Modern Health Therapy

Treatment

Traditional treatment of hemochromatosis is the periodic removal of blood (phlebotomy) as done during blood donation. The blood could be drawn with a frequency of once per week until iron levels decrease to normal. After this procedure, phlebotomy usually needs to be done every two to four months or so to maintain normal blood iron levels. It will monitor your blood count to make sure there’s too much blood is removed, which can lead to anemia. May recommendchanges in your diet and you also may need treatment for specific disorders such asdiabetes.

Another approach to treatment called chelation therapy, whereby a drug called deferoxamine (Desferal) binds to iron, eliminated from the body and thus lower levels of stored iron. However, phlebotomy is so effective and simple chelation therapy is rarely used. (more…)

Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask detailed questions about your medical history, examine you and ask you several tests to measure the amount of iron in blood. It is often recommended a liver biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. In this procedure, you will receive local anesthesia and remove a small portion of tissue from your liver to examine ellaboratorio. Some experts recommend that all adults get tested to measure the amount of iron in the blood as a way to detect this disorder. However, not all experts agree that it is useful.

There are genetic tests available for one of the most common genes associated with this disorder (found in up to 90 percent of people with hemochromatosis) but not all people with this gene have the disease. In people with abnormally high levels of iron in blood and genetic testing positive, liver biopsy may not be necessary. (more…)

Hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder (inherited) in which the gut absorbs too much iron. Excess iron is deposited in tissues and organs, where they can become toxic and cause damage.

Hemochromatosis occurs most commonly in people of northern European descent, especially the Scots, Irish or English and affects up to one in 250 people in the United States. Hemochromatosis is most commonly diagnosed in people between 40 and 60. In women, is usually diagnosed after menopause.

Symptoms

Early symptoms of hemochromatosis vary from person to person and are symptoms that can occur in other conditions, these include: (more…)

Treatment for cirrhosis varies depending on the cause. If it is caused by alcohol, the obvious solution is to stop drinking. If cirrhosis is caused by hepatitis, medications to control the damage.

When there are complications such as swelling in the legs and abdomen, the doctor will recommend a diet low in sodium. If the swelling is too severe, they may need drainage or surgery to relieve pressure.

When liver damage is so severe that it stops working, is used for liver transplantation. This means that you take out your liver and replace it with any person who has died and you have donated, or parts of liver tissue from someone who is still alive. This option however is complicated because it is expensive and donors must be found, which is not always an easy task. (more…)

Alcohol abuse is a major cause of cirrhosis in several countries including the United States. The cause of alcohol-related cirrhosis usually develops after ten years of heavy drinking regularly. What is drinking too much? Simple: in the case of men, 5 or more drinks a day. In women, 3 or more alcoholic drinks a day.

And although this is the most common cause of cirrhosis, is not the only one. Other factors and conditions that may cause liver damage. Among them are:

- Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.
- Fat that accumulates in the liver as a result of high cholesterol, obesity or diabetes.
- Cystic fibrosis (an inherited disease that causes mucus buildup in the lungs and digestive tract). (more…)

Cirrhosis is a serious condition that causes severe liver damage. If you’re not sure what it is, here you have. The liver is vital and must be alert to this disease by reducing the risk of developing. Take care of your liver! It is crucial for life.

For some reason, most often spoken of cirrhosis in men. Perhaps because one of its main causes is alcoholism, and it is men who tend to use alcohol to try to find out their problems. The time when drinking has serious consequences, but if your chronic abuse causes serious damage to the body. What organ is responsible for detoxifying the body? The liver. What happens when the liver suffers severe damage? Cirrhosis develops.

In liver cirrhosis, scar tissue builds up until the original cells are replaced by scars, and can not work. The liver, in case you do not know, is a large organ that is located at the top right of your abdomen. But is not there for show. Moreover, serves several important functions that keep us alive, as the following: (more…)

For years, doctors have known that increases the incidence of fatal liver cancer, but the cause for this trend is still a mystery. Two recent Mayo Clinic published in the January “Mayo Clinic Proceedings” provide a clearer picture on the increase in hepatocellular carcinoma or liver cancer, a disease that in the past three decades has tripled in the United States and whose survival rate at five years is 10 to 12 percent when detected at advanced stages.

“Studies show that it is important to identify people with risk factors in certain populations to make finding the disease in its early stages, when they are treatable,” says Dr. W. Ray Kim, a specialist in gastroenterology and hepatology and principal investigator of one study. (more…)