Scoliosis

GENERAL INFORMATION

Scoliosis is a type of condition that usually affects children, teenagers, and young adults. It actually can happen to anyone but most commonly in those referred above. Scoliosis will cause the spine to curve in the wrong direction, usually more lateral (sideways). If not noticed or taken care of when younger, it can progress as the person tends to get older, and actually may also become more painful.

SYMPTOMS

When checking for symptoms of scoliosis, take these findings into affect. If you notice the person leaning to one side more than the other, uneven shoulders and ribcage, and in younger children, when the school nurse does the annual screening, they will be able to notice if when they bend over if the spine is straight or moves to one side more than the other.

TYPES OF SCOLIOSIS

There are actually four types of scoliosis that a person can get. The first one is Idiopathic which actually means it occurs without any notice to the person. This occurs in about 80 percent of scoliosis, and is the most common in girls. The next kind is congenital which means it is present at birth which has occured during the pregnancy. The third kind is neuromuscular which occurs in children who usually have spinal bifida or cerebral palsy. The last kind is called adult or degenerative scoliosis which is usually found later in life by someone who might have osteoporosis or other bone diseases causing this to happen.

TESTS

Some tests that can be done for scoliosis are x-rays, plumb line test which is used to see if the spine lies straight, scoliometer which will measure the lumps on the back to tell if its scoliosis. The severity of the curve can be determined by either a MRI or an xray. The sooner it is taken care of, the less likely it will become progressive and become more painful to the patient.

Carotid Artery Aneurysm

GENERAL INFORMATION

A carotid artery aneurysm is when the wall of the vessel starts to bulge or become inflamed. The bigger the aneurysm gets, the more it will push along the walls of the vessel and make them become weak. Also, the bigger the aneurysm gets the more likely it will eventually burst. Most of these aneurysms are due to atherosclerosis and most common in people that are 60 years old or older.

SYMPTOMS

Most of the time when someone has a carotid aneurysm, they wont have any symptoms, they are usually found in x-rays taken for some other reason or sometimes they can even find them when taking an annual physical. If someone were to experience symptoms, some of them might include: Pain in the abdomen, feeling full after eating a smaller type of meal, nausea, vomiting, and thrombuses.

DIAGNOSIS

To find out if someone has a carotid artery aneurysm, a family doctor may ask the person if there is any heart disease in the family or if you smoke. Most of the time, it is diagnosed and found when a person recieves an xray, ct, or mri for another type of illness. Most of the time people do not know they have them until they burst.

TREATMENT

The way a carotid artery aneurysm is treated depends on the size. The bigger the anerysm is, the most likely it is to burst, therefore sugery will need to be done. Anyone with an aneurysm larger than 6.5 centimeters are immediately taken in for surgery. Those who have smaller aneurysms such as 3.0 centmeters, these people may be watched using ultrasound equipment. The doctors for surgery will either do an abdominal surgery and clamp off the aorta while fixing the problem, or a newer way to do it is by making small cuts in the groin to make their way to the aneurysm.

Goiter

GOITER

GENERAL INFORMATION

The definition of a goiter is the enlargement of a thyroid gland. If you have ever seen on or a picture of one you would definantly think this crazy lump is cancerous. Actually, goiters are not cancerous at all, they are just enlargements of the glands. Reasons for getting goiters can be from the levels of the thyroid hormone being normal, way too high, or way too low. The most common cause of a goiter is from lack of iodine in the daily diet.

SYMPTOMS

If the goiter is very small, signs and symptoms may not be noticable at all. They might not even need to be treated. But, for goiters that are larger the most common symptoms are: Visible swelling at the neck, hoarsness in throat, tightening in neck, coughing, and or difficulty swallowing and breathing.

CAUSES

There are numerous amounts of reasons why one may develop a goiter. The most common are: Iodine deficiency in the daily diet when a person is not getting the amount of iodine needed, it is important to have iodine in your diet because it helps to produce the thyroid hormones.

Another reason is Grave's Disease which we talked about in the last section. Thyroid cancer, pregnancy, and inflammation are other causes of developing a goiter.

DIAGNOSIS

The diagnosis of a goiter can be done in several ways. The main one is a hormone test. Blood tests are done to determine the levels in the thyroid to see if they are normal, overactive, or underactive. Antibody test can also be done which is to look for abnormal antibodies in the body because that is also a reason why a goiter can form. Ultrasound and thyroid scanning can also diagnose a goiter.

TREATEMENT

Some of the treatement that can be done to reduce the goiter size is to observe and watch the size over time, take medications for over active and under active thyroid glands, to help reduce the inflammation. Surgery is also an alternative and part of the thyroid gland will be removed.

Achondroplasia

GENERAL INFORMATION

Achondroplasia means without cartilege formation. It is a genetic condition which causes a person to be abnormally short. Everyone who has this disease are usually at an average height of about 52 inches for males and 49 inches tall for females. This disease is the most common cause of short statured people. This disorder is one of bone growth. The long bones have trouble growing into their full sizes. The intelligence level is of a normal human being, just the anatomy is very off and non symmetrical.

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms will start at birth and be very noticable. A baby who has Achondroplasia usually has a long chest and very short extremities. All of these will be very disproportioned including having a larger head than most babies. Joints will be able to extend longer than normal and fingers will be both short and long. A small hump in the back may also be visible to some along with bowed legs.

DIAGNOSIS

Achondroplasia is usually either diagnosed at birth by the baby's abnormal and dis-proportioned limbs and physical features, or it can also be diagnosed by recieving x-rays, ultrasounds, or other imaging modalities. To diagnose before birth there is a special procedure that is done to specifically look at the cells and that procedure is called chorionic villus sampling or CVS.

TREATMENT

There is no known cure from preventing or treating Achondroplasia. Because of this treatment usually involves trying to prevent or treat the signs and symptoms that may be a result of the disorder such as: Reduced strength, reoccuring ear infections, breathing disorders, obesity, croweded teeth.

MRI SAGITTAL T1 WEIGHTED IMAGE

Chronic Sinusitus

GENERAL INFORMATION
Chronic Sinusitis or otherwise known as chronic rhinosinusitis. can either be caused by an infection or also can be caused by growth in the sinuses. The reason why it is called Chronic Sinusitis is because it is something that will usually last for more than eight weeks and continue to come back again. Some people have what is called acute sinusitis that only lasts for a short amount of time. Chronic sinusitis causes the sinuses to become inflamed and swollen making it hard for someone to breathe and will start to cause mucous build up.

SYMPTOMS
Some of the most common symptoms when having chronic sinusitis, is a yellowish-green mucous which usually means there is an infection. Some other symptoms will include: nasal constriction or congestion making it difficult for someone to breathe, Pain and/or swelling in the eyes, nose, cheeks, also a bad cough. Some people will also have fatigue, nausea, vomiting, fever and other classic cold symptoms.

CAUSES
There are several reasons and ways a person can develop chronic sinusitis. Tissue growths in the nasal passages which are called nasal polyps, trauma occuring to the face, allergic reactions, deviated nasal septum, and also respiratory infections could be a cause of chronic sinusitis.

TREATEMENT

There are many ways a person can treat their chronic sinusitis. For example, saline nasal spray will help to clean out the nasal passages. Nasal Corticosteroids will treat the inflammation. Decongestants and over the counter pain relievers can also help the chronic sinusitis to decrease faster.

MRI IMAGE OF SINUSITIS IN

THE MAXILLARY SINUS

COATS DISEASE

COATS DISEASE
GENERAL INFORMATION

The pathology of the orbits I chose to cover is called Coats disease or otherwise known as Exudative Retinitis. The disease takes place in the retinal capillaries and is very progressive. Blood leaks from the abnormal vessles causing it to build up and leave cholesterol deposits.The most common people it affects are young children, and usually young male adults. There is no known cause of Coats disease but it does start to occur within the first decade of ones life. It starts to affect the vision, but only in one eye.

SYMPTOMS

The most common symptoms of coats disease is the deterioration of the central of peripheral vision in ones eye. Bleeding can also occur along with leakage of out the eye. Most of the time someone with coats disease you will find them squinting an aweful lot.

DIAGNOSIS

Coats disease is found by the appearance of the back of the eye. MRI scan will be able to show if someone has Coats disease. Also, another way to diagnose Coats is with Fluorescein Angiography which consists of injecting dye into the back of the eye and looking at the circulation.

TREATEMENT

Coats disease can be treated by using a special type of laser or cryotherapy also known as freezing. This will usually destroy the abnormal blood vessels, but if they are thought to be clustered around the optic nerve, these methods may not work because there is a chance the nerve could be damaged and ruined. Sometimes this disease will stop on its own either permanently or temporarily. Once complete detachment of the nerve happens, the only last option is to remove the eye itself. EWW.

Pituitary Macroadenoma

PITUITARY MACROADENOMA

GENERAL INFORMATION
The pathology for the pituitary that I chose to do is Pituitary Macroadenoma. Even though we have talked about this some in class I figured I would still go ahead and explain it anyways.
A pituitary macroadenoma is a benign growth that occurs on the pituitary gland. For it to be considered macro is has to be at least 10mm in size. If it is less than 10mm, its then considered micro. There are several types of macroadenoma. Those that actually make hormones are considered funtcional macroadenomas, and those that do not make hormones are called nonfunctioning macroadenomas, easy enough.

SYMPTOMS
The most common symptoms a patient has when they have a macroadenoma is tiredness and restlessness. More severe complaints people with these have are headaches, vomiting, and dizziness. Macroadenomas can grow and if it gets big enough it can push on the optic nerve and start to affect a person's vision. Since the symptoms are based on what kind of macroadenoma it is, not everyone with this will experience these symptoms.

DIAGNOSIS.
To diagnose a macroadenoma, the doctor will have to ask a patient a series of questions such as their medical history, any symptoms they are having, if this runs in their family, etc. Certain tests such as MRI and CT will help to find a macroadenoma. Blood tests and eye exams may help as well.

TREATEMENT
Most pituitary macroadenomas treatement consists of surgery to remove it. Radiation therapy and or drug therapy are also another possible choice for treatement. Most of the time treatment is decided by what kind of macroadenoma it is.

MRI IMAGE OF A PITUITARY MACRO ADENOMA