase the likelihood of an individual dying following a cardiac event.

Investigators discovered that patients with bicuspid aortic valves – which have two flaps instead of the usual three – are no more likely to die following a heart attack or similar event than those with normal valves.