☀🌞🌤 May is Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month ☀🌞🌤

Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a group of three conditions in which tumors grow in the nervous system. The three types are neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), and schwannomatosis. In NF1 symptoms include light brown spots on the skin, freckles in the armpit and groin, small bumps within nerves, and scoliosis. In NF2 there may be hearing loss, cataracts at a young age, balance problems, flesh colored skin flaps, and muscle wasting. The tumors are generally non cancerous.

The cause is a genetic mutation in certain genes. In half of cases these are inherited from a person's parents while in the rest they occur during early development. The tumors involve supporting cells in the nervous system rather than the neurons. In NF1 the tumors are neurofibromas (tumors of the peripheral nerves) while in NF2 and schwannomatosis tumors of Schwann cells are more common. Diagnosis is typically based on the signs and symptoms and occasionally supported by genetic testing.

There is no known prevention or cure. Surgery may be done to remove tumors that are causing problems or have become cancerous. Radiation and chemotherapy may also be used if cancer occurs. A cochlear implant or auditory brainstem implant may help some who have hearing loss.

In the United States about 1 in 3,500 people have NF1 and 1 in 25,000 have NF2. Males and females are affected equally frequently. In NF1 symptom are often present at birth and otherwise develop before 10 years of age. While the condition typically worsens with time most people with NF1 have a normal life expectancy. In NF2 symptoms may not become apparent until early adulthood. NF2 increases the risk of early death. Descriptions of the condition occur as far back as the 1st century.

                                                                    NF TYPE 1

Signs and symptoms

Neurofibromatosis (NF1) in early life may cause learning and behavior problems – about 60% of children who have NF1 have a mild form of difficulty in school. In terms of signs the individual might have are the following:

• Six or more light brown dermatological spots ("café au lait spots")
• At least two neurofibromas
• At least two growths on the eye's iris
• Abnormal growth of the spine (scoliosis)

Neurofibromatosis type I is most notable by the dark brown spots it causes on the skin, called cafe au lait spots. The disease is also apparent from soft, fleshy, benign tumors called neurofibromas that develop on or under the skin. Neurofibromas occurring on the skin often resemble skin tags. Almost all people with neurofibromatosis develop very small growths on the irises of the eye called Lisch nodules. Lisch nodules do not affect vision.

                                                            

                                                          

Cause

 

Neurofibromatosis is an autosomal dominant disorder, which means only one copy of the affected gene is needed for the disorder to develop. Therefore, if only one parent has neurofibromatosis, his or her children have a 50% chance of developing the condition as well.The affected child could have mild NF1 even though inherited from a parent with a severe form of the disorder. The types of neurofibromatosis are:

• Neurofibromatosis type I, in which the nerve tissue grows tumors (neurofibromas) that may be benign and may cause serious damage by compressing nerves and other tissues.
• Neurofibromatosis type II, in which bilateral acoustic neuromas (tumors of the vestibulocochlear nerve or cranial nerve 8 (CN VIII) also known as schwannoma) develop, often leading to hearing loss.
• Schwannomatosis, in which painful schwannomas develop on spinal and peripheral nerves.

 

  

The effects of neurofibromatosis on bone and spine

  

In infants and children, neurofibromatosis type I can interfere with the development of the spine. The disease can affect the protective covering of the spine, called the dura. Increased pressure in the spinal fluid due to neurofibromas of the spinal nerves can result in dural ectasia, which is a ballooning out of a sac that contains the cerebrospinal fluid. This condition may result in pain in the back and limbs, bladder control problems, and numbness in severe cases.

Neurofibromatosis may cause tumors on an around the spinal cord. Even benign tumors in this area can cause pain and weakness in the most severe cases.

Scoliosis, an irregular side curvature of the spine from left to right, and kyphosis, or a rounded or forward angulated back, occur together or separately in about one in five people with neurofibromatosis type I.

Osteoporosis is common among neurofibromatosis type I sufferers, who generally have lower bone density by age than healthy individuals.

                                                   

                                                             NF TYPE 2

 

Neurofibromatosis type 2 is a disorder characterized by the growth of noncancerous tumors in the nervous system. The most common tumors associated with neurofibromatosis type 2 are called vestibular schwannomas or acoustic neuromas. These growths develop along the nerve that carries information from the inner ear to the brain (the auditory nerve). Tumors that occur on other nerves are also commonly found with this condition.

The signs and symptoms of neurofibromatosis type 2 usually appear during adolescence or in a person's early twenties, although they can begin at any age. The most frequent early symptoms of vestibular schwannomas are hearing loss, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), and problems with balance. In most cases, these tumors occur in both ears by age 30. If tumors develop elsewhere in the nervous system, signs and symptoms vary according to their location. Complications of tumor growth can include changes in vision, numbness or weakness in the arms or legs, and fluid buildup in the brain. Some people with neurofibromatosis type 2 also develop clouding of the lens (cataracts) in one or both eyes, often beginning in childhood.

The Children’s Tumor Foundation celebrates NF Awareness Month and World NF Awareness Day (May 17th) for lots of reasons: to put NF in the national (and international) limelight, to foster hope in the NF community, and to create wonderful fundraising opportunities for the innovative NF research supported by Children’s Tumor Foundation.

Neurofibromatosis Type 1

Symptoms of NF1 include

• harmless, flat, light brown spots (café-au-lait spots) that appear at birth or during early childhood
• noncancerous tumors (neurofibromas) that typically grow close to the skin but may also occur deeper in the body; commonly occurs between ages 10 and 15
• freckles in the armpit, groin, other skin folds
• clumps of pigment in the colored portion of the eye
• a tumor on the nerve that connects the eye to the brain
• bone or skeletal problems, such as bowed legs or curvature of the spine
• learning disabilities, hyperactivity
• speech and vision problems
• headaches and seizures
• oversized head in children
• short stature
• high blood pressure.

The symptoms of NF1 tend to get worse over time.

Neurofibromatosis type 2

People with this disorder typically develop slow-growing, non-cancerous tumors on a specific nerve in the brain. Early symptoms usually involve hearing and balance problems. Some people also develop cataracts. Some develop other kinds of tumors.

Symptoms of NF2 include

• hearing loss, often in both ears
• ringing in the ears
• problems with balance, dizziness
• weakness, numbness, or tingling in an arm or leg
• vision problems such as cataracts (clouding of the eye's natural lens)
• facial numbness
• problems with speech and swallowing
• frequent and persistent headaches
• seizures.

Schwannomatosis

This disorder causes tumors on nerves of the brain and spinal cord and nerves in the arms and legs. Symptoms include intense pain that can occur in anywhere in the body. The pain is caused by tumors pressing on nerves or tissue. Numbness or tingling in the fingers and toes can also occur.

Diagnosis

Test for NF usually include:

• Complete physical and medical history. Your doctor checks for general signs of disease, health habits, and past illnesses and treatments. The doctor will also ask what medical conditions family members have or have had.

o determine if a person has NF1, doctors look for at least two of the following:

• six or more café-au-lait spots
• neurofibromas
• freckles in the armpit or groin
• pigment clumps in the eye
• a tumor on the optic nerve
• bone problems in the spine, skull, or leg
• a parent, sibling, or child with NF1.

To determine if a person has NF2, doctors looksfor tumors on specific nerves. They also look for

• a family history of the disease
• certain eye tumors
• cataracts that start during childhood.

Although the skin problems connected with NF1 often appear at birth or shortly afterwards, other symptoms typically don't appear until later. With NF2, tumors grow slowly and may not be found for many years—usually during the teens and early 20s.

Prevention

NF occurs when a gene suddenly changes. Right now, there is no way to prevent this disease. With NF1 and NF2, a parent with an abnormal gene has a 50% chance of passing it on to each of his or her children. Tests can be performed during pregnancy to determine whether a fetus carries the defective gene

Treatment

Treatment for NF depends on

• the patient's age, health, and medical history
• the symptoms
• which nerves are affected
• the expected progression of the disease.

Although there is no known cure for NF, surgery and other treatments can help to relieve symptoms. A person with NF may have several medical specialists to treat the disease.

When To Call a Professional

Contact your doctor if you or your child has symptoms of NF.

Prognosis

NF progresses differently for each person. It is hard to predict the course of the disease. A person's prognosis depends on the types and locations of tumors that he or she develops.

Neurofibromatosis type 1: Most people will have mild to moderate symptoms that worsen over time. Patients can live normal and productive lives. In some cases, however, NF1 can affect quality of life.

Neurofibromatosis type 2: These tumors generally grow slowly. Balance and hearing may become worse over time. Sometimes tumors grow next to vital structures, such as the brain. If they are not treated, this situation can be serious.

Schwannomatosis: Some patients have mild pain, but most have significant pain. Pain can be managed with treatment.

Learn more about Neurofibromatosis

https://www.drugs.com/health-guide/neurofibromatosis.html

 

{ Over and out} - Egypt A. Assanti [ aka ] Big Sister Southern "( Baroness) "

 

☀🌞🌤 Stress Awareness Month ☀🌞🌤

  

🔂✩ Stress management can be complicated and confusing because there are different types of stress — acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress — each with its own characteristics, symptoms, duration and treatment approaches. Let's look at each one.

🔂✩
Acute stress

Acute stress is the most common form of stress. It comes from demands and pressures of the recent past and anticipated demands and pressures of the near future. Acute stress is thrilling and exciting in small doses, but too much is exhausting. A fast run down a challenging ski slope, for example, is exhilarating early in the day. That same ski run late in the day is taxing and wearing. Skiing beyond your limits can lead to falls and broken bones. By the same token, overdoing on short-term stress can lead to psychological distress, tension headaches, upset stomach and other symptoms.

Fortunately, acute stress symptoms are recognized by most people. It's a laundry list of what has gone awry in their lives: the auto accident that crumpled the car fender, the loss of an important contract, a deadline they're rushing to meet, their child's occasional problems at school and so on.

Because it is short term, acute stress doesn't have enough time to do the extensive damage associated with long-term stress. The most common symptoms are:

• Emotional distress — some combination of anger or irritability, anxiety and depression, the three stress emotions.
• Muscular problems including tension headache, back pain, jaw pain and the muscular tensions that lead to pulled muscles and tendon and ligament problems.
• Stomach, gut and bowel problems such as heartburn, acid stomach, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.
• Transient overarousal leads to elevation in blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, heart palpitations, dizziness, migraine headaches, cold hands or feet, shortness of breath and chest pain. 

Acute stress can crop up in anyone's life, and it is highly treatable and manageable.

 

 

🔂✩

Episodic acute stress

There are those, however, who suffer acute stress frequently, whose lives are so disordered that they are studies in chaos and crisis. They're always in a rush, but always late. If something can go wrong, it does. They take on too much, have too many irons in the fire, and can't organize the slew of self-inflicted demands and pressures clamoring for their attention. They seem perpetually in the clutches of acute stress.

It is common for people with acute stress reactions to be over aroused, short-tempered, irritable, anxious and tense. Often, they describe themselves as having "a lot of nervous energy." Always in a hurry, they tend to be abrupt, and sometimes their irritability comes across as hostility. Interpersonal relationships deteriorate rapidly when others respond with real hostility. The workplace becomes a very stressful place for them.

The cardiac prone, "Type A" personality described by cardiologists, Meter Friedman and Ray Rosenman, is similar to an extreme case of episodic acute stress. Type A's have an "excessive competitive drive, aggressiveness, impatience, and a harrying sense of time urgency." In addition there is a "free-floating, but well-rationalized form of hostility, and almost always a deep-seated insecurity." Such personality characteristics would seem to create frequent episodes of acute stress for the Type A individual. Friedman and Rosenman found Type A's to be much more likely to develop coronary heat disease than Type B's, who show an opposite pattern of behavior.

Another form of episodic acute stress comes from ceaseless worry. "Worry warts" see disaster around every corner and pessimistically forecast catastrophe in every situation. The world is a dangerous, unrewarding, punitive place where something awful is always about to happen. These "awfulizers" also tend to be over aroused and tense, but are more anxious and depressed than angry and hostile.

The symptoms of episodic acute stress are the symptoms of extended over arousal: persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest pain and heart disease. Treating episodic acute stress requires intervention on a number of levels, generally requiring professional help, which may take many months.

Often, lifestyle and personality issues are so ingrained and habitual with these individuals that they see nothing wrong with the way they conduct their lives. They blame their woes on other people and external events. Frequently, they see their lifestyle, their patterns of interacting with others, and their ways of perceiving the world as part and parcel of who and what they are.

Sufferers can be fiercely resistant to change. Only the promise of relief from pain and discomfort of their symptoms can keep them in treatment and on track in their recovery program.

 

🔂✩

Chronic stress

While acute stress can be thrilling and exciting, chronic stress is not. This is the grinding stress that wears people away day after day, year after year. Chronic stress destroys bodies, minds and lives. It wreaks havoc through long-term attrition. It's the stress of poverty, of dysfunctional families, of being trapped in an unhappy marriage or in a despised job or career. It's the stress that the never-ending "troubles" have brought to the people of Northern Ireland, the tensions of the Middle East have brought to the Arab and Jew, and the endless ethnic rivalries that have been brought to the people of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Chronic stress comes when a person never sees a way out of a miserable situation. It's the stress of unrelenting demands and pressures for seemingly interminable periods of time. With no hope, the individual gives up searching for solutions.

Some chronic stresses stem from traumatic, early childhood experiences that become internalized and remain forever painful and present. Some experiences profoundly affect personality. A view of the world, or a belief system, is created that causes unending stress for the individual (e.g., the world is a threatening place, people will find out you are a pretender, you must be perfect at all times). When personality or deep-seated convictions and beliefs must be reformulated, recovery requires active self-examination, often with professional help.

The worst aspect of chronic stress is that people get used to it. They forget it's there. People are immediately aware of acute stress because it is new; they ignore chronic stress because it is old, familiar, and sometimes, almost comfortable.

Chronic stress kills through suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke and, perhaps, even cancer. People wear down to a final, fatal breakdown. Because physical and mental resources are depleted through long-term attrition, the symptoms of chronic stress are difficult to treat and may require extended medical as well as behavioral treatment and stress management.

 

Here are 4 tips to help manage holiday stress:

 

🔂✩ Take care of your body and mind.

🔂✩ Identify your priorities and establish boundaries

🔂✩ Be realistic

🔂✩ Cultivate gratitude

 

For more tips on managing your stress

https://www.skylandtrail.org/About/Blog/ctl/ArticleView/mid/567/articleId/4621/4-Tips-for-Managing-Holiday-Stress

{ Over and Out } - Egypt A. Assanti [aka] Big Sister Southern Heat - Baroness 💋

🚑Fibroid Awareness Week🚑

🚑Fibroid Awareness Week🚑

What are Uterine Fibroids?

Fibroid tumors are benign growths that appear on the muscular wall of the uterus. They are the most common tumors of the body. You may hear them called other names like leiomyoma, leiomyomata, or myoma. They range in size from microscopic to masses that fill the entire abdominal cavity. In some cases they can be as large as a full term pregnancy. They can affect women of all ages, but are most common in women ages 40 to 50. In most cases, there is more than one fibroid in the uterus consisting of dense fibrous tissue, being nourished and sustained by the uterine arteries.

They are often described based upon their location within the uterus. Subserosal fibroids are located beneath the serosa (the lining membrane on the outside of the uterus). These often appear localized on the outside surface of the uterus or may be attached to the outside surface by a pedicle. Submucosal (submucous) fibroids are located inside the uterine cavity beneath the lining of the uterus. Intramural fibroids are located within the muscular wall of the uterus.

More women today face Fibroids and it is not much fun. 

How do you find out if you have Uterine Fibroids?

Women typically undergo an ultrasound at their gynecologist’s office to visualize the uterus for fibroid tumors. Ultrasound, however, does not show other underlying diseases or all the existing fibroids, particularly their positions. Some doctors will suggest MRI to reveal if the fibroid is pressing against the spine, and rule out the possibility of other causes of back pain. Finding the appropriate treatment is key to getting relief from back pain and fibroid symptoms. 

Fibroids Symptoms

The most common symptoms of uterine fibroids in women include:

• Heavy or excessive menstrual bleeding
• Prolonged menstrual periods—seven days or more of bleeding
• Pelvic pressure or pain
• Frequent urination
• Difficulty emptying your bladder
• Constipation
• Backache or leg pain

If you have any of those symptoms, get tested because you may have Fibroids.

Signing out
Dr. Destiny Basset
aka Big Sister On Point 💓