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Mesothelioma: A Killer
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Anxiety Overview
Provided by A.D.A.M., Inc.
Definition
Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension or fear that lingers. The source for this uneasiness is not always known or recognized which adds to the distress: "Everything stresses me out." "I am always worried."
Alternative Names
Feeling uptight; Stress; Tension; Jitteriness; Apprehension
Considerations
Stress is not a disease and is a normal part of everyone's life. Stress in small quantities is good: it makes us more productive. For example, the fear of a bad grade can make the a student study more attentively.
However, too much stress is unhealthy and counterproductive. The same student, if he was recently mugged and or is getting over the sudden death of a friend will not be able to study as well.
Persistent and unrelenting stress is called anxiety.
Anxiety is an emotion often accompanied by various physical symptoms. These can include twitching or trembling, muscle tension, headaches, sweating, dry mouth, or difficulty swallowing. Some people also report dizziness, a rapid or irregular heart rate, increased rate of respiration, diarrhea, or frequent need to urinate when they are anxious. Fatigue, irritable mood, sleeping difficulties, decreased concentration, sexual problems, and nightmares are also common.
Sometimes a medical illness may masquerade as anxiety.
Some people are more sensitive to stress and are more likely to develop anxiety disorders. This can be caused either by genetic predispositions or by previous (particularly early childhood) exposure to certain stresses. Other times it is simply a question of how stressful the current environment is.
Common Causes
- actual danger: very often stress is an appropriate reaction
- emotional stress such as grief and depression often lead to anxiety
- physical stress such as a medical illness
- medication side effects
- drugs including caffeine, cold remedies (Cough/Cold Combinations - oral), sympathomimetics, decongestants (Antihistamines and Decongestants - oral), bronchodilators, tricyclic antidepressants, and thyroid supplements
- withdrawal from drugs (including caffeine and nicotine)
- substance abuse or withdrawal (including alcohol)
- poor diet (deficiency of Vitamin B12)
- hyperventilation syndrome
- thyroid problems (hyperthyroid disease mostly)
- low blood sugar
- cardiac problems
- in extremely rare cases, a tumor of the adrenal gland (pheochromocytoma)
Home Care
Finding what is causing the anxiety and addressing it is the preferred and most effective solution. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.
A first step is to take an inventory of what you think might be making you "stresses out." What do you worry about most? Is there something constantly on your mind? Does anything in particular make you sad or depressed?
Then, find someone you trust who will listen to you. Very often, talking can help relieve anxiety. Most communities have resources like self-help groups and hotlines which can help with problems of anxiety. Ministers, social workers, friends, neighbors, and family can all play a therapeutic role.
Also, take a look at your lifestyle. Do you eat well? Do you sleep enough? Are you exercising? How much caffeine do you take in a single day?
Learn techniques, including biofeedback and relaxation therapy, to reduce muscle tension. Biofeedback is a process of monitoring body functions (such as the tightness of certain muscle groups) and altering these functions through relaxation. Follow a regular energetic exercise routine using aerobic exercise if possible.
Avoid using "mood-altering" drugs when overwhelmed by life's problems. These drugs will not provide a solution and can often cause additional difficulties.
Call your health care provider if
- you are unable to work because of anxiety, self-treatment has failed, or the cause of the anxiety is unknown.
- there is a sudden feeling of panic.
- problems cannot be resolved without outside, professional help.
Your primary health care provider is a valuable resource. He or she can determine with you if your anxiety would be best evaluated and possibly treated by a mental health care professional.
What to expect at your health care provider's office
The medical history will be obtained and a physical examination performed.
Medical history questions documenting anxiety, stress, or tension in detail may include:
- When did the anxiety begin?
- What physical symptoms develop that make you feel anxious?
- What physical symptoms do you have that you are worried about?
- What makes the anxiety better?
- What makes it worse?
- What other symptoms are also present?
A general physical examination will be performed. Close attention will be paid to your pulse, respiratory rate and blood pressure.
Diagnostic tests may include blood tests (CBC or blood differential, thyroid function tests) as well as an electrocardiogram (EKG).
If the anxiety is not accompanied by any worrisome physical signs and symptoms, a referral to a mental health care professional may be recommended for appropriate treatment.
Psychotherapy such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to significantly decrease anxiety. In some cases, medications such as benzodiazepines or antidepressants may be appropriate.
After seeing your health care provider:
You may want to add a diagnosis related to anxiety to your personal medical record.
Last Reviewed: 12/11/2001 by Benoit Dube, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
Human stem cells show potential for eye repair
Last Updated: 2004-09-23 15:59:09 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Maggie Fox
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Corporate researchers working outside controversial federal restraints said on Thursday they had engineered human stem cells that they believe could be used to repair eyes.
The team at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts worked with stem cells taken from human embryos made by a team at Harvard University, and coaxed them to form retinal cells.
"This is the first derivation of retinal cells from human embryonic stem cells," said Dr. Robert Lanza, Advanced Cell Technology's scientific director.
"We believe these new retinal cells could be used to treat blindness and may, in fact, be the one of the very first applications of embryonic stem-cell technology."
The cells clustered into small globes on their own.
"They looked like little eyeballs," Lanza said in a telephone interview. "These things seem to be trying to assemble into primitive eyes."
The only cells they could clearly define were retinal cells, but Lanza said some also resembled the cells that make rods and cones -- the light receptors of the eyes.
The retina is the coating on the back of the eye that receives a visual image and transmits it to the optic nerve.
"Therefore, we think that millions of patients with retinal degeneration might conceivably benefit from these cells in the future," Lanza said.
Stem cells are master cells that can give rise to various cells and tissues. Unlike fully mature cells, they have a variety of potential futures.
Those taken from very early embryos, just a few days old, seem to have the most potential to become various cells. Not only can they form any tissue or cell type, but they seem to have the ability to live for a very long time, as well.
CONTROVERSIAL SCIENCE
Embryonic stem cells can come from two sources -- embryos left over from attempts at in vitro fertilization, also known as test-tube baby pregnancies, and those made using cloning technology.
Some groups oppose their use because they feel any medical research on a human embryo is unethical. Some only oppose using cloned embryos, while the majority of scientific researchers in the field, as well as Congress, say it is all right to use leftover embryos that would otherwise be discarded.
But U.S. President George W. Bush restricted the use of federal funding to work on stem-cell batches that had already been created before August 9, 2001. Scientists complain these existing batches, or lines, are contaminated with animal cells used to nurture them and that there are not enough.
Stem cell biologist Irina Klimanskaya, who worked both at ACT and with stem-cell researcher Dr. Douglas Melton of Harvard, made several batches of stem cells using private funds.
The new batches work better than those made before 2001, said Lanza, because the technology used to make them has improved. They are not contaminated with animal viruses, and could safely be transferred directly into people, he added.
"In fact, we would not have made this discovery if our research had been limited to the stem-cell lines approved by President Bush," Lanza said.
"The question is how many other important scientific or medical breakthroughs have not occurred because of the current stem-cell policy. This is what we've been trying to tell the president for years."
Lanza said the report, published in the journal Cloning and Stem Cells, also illustrates the need to use cloning technology. In some experiments eye-cell transplants have been rejected by the patient's immune system.
But cells made using a person's own genetic material -- through cloning technology -- would be a perfect match.
"People don't realize there is only a handful of people working with embryonic stem cells," he said. "If there's no money, there is no research that can happen."
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Florida court strikes down law in right-to-die case
Last Updated: 2004-09-23 16:39:36 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Jane Sutton
MIAMI (Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court struck down a hastily enacted law on Thursday that let the governor keep a severely brain-damaged woman on life support against the wishes of her husband and legal guardian.
The ruling eventually could allow Michael Schiavo to remove his wife's feeding tube and let her die, against the wishes of her parents.
But the high court left open the possibility of a rehearing in the long-running battle over the fate of Theresa "Terri" Schiavo, who has been on life support since suffering severe brain damage during a heart attack in 1990.
Doctors testified that her brain had deteriorated so severely that she would not regain consciousness, and Michael Schiavo has won numerous court rulings since 1998 that would allow him to remove his wife's feeding tube.
He has battled in court against Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who argue that hope remains for their 40-year-old daughter. The case took on much larger dimensions as right-to-life groups, advocates for the disabled and civil libertarians joined the fray.
Terri's feeding tube was removed in October 2003. Florida lawmakers, at Gov. Jeb Bush's behest, quickly passed a law allowing the governor to intervene and the tube was reinserted six days later.
The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the law violated Florida's constitutional separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches.
It said that if the legislature and governor were allowed to retroactively overturn court rulings, no judgment would ever be final and "vested rights could be stripped away based on popular clamor."
LAW, NOT EMOTION
The justices acknowledged the tragic circumstances of the case but said they were bound to base their decision on the law and not on emotion.
"Our hearts can fully comprehend the grief so fully demonstrated by Theresa's family members on this record. But our hearts are not the law," they wrote in their ruling.
Bush spokeswoman Jill Bratina said the governor was disappointed in the ruling and still considering his legal options.
"The governor said his thoughts and prayers went out to Terri's family," Bratina said. "At the same time he is very respectful of the rule of law and the role the courts play."
Terri Schiavo left no written instructions as to whether she would have wanted to be kept on life support. Her husband testified that Terri had told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially, and the courts accepted that as evidence of her wishes.
Her parents said she would have wanted to live, and have asked another court to remove Michael Schiavo as their daughter's legal guardian.
Thursday's ruling addressed only the narrow issue of whether the law allowing Bush to intervene was constitutional. The Florida Supreme Court had already reviewed and upheld the lower court rulings that Terri Schiavo's brain damage was irreversible and she would want life support withdrawn.
"If she dies as a consequence of the lower court order, she is going to die by the functional equivalent of a judicial death warrant," said Bush's attorney, Ken Connor.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida hailed the ruling as a victory against political interference in court decisions.
"It is a strong rebuke to politicians who attempt to negate court decisions -- especially those involving extremely difficult life and death issues -- simply because they disagree with the outcome," said Randall Marshall, the group's legal director.
(Additional reporting by Michael Peltier in Tallahassee)
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
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