LIFE OMIC

07/02/2024

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31/01/2024

Health Insights: Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is a normal emotion. It’s your brain’s way of reacting to stress and alerting you of potential danger ahead.
Everyone feels anxious now and then. For example, you may worry when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision.
Occasional anxiety is OK. But anxiety disorders are different. They’re a group of mental illnesses that cause constant and overwhelming anxiety and fear. The excessive anxiety can make you avoid work, school, family get-togethers, and other social situations that might trigger or worsen your symptoms.
With treatment, many people with anxiety disorders can manage their feelings.

Causes of Anxiety Disorder
Some causes of anxiety disorders are:
* Genetics. Anxiety disorders can run in families.
* Brain chemistry. Some research suggests anxiety disorders may be linked to faulty circuits in the brain that control fear and emotions.
* Environmental stress. This refers to stressful events you have seen or lived through. Life events often linked to anxiety disorders include childhood abuse and neglect, a death of a loved one, or being attacked or seeing violence.
* Drug withdrawal or misuse. Certain drugs may be used to hide or decrease certain anxiety symptoms. Anxiety disorder often goes hand in hand with alcohol and substance use.
* Medical conditions. Some heart, lung, and thyroid conditions can cause symptoms similar to anxiety disorders or make anxiety symptoms worse. It’s important to get a full physical exam to rule out other medical conditions when talking to your doctor about anxiety.

Treatments for anxiety disorder include:
* Medication. Several types of drugs are used to treat anxiety disorders. Talk to your doctor or psychiatrist about the pros and cons of each medicine to decide which one is best for you.
* Antidepressants. Modern antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs) are typically the first drugs prescribed to someone with an anxiety disorder. Examples of SSRIs are escitalopram (Lexapro) and fluoxetine (Prozac). SNRIs include duloxetine (Cymbalta)and venlafaxine (Effexor).
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* Bupropion. This is another type of antidepressant commonly used to treat chronic anxiety. It works differently than SSRIs and SNRIs.
* Other antidepressants. These include tricyclics and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). They are less commonly used because side effects, like drops in blood pressure, dry mouth, blurry vision, and urinary retention, can be unpleasant or unsafe for some people.

31/01/2024

Health Insights: Heartburn

Heartburn is an irritation of your esophagus, the tube that connects your throat and stomach. This leads to a burning discomfort in your upper belly or chest.
It's caused by acid reflux, which is when your lower esophageal sphincter (LES) muscle doesn't close properly, letting stomach acids back up into your esophagus.
You've probably had heartburn, and it’s usually not serious.
If you have it often, you may have something else called gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. If you don't get it treated, GERD can sometimes cause problems, like:
* Inflammation and ulcers in the esophagus
* Hoarseness
* Some types of lung disease
* Barrett's esophagus (when your esophagus is damaged by acid reflux)

Heartburn Symptoms
Heartburn feels like a burning sensation in the middle of your chest and throat. You may also have:
* Burning pain in your chest after you eat or at night
* Pain that worsens when you bend over or lie down
* A hot, acidic, bitter, or salty taste in the back of your throat
* A hard time swallowing
* A feeling of food "stuck" in the middle of your chest or throat

Heartburn Causes
Heartburn symptoms can start when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) valve at the bottom of your esophagus doesn't close correctly.
It should stay closed to keep food and stomach acids in your stomach. When you're eating, your LES opens so food can go into your stomach. Then it closes again. If it doesn't close, even just a little, or if it opens when it shouldn't, stomach acids can go back into your esophagus, causing heartburn pain.
We don't know what causes the LES valve to weaken, but it could be caused by eating big meals too often, if you're overweight, or you have a hiatal hernia (a hernia in your upper stomach that pushes through your diaphragm).

Heartburn Treatment
Usually, you can treat heartburn with over-the-counter medicines, including:
* Antacids counteract the acid in your stomach to ease heartburn pain. They can also sometimes help with stomach pains, indigestion, and gas. Chewing them up really well before you swallow them might give you faster relief. If you use them too often, they can cause side effects, including constipation, diarrhea, a change in the color of your bowel movements, and stomach cramps.
* Acid (H2) blockers like cimetidine (Tagamet) and famotidine (Pepcid) reduce the amount of acid in your stomach. They don't work as fast as antacids, but the effects can last longer.
* Proton pump inhibitors work to reduce stomach acid, too, and include esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid), and omeprazole (Prilosec OTC).