PITUITARY TUMOR

THERE ARE SEVERAL SYMPTOMS OF PITUITARY TUMORS. THESE INCLUDE ABNORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS IN CHILDREN, HEADACHE, AND VISION PROBLEMS.

VISION PROBLEMS ARE THE MOST COMMON SYMPTOM. A PATIENT WILL USUALLY VISIT AN EYE DOCTOR WHO WOULD NOTICE THE TUMOR ON AN EXAM. MRI IS THE TEST MOST OFTEN ORDER FOR SUSPECTED PITUITARY TUMOR BECAUSE OF THE SUPERIOR CONTRAST OFFERED COMPARED TO A CT.

TREATMENT OF A PITUITARY TUMORS VARY BASED ON THE SIZE, LOCATION AND TUMOR TYPE. 60-70 PERCENT OF SMALL TUMORS REQUIRE NO TREATMENT. PERIODICAL OBSERVATION TO ENSURE THE TUMOR IS NOT GROWING IS RECOMMENDED. MEDICATION IS ANOTHER TREATMENT OPTION. DIFFERENT TYPE OF MEDICATIONS WORK TO BLOCK HORMONE SECRETION, WHILE OTHER MEDICATIONS SHRINK THE TUMOR SIZE. SURGERY IS OFTEN REQUIRED FOR LARGER TUMORS. BUT THIS IS ALSO DEPENDANT ON TUMOR TYPE, SIZE, AND LOCATION. RADIATION TREATMENTS CAN BE USED IF SURGERY IS NOT DONE OR IF A TUMOR RETURNS.

PRESBYCUSIS

PRESBYCUSIS, OR HEARING LOSS IS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT AFFECTS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EVERY YEAR. COMMON SYMPTOMS ARE PAIN AND LOSS OF HEARING. THIS CAN BE CAUSED BY SEVERAL FACTORS INCLUDING HEREDITY, EARWAX BUILD UP, AND CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO LOUD NOISES. THE MOST COMMON CAUSE IS DAMAGE TO THE INNER EAR. THIS COULD BE FROM EAR INFECTIONS, TUMORS, ABNORMAL BONE GROWTH, OR A RUPTURED EAR DRUM.

DIAGNOSIS IS USUALLY FOUND FROM PERFORMING HEARING TESTS AND WHEN APPROPRIATE A CT SCAN OF THE IAC. TREATMENT FOR HEARING LOSS CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS REMOVING EARWAX TO WEARING HEARING AIDS, TO COCHLEAR IMPLANTS.

I HAVE DECIDED TO DISCUSS STROKES FOR MY PATHOLOGICAL CONDITION. STROKES ARE THE THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE U.S. THERE ARE 600,000 NEW OR RECURRENT STROKES EACH YEAR.

SYMPTOMS OF A STROKE INCLUDE TROUBLE WALKING, SPEAKING, SEEING, AND A HEADACHE. ALSO, PARALYSIS OR NUMBNESS ON ONE SIDE OF THE BODY.

STROKES ARE CLASSIFIED INTO TWO MAJOR GROUPS: ISCHEMIC AND HEMORRHAGIC. HEMORRHAGIC STROKE ARE DUE TO RUPTURE OF A CEREBRAL BLOOD VESSEL THAT CAUSES BLEEDING AROUND OR INTO THE BRAIN. HEMORRHAGIC STROKES MAKE UP 16% OF ALL STROKES. ISCHEMIC STROKES, WHICH ACCOUNT FOR 84% OF ALL STROKES, ARE SUBDIVIDED INTO FOUR CATEGORIES: THROMBOTIC, EMBOLIC, LACUNAR, AND HYPOPERFUSION INFARCTIONS.

A THROMBOTIC STROKE HAPPENS WHEN A CLOT FORMS WITHIN A CEREBRAL ARTERY. AN EMBOLIC STROKE OCCURS WHEN A DETACHED BLOOD CLOT, USUALLY FROM THE HEART, FLOWS INTO AND BLOCKS A CEREBRAL ARTERY. A LACUNAR INFARCTION IS WHEN THE SMALL ARTERIES IN THE BRAIN THICKEN CAUSING AN OCCLUSION OF THE ARTERY. HYPOPERFUSION INFARCTIONS OCCUR FROM RESPIRATORY OR CARDIAC FAILURE.

MEDICATION IS THE STANDARD TREATMENT FOR STROKES. TISSUE PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR (TPA) IS A CLOT-BUSTING DRUG USED TO DISSOLVE THE BLOOD CLOT CAUSING THE STROKE. ALSO, ANTICOAGULANTS, E.G. HEPARIN, AND ANITPLATELET DRUG ARE USED. SURGERY IS A FINAL OPTION.

FOLLOWING A STROKE 50 TO 70 PERCENT REGAIN A USABLE AMOUNT OF FUNCTION. 15 TO 30 PERCENT ARE PERMANENTLY DISABLED. THREE MONTHS AFTER A STROKE 20 PERCENT REQUIRE INSTITUTIONAL CARE.

Labels: HEAD PATHOLOGY