Most thyroid nodules don’t cause any symptoms or need treatment, but some can be malignant and require surgery. Thyroid nodules, which are lumps that develop within the butterfly-shaped thyroid gland at the base of the neck, are very common. About half of all people have a thyroid nodule by the time they are 60…
Today, at 47 years old, Celena Adams-Locke knows the reason behind the pain and stiffness in her joints. But when she was 23 and a married mother of two stationed with the Army at Fort Drum in New York, she didn’t know what to think about the worsening discomfort she experienced. After all, she was…
For many diseases, a slew of symptoms often points to a specific diagnosis. But for amyloidosis, the path to diagnosis can be trickier. Amyloidosis can affect people of any age, but it is more common in older men. It occurs when abnormal proteins build up in the tissues and organs and form amyloid, which can…
Getting to know your menstrual cycle can help you learn about what’s happening inside your body. There’s more to it than your period, and those additional aspects can provide a wealth of knowledge when it comes to health patterns, possible illnesses and your fertility. We spoke about all things cyclical with Rachel Urrutia, MD, an…
Adolescence is hard on everyone: raging hormones, complicated social situations, peer pressure and increasing responsibilities at school and at home. And that’s just what your teenager experiences. As a parent, you also may experience a roller coaster of emotions ranging from frustration to anxiety as you try to help your child navigate into adulthood. Thankfully,…
With age comes wisdom and experience, but aging also may affect some functional performance. For example, you might experience some changes that make driving more difficult. One of those changes is decreased processing speed for reaction time, which is the ability to take in visual information and produce a motor reaction to it: You see…
A woman missing her period is often a sign that she’s pregnant. But for women who aren’t pregnant and keep skipping periods or have irregular cycles, the reason might be polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS, which affects 1 in 10 women, is a reproductive hormonal imbalance that affects ovulation. Normally, a woman releases an egg…
Most of today’s trendy diets have a lot of rules about what you can eat. Whole 30 restricts sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, soy and dairy; Keto says no to carbs and limits protein. But intermittent fasting doesn’t dictate what you should be eating at all—only when to eat. In intermittent fasting, you fluctuate between periods…
Strokes can be tricky: They tend to come without warning and don’t announce themselves like other types of illnesses. “Humans’ usual way of sensing danger is pain, and unfortunately most strokes don’t come with pain,” says David Y. Huang, MD, PhD, neurologist and director of UNC Hospitals Comprehensive Stroke Center. So how do you know…
It’s undeniably good news: The cancer death rate in the United States has declined by 27 percent in the past 25 years, according to a recent report from the American Cancer Society. While this milestone translates into more than 2.6 million deaths avoided between 1991 and 2016, not all populations are benefiting. Cancer death rates…
About 4.9 million adults in the United States have liver disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 40,000 people die from it each year. The problem is getting worse; death rates for chronic liver disease and cirrhosis increased by 31 percent between 2000 and 2015 among people ages 45…
You know that having high blood cholesterol over a lifetime can increase your risk for heart attack or stroke. So what do the American Heart Association’s new guidelines for managing cholesterol mean for patients with high cholesterol and for those at high risk for heart disease and stroke during their lifetimes? Sidney C. Smith, Jr.,…
