Mental health authorities estimate that more than 2 million adults have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (also called manic-depression), a chemical imbalance in the brain causing extreme mood swings from manic highs to agonizing lows. Although a diagnosis of bipolar disorder can be frightening and confusing, it is a treatable and manageable condition. If you or someone close to you has been diagnosed with bipolar illness, the first step in relieving fear and uncertainty is education. The more you know about the disorder, the less control it will exert over you and others who may be affected. The National Institute of Mental Health (www.nimh.nih.gov), The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (www.nami.org), and The National Mental Health Association (www.nmha.org) are just a few of the recognized national organizations providing information, facts and support to anyone who may be directly or indirectly affected by bipolar disorder. Below are some essential facts about bipolar disorder provided by these organizations that may alleviate some of your concerns and questions surrounding a recent diagnosis. Bipolar disorder affects many people: According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), bipolar disorder affects approximately 2.3 million adults, or 1.2 percent of the population, in any given year. Bipolar disorder has many potential causes: There does not appear to be one cause for bipolar disorder. Evidence suggests that many components may come into play, all of which affect the chemical balance of certain parts of the brain. Several studies on the occurrence of bipolar disorder in families demonstrate a genetic disposition toward the illness. Other factors may include extremely traumatic life events, chronic illness, alcoholism, and drug abuse. Bipolar disorder has varied symptoms: The most pronounced symptoms of bipolar disorder are dramatic mood swings consisting of extremely “high” manic episodes to debilitating episodes of depression and then back again with relatively normal moods in between. Behaviors during a manic episode include heightened feelings of euphoria, extreme energy, decreased need for sleep, extreme irritability and distractibility, and increased aggression. Depressive episodes bring about excessive feelings of despair, hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, and sometimes thoughts of suicide. Bipolar disorder affects both sexes in children to adults: Manic depression is not selective in who it touches. Women and men are equally affected, as are children and adolescents (although a diagnosis in children and teens is more difficult to determine). A majority of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder have a least one family member with the illness. And children of parents with the illness are more likely to develop it themselves. Bipolar disorder has effective treatment modalities: Bipolar disorder is treated with medications, called mood stabilizers, to assist in controlling fluctuation in moods. The important thing to understand about bipolar disorder is that it is a life-long, recurring illness requiring ongoing care. In addition to medication, psychotherapy is also prescribed in the management of the illness. Psychotherapy assists people to understand their illness and to develop coping skills to help deal with life events and stressors that may trigger manic and depressive episodes. Bipolar disorder has no cure: As of today, there is no known cure for bipolar disorder; however, it is a treatable and manageable illness. With a close relationship with a mental health professional, a proper diagnosis, and vigilant adherence to taking medications and sticking to prescribed treatment plans, most individuals with bipolar illness lead very productive and rewarding lives. These are just a few of the facts pertaining to bipolar disorder. It is not a simple illness, yet it is manageable and treatable. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, do not hesitate to seek information and help. Any one of the above-mentioned organizations can offer you education, guidance, and support. Obtaining knowledge is one of your first steps in alleviating the uncertainty and anxiety of dealing with such a diagnosis.

We seem to be quite happy and satisfied with everything we have and keep developing and wanting more. We feel safe on one side of a barricade that we’ve built up between us and those poor people who suffer from the most severe malady, the plague of the twenty first century. It is quite obvious that we divide our world on “us” and “them”. While we feel quite happy and live our lives to the fullest, they constantly suffer from prosecution, problems with arranging a life and finding friendly faces in the crowd. Nobody seems to know where the plague came from. The information provided is taken from a sample term paper that gave some additional light onto the problem. Another piece was taken from a custom research paper of those, who are infected. AIDS appeared on African continent as a result of a bad experiment. Peoples of Africa were suffering from a complicated form of malaria and a group of European scientists was sent to help with the vaccination. This group was to find a vaccine from malaria and test it. In the vaccine they used ape tissues and tested. The vaccine mutated and turned into a very serious problem. Now AIDS is a very spread disease. There is no country in the world that doesn’t have this problem. Some say that it is a terrible curse given to people for not living an honorable life. Indeed, humans are guilty in spreading this plague all over the world. As we know AIDS is not spread by slight contact, only through blood transfusion, sexual contact or injection made by an infected syringe. After several cases of infection through using infected tools and transfusion of infected blood now all these things are tested and checked for AIDS. The possibility to get it is minimal. The only way is by sexual contact and using not sterilized syringes to make intravenous injections. That means that Intravenous Drug Addicts and quite vulnerable to AIDS and most of them are the carriers. People who don’t protect themselves before sexual interference can also be victims. Now the carriers of the virus are separated by an invisible wall that limits their freedom of action. On the first of January we celebrate the day of Struggle against AIDS. But it should be better called the day of Struggle against people who have AIDS. They really feel themselves as outsiders and there is still nothing done to improve the situation. It doesn’t necessary mean that people who have AIDS are in the gutter of the society. Some of the virus carriers are quite respectable and stand pretty high on the social ladder. What we lack now is information. One can not be infected by communication, hand shaking, having fun together with a virus carrier. They are also people with various interests and ambitious. Not the malady, but we ourselves prevent them from developing. So let’s treat them as usual members of society and help them to overcome their fears.

Usher syndrome – «a genetic disease causing deaf and blindness.» A simple definition. In essence, this disease slowly blinds you by progressive retinis pigmentosa, as well as ruin your hearing through congenital hearing loss. This particular disease can only be inherited, and is uncommon becuase it is a recessive trait. It can occur in an estimated 1 in 11,000 people. «Usher Syndrome» is not a name which best describes or reflects its signs and symptoms. It was named this becuase of C.H. Usher, a British ophthalmologist. He wrote about the disease when it was unknown, and described cases in which there was a clear link between congenital deafness and retinis pigmentosa. This was long ago, and he was ahead of his time, as the paper was writtin in 1914. This condition has three seperate types; Usher Syndrome I, II and III. I is the most unfair, as the child is born almost completely deaf, and eyesight begins to fail after about age 10. In type II, eyesight does not tend to degrade until later in life, but the child is born hard of hearing. Type III syndrome is the most common, wherein loss of sight and hearing occurs much later in life. The USH3A gene is responsible for creating a protien that is essential in the development and upkeep of the retina and inner ear. Usher syndrome type III is a result of a mutation whithin this gene, however, the full explanation as to the protiens role in vision and hearing loss, is yet to be discovered.

If you notice a red, sore throat, with swollen neck lymph nodes, a fever, headache, and white spots on your tonsils, then you probably have what is known as strep throat. In childrens cases, it can cause abdominal pain, nausea, and even vomiting. Symptoms such as a stuffy nose, sneezing, and coughing, which are common for colds, are not generally seen in the case of strep throat. If harsh symptoms do not arise, and you are untreated, you could be infecting people in your surroundings for the first 2 to 3 weeks of contraction. After a treatment has begun, however, you are only contageous for the next 24 to 28 hours. Generally, you contract strep throat through a bacterium that is spread by close contact to an infected person. In some cases you can get the virus through contaminated food. How do you know for sure? The doctor of course! Your doctor will swab your throat to test for the bacterium culture, or for a rapid strep test. This process can be done in the doctors office, and only takes 5 to 10 minutes. If the original tests come back negative, then a second «follow – up culture» test may take place. This can take up to 2 days for results. If you are taking medication, and both tests are negative for strep, discontinue use of the antibiotics, as this may suggest that you have a viral infection and need to be treated properly.