“Ike is not contagious, is not taking any medication for his condition and does not currently exhibit any of the outward symptoms associated with Valley Fever,” the statement continued. “However, Ike has been instructed to avoid extreme fatigue. No additional tests or examinations are pending, but Ike will have a follow-up exam when the team returns to NYC in early April.”

Valley Fever is caused by breathing in a fungus that exists in dry desert areas, according to the website WebMD. Davis lives in Phoenix, where the disease is much more familiar to people there than it is on the East Coast.

Symptoms, the website said, include feeling like you have a cold or the flu, fever, chills, chest pain, a dry cough and a rash. Many people who have it never exhibit any symptoms, and most people with the disease get better without treatment.

but people with weak immune systems are more vulnerable to the disease spreading to the skin, bones, lymph nodes and organs, which can lead to bigger problems, such as meningitis, “a very serious infection of the coverings around the brain and spinal cord,” the website said.

A person close to Davis said, “I can tell you he’s not concerned, and everyone around him isn’t concerned. He’s never been symptomatic and he feels great.”

It’s unclear now what impact — if any — this might have on Davis’ season, in which he is trying to come back from last year’s serious ankle injury. he certainly seemed just fine on Saturday, participating in a full pregame workout before going 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI in an intrasquad game. Afterward, Davis, in a jovial mood, kidded with reporters and slyly reminded them that one of his hits was a double.

there are few medical diagnoses more life changing than Parkinson’s disease. This neurodegenerative disorder is detected in some 70,000 people in the U.S. each year; Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali are best known for having Parkinson’s disease.

As a neurologist, I find it particularly tragic that most of these patients are referred late and do not find out they have Parkinson’s until they are already suffering from the severe tremors, walking difficulties, loss of smell and other physical manifestations of the disease.

Parkinson’s occurs when dopamine-producing cells, which control aspects of movement, diminish in the brain. we know that the disease starts working its damage long before physical symptoms show up. Parkinson’s can take as long as 12 years or more to develop, and the first mild symptoms are often mistaken as part of the normal aging process.

Because there are no simple tests to detect Parkinson’s in its early stages, it can take up to two to three years to accurately diagnose the disease. By the time someone has their first physical sign (tremor, rigidity or shuffling gait), 50 percent to 70 percent of the brain cells that produce dopamine, which controls movement, have already died.

Unfortunately, there is little that we physicians can offer patients at that point other than damage control. if we could intervene earlier on, we might be able to stave off or delay the progression of disease through neuroprotection.

In Pasadena, we have the first-FDA approved radiopharmaceutical imaging agent that can help physicians evaluate patients with suspected parkinsonian syndromes (PS) and related diseases. It is called DaTscan. Despite the unavailability of a simple blood test, tools like DaTscan can offer evidence that may help lessen diagnostic uncertainty and confusion for early-stage Parkinson’s patients and their families.

When DaTscan is combined with a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain scanner, it produces visual evidence of the amount of dopamine transporter cells, allowing physicians to determine whether occasional tremors are the result of Parkinson’s or some other cause.

DaTscan has been in available in Europe for more than 10 years; the FDA approved the imaging agent for use in the U.S. in January 2011; I scanned the first patient in Pasadena with it on Sept. 6. I believe that DaTscan will revolutionize both neuroimaging and the treatment of Parkinson’s as more and more hospitals and physicians learn about this method.

DaTscan can also detect Parkinson’s Disease by detecting early risk factors (red flags) alone or in combination, that may appear more than a decade before physical symptoms, such as , decreased or lost sense of smell or certain sleep disorders, but these uses are not yet FDA approved.

Just think how much we could slow down this difficult disease and improve lives of patients and their caregivers if we are able to act before the symptoms of Parkinson’s become debilitating and ensure that treatment recommendations are appropriate. I am certain that early detection is the future for Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Jerome Lisk is a physician at Southern California Movement Disorder Specialists, 65 N. Madison Ave. Suite 410, Pasadena. 626-792-6683. socalmds.com

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) December 28, 2011

There is evidence based support that re-focused nutrition, exercise, and healthy emotional coping strategies may play roles in maintaining optimal health while living with Parkinson’s Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders like multiple sclerosis. in fact, there is widespread interest today in brain healthy nutrition and how to protect and enhance neurologic function, particularly as we age. “Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease: Dynamic Lifestyle Changes to put you in the Driver’s Seat” is an unusual how-to book for anyone on the journey of living with PD, from the newly diagnosed to those like author Anne Cutter Mikkelsen’s husband, Mike, who has lived vibrantly with the disease for decades — and for anyone interested in brain-healthy nutrition.

Loss of control underscores this disease that impacts more than one million people in the U.S., their carepartners and families, and the sixty thousand newly diagnosed each year. “Take Charge” espouses making the most of what we can control: what we eat, how we choose to think about our circumstances, and what we bring to our relationships. Read reviews and praise from persons with Parkinson’s and PD and movement disorder health care experts, including the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, the Brian Grant Foundation, and the Struthers Parkinson’s Center.

Classically trained in French cooking, author Anne Cutter Mikkelsen is a Parkinson’s carepartner to and advocate for her husband, Mike. A Master Gardener and writer, and former restaurateur and bed and breakfast proprietor, Anne presents more than 80 of her own original recipes and menus that combine a wide variety of anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, nutrient-rich ingredients, and culinary herbs and spices known to favorably impact the brain.

Powerfully, Anne tells the personal story of how she and Mike – an award-winning potter and sculptor – learned to live vibrantly since his 1993 PD diagnosis. the couple wishes to help cut the learning curve for others facing down a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. According to Anne, food has been her most effective tool in her quest to create an atmosphere of optimism and anticipation for “whatever is coming next” through the stages of Mike’s PD.

Mikkelsen, who studied cooking in Provence, France at L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes with Simone Beck, co-author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking I and II, also is a former TV cooking show personality. in her “Take Charge” recipes, Anne uses familiar ingredients and introduces key ingredients – among them, “curcumin,” a component in the spice “turmeric,” heavily researched for potential neuroprotective properties, and the piney-scented herb, rosemary, shown to improve circulation and stimulate the brain. Family chefs and foodies alike will be comfortable and intrigued with the culinary and, preparation techniques, and brain healthy pantry stocking recommendations.

Chapters of practical information about Parkinson’s Disease is supplied by contributing writer, Carolyn Stinson, on symptoms, difficulties with diagnosis, risk factors, loss and depression, denial, stress, and research at the Cleveland Clinic on potential neuroprotective and symptom management benefits afforded by certain types of exercise.

The metaphor in the book’s title is compellingly personal, too — “putting you in the driver’s seat.” Anne and Mike know that PD will always be there, along for the ride. however, they have mastered living a good life, relegating Parkinson’s to the back seat as just a passenger. beyond that fitting metaphor, Mike also happens to be a lifelong collector and creative restorer of automobiles, including the beloved Dodge D-19 Luxury Liner convertible he has owned for six decades. in early 2012, Anne and Mike as co-authors will publish a prequel of sorts to “Take Charge” — “The Dodge: Guts, Glory, and Living at full Throttle” – that recounts the intertwined life stories of Mike, Anne, and the Dodge.

“Of all the Arts, I return to the lure of the automobile— those with a history, a character and a host of idiosyncrasies, which I desperately want to know and cater to. I’ve recently learned that a car is capable of much more than transportation.” E.A. Mike Mikkelsen.

The accompanying video clip depicts Mike and the Dodge joyfully returning home from gathering holiday greenery for the Mikkelsen home.

Anne is also the author of “From Both Sides of the River: A Family Portrait,” also published in 2011. Both “The Dodge” and “From Both Sides” can be purchased at annecuttermikkelsen.com. “Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease” is available from Amazon.com, in bookstores, and at annecuttermikkelsen.com.

Read praise, reviews and excerpts of “Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease” at annecuttermikkelsen.com.

“Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease: Dynamic Lifestye Changes to put you in the Driver’s Seat” ISBN 13: 978-0-9823219-3-5 A DiaMedica Publishing Guide to Optimum Wellness (2011) available from Amazon.com and in Bookstores

Read the full story at prweb.com/releases/parkinsons/optimalhealth/prweb9025660.htm

Time to check your health records: Kids aren’t the only ones who need their shots

Infants, children and teens are not the only ones who need immunization.

“Adults that are not current on immunizations put themselves and other people at risk,” said Dr. Yoon-Taek Chun of Pocono Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in East Stroudsburg.

Following a vaccination schedule throughout your lifetime can save you from a lot of time in the doctor’s office as well as a potential long-term toll on your body.

Consider the following:

Pneumococcal infection causes severe disease in children under age 5. Before a vaccine was available, the infection caused more than 700 cases of meningitis, 13,000 blood infections and about 5 million ear infections. It can also lead to pneumonia, deafness and brain damage, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

If that wasn’t bad enough, consider that pneumococcal infections can be hard to treat because the bacteria have become resistant to some drugs.

In this case, prevention is much easier and less traumatic for children who could simply receive the four-dose vaccine.

Immunizing children also helps protect the health of others, especially those who are not immunized. “This protection also slows down or stops disease outbreaks,” Chun said.

Not only do children need to follow a vaccination schedule, adults do as well.

Consider that sharp cut from a metal object. when was the last time you had a tetanus shot? The protection lasts 10 years for adults.

Do you want to be cut on a rusty nail and trust that your last shot wasn’t 20 years ago?

Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib)

Human papilloma virus (HPV)

Influenza (seasonal flu)

Japanese encephalitis (JE)

Pertussis (whooping cough)

Poliomyelitis (polio)

Rubella (German measles)

Shingles (herpes zoster)

Varicella (chickenpox)

First dose: Ages birth to 2 months.

Second dose: Ages 1 and 4 months.

Third and final dose: Ages 6 to 12 months.

First dose: Can be given any time.

Second dose: one to two months after the first dose.

Third dose: between four and six months after the first dose.

Adolescents 11 to 15 years of age may need only two doses of hepatitis B vaccine, separated by four to six months.

First dose: Age 2 months.

Second dose: one to two months later.

The third and final dose should be given at ages 6 to 12 months.

If an adult has never been vaccinated, the first dose may be given any time.

Second dose: one to two months later.

Third dose: six to 12 months after that.

MMRV vaccine may be given to children ages 1 through 12 years to protect them from the four diseases.

Two doses of MMRV vaccine are recommended:

First dose: Ages 12 through 15 months.

Second dose: Ages 4 through 5 years.

Anyone 13 or older who needs protection from these diseases should get MMR and Varicella vaccines as separate shots.

Children should get five doses of DTaP vaccine.

First dose: Ages 2 months

Second dose: Age 4 months

Third dose: Age 6 months

Fourth dose: Ages 15 to 18 months

Fifth dose: Ages 4 to 6 years

DTaP vaccine is only recommended for children under age 7. Older children, adolescents and adults still need protection from tetanus and diphtheria. a booster shot called Td is recommended at ages 11 to 12 years and then every 10 years.

First dose: Age 2 month

Second dose: Age 4 months

Third dose: Age 6 months

Children should receive all three doses by age 32 weeks.

First dose: Age 2 months

Second dose: Age 4 months

Third dose: Age 6 months

Fourth dose: Ages 12 to 15 months

First dose: Age 2 months

Second dose: Age 6 months

Third dose: Ages 12 to 15 months

Older children and adults with special health conditions should get the vaccine. these conditions include sickle cell disease, HIV/AIDS, removal of spleen, bone marrow transplant and cancer treatment with drugs.

Haemophilus Influenzae type b (HIB): a disease caused by a bacteria and usually strikes children under 5 years old.

Polio: a disease caused by a virus. It enters the body through the mouth. Sometimes it does not cause an illness. but sometimes it causes paralysis. It can kill people, usually by paralyzing the muscles that help them breathe.

Measles: a disease caused by a virus, and symptoms include rash, cough, runny nose, eye irritation and fever.

Mumps: a virus that produces fever, headache and swollen glands.

Rubella (German Measles): a virus that causes rash, mild fever and arthritis (mostly in women).

Chickenpox (Varicella): Can cause rash, itching, fever and tiredness. It can lead to severe skin infection, scars, pneumonia, brain damage or death. a person with chickenpox can also get shingles.

Rotavirus: this is a virus that can cause severe diarrhea, mostly in babies and young children. It is often accompanied by vomiting and fever. almost all children can get rotavirus infection before age 5.

Pneumococcal conjugate: this is a infection with Streptococcus pneumonia bacteria and can result in a serious illness and death. It is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States.

Diphtheria: Caused by bacteria, it causes a thick covering in the back of the throat and can lead to breathing problems, paralysis, heart failure and death.

Tetanus (Lockjaw): a bacteria causing a painful tightening of the muscles. Can lead to locking of the jaw.

Pertussis: a bacteria causing coughing spells preventing infants from eating, drinking or breathing. It can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death.

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Improving life for those with ‘designer disease’

8:10am Thursday 27th October 2011

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most of us know somebody affected by Parkinson’s — the stereotype is of an ageing relative sitting in the corner quietly and shaking.

about one in 500 people has Parkinson’s; that’s about 120,000 people in the UK including increasingly, younger people. People with Parkinson’s (PWPs) don’t have enough of the chemical dopamine, because some of the nerve cells in their brain have died.

There are various ways of managing the condition, and relieving the symptoms but as yet no cure.

it is often called the designer disease, as the symptoms and how quickly they develop differ dramatically between PWPs.

many have tremors, and/or find it hard to move freely. Muscles become stiff, leading to slowness or even freezing when moving. Tiredness, pain, and depression impact on day-to-day lives, and often simple tasks can progressively become more difficult or impossible.

The national charity, Parkinson’s UK, is committed to finding a cure and improving life for everybody affected by Parkinson’s disease.

it has more than 330 local branches providing information and support, including expert staff and nurses, a website and a free confidential helpline.

it is also a major UK funder of research into finding a cure for Parkinson’s and also for new and better ways to help PWPs to carry on more normal lives, and for longer.

This is where you come in.

On November 27, we are holding a sponsored ‘Oxford Walk’ — a guided 90-minute tour with Visit Oxfordshire, followed by self-paced three-, five-, or eight-mile sponsored routes around Oxford.

to join the walkers or offer sponsorship please email uk or telephone Nick Posford on 0844 225 9845.

we also need a local branch chairperson to replace the long-serving Campbell Ferguson, who will retire by March 2012.

The Oxford and District branch is a vibrant one, with around 150 members, and is in a healthy financial situation, having raised over £90,000 over the last six years.

For a full role description and person specification please email or telephone Martin Tims on 01865 872722.

The new chair should preferably have some experience of Parkinson’s and its effects.

For more about Parkinson’s visit the website parkinsons.org.uk or call thehelpline on 0808 800 0303.

Read these Leisure stories

I just bought a cat from a friend. she was shy at first but she sometimes scratches and bites a little. recently she would jump out the window and stay out side for the whole day, sometimes 2 days. I'm worried if she caught rabies and can transmit them to me. if so should i get checked or if the symptoms show will it be too late??

If a person is bit by a rabid animal, it takes a few weeks for the foaming-at-the mouth thing to happen. if that happens, it's way too late. right after you get bit, I would go to the ER or something and get the shot, because it would be better then than later on.

I seriously doubt your cat has rabies. Some cats just have an attitude. every rabid animal I have ever seen or heard about had to be killed to prevent it from attacking you. They cannot be scared away, as their brain has (deteriorated for lack of a better term) beyond the point of rational thought. you can get a mild infection from cat scratched though and should clean them with an antiseptic.

I'm worried about my grandfather. he is extremely active but tends to repeat stories multiple times in one sitting. he also has poor hygiene. is there something I should look for? I moved to North Carolina, and he lives alone in Connecticut. I'm thinking of moving back just to keep a better eye on him.

It does not sound like dementia that it sounds like he is reminiscing. But the signs are forgetting where you have put things alot. its also described in the dictionary saying: partial or complete deterioration of the brain of mental powers. he will probably need 24/7 around the clock care. I wish you luck with looking after him.

Dementia is a mental illness which affects the function of brain including reasoning, thinking and memory. The symptoms of dementia vary from different persons, since there are various symptoms a person has to suffer when diagnosed. The most common symptom is memory loss; in this case the person gets difficulty in recalling things. Dementia is a group of various different kind of disease which triggers to an individual, it is not a disease. there are dementia symptoms which are noticeable and they include depression. changes in behavior, mood, aggressiveness, emotional and lot more symptoms. in memory loss they cannot recognize familiar persons or places, difficulty in recalling any event or occasion which they have attended in past, lack of recollecting things, find trouble in expressing right words, thoughts or feelings.

Other symptoms of dementia is when a person is affected to it he or she find difficulty in performing any task or easy calculations, they avoid going to social environment because of psychological problems. Some times the people affected to dementia cause harm to others and self due to their aggressiveness and depression. The control of mood is one of the dementia symptoms, in this there are changes in behavior and the also thoughts. They become more careless to their physic and hygiene so they don’t even bath regularly. a person with lewy bodies in dementia faces the problem of vision and hallucination due to which they fall frequently. The most noticeable symptoms of dementia are personality changes, in this situation the person behaves unusual and they get aggressive which is harmful to others.

In depression they can take the step of suicide, so if you see such types of symptoms then an immediate check up to doctor is must. in majority you can find a person who is diagnosed to dementia symptoms gets rude, expose and get into sexually comments. To treat this symptoms one should go for a check up in which blood test are conducted which detects the any kind of infection affected to a person or other symptoms. most of the doctors recommend that if an individual is triggered to symptoms of dementia it is a responsibility of family members to understand the situation. The best treatment for dementia is to cure it in psychological way which not it does not cure but lower the symptoms of a person. To get further details on dementia symptoms on it then log on to Perfecthealthhub.com, it will provide you all sort of information which you needed.

As a great technique of treatment, Parkinson’s Disease patch is becoming developed for treating Parkinson’s Disease. This is becoming developed as a great technique of treating it orally. The require to develop a skin patch for Parkinson’s existed, because of the digestive tract of individuals affected by the illness.

Skin patches are obtainable for smoking cessation, heart issues, and discomfort control. a main study is going on for exploring new methods of treatment except oral medicines, of Parkinson’s. The silicon patch that’s becoming utilized within the clinical trials have Dopamine agonist , a drug generally utilized to decrease the symptoms and assist individuals lead a much more regular life. ‘Neupro’ will be the initial trans-dermal patch that has been approved to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.

The primary symptoms of Parkinson’s consist of memory loss, reduce of cognitive abilities, dementia. As it’s a disorder of the central nervous program, motor abilities are lost over time. these Parkinson’s Disease patch medicines assist in prolonging regular activity and suppressing the symptoms of the illness.

The primary symptoms of this illness consist of stiffness and tremors within the limbs which is because of the reduction of Dopamine, chemical within the brain which controls movement within the body. Dopamine agonists clone dopamine and also stimulate the cells of the brain, just the way the regular chemical reacts.

An additional Parkinsons Disease patch that has been marketed is an active ingredient Rotigotine, which is really a Dopamine receptor delivered via a skin patch. It’s applied as soon as to the skin and releases Ritigotine all through 24 hours. Each day the patch requirements to be changed. It’s delivered to maintain stable rotigotine plasma in concentration level. The oral Dopamine agonists come in several doses but a patch is much more efficient and simple.

It's that read it somewhere but this depression has my brain so fogged up I can't remember. I'm determined to stop it before it takes me down any further. There's no point in pretending Im OK when Im not.

How much, by the way?? thank you!!

If you exercise when depressed/stressed the hormones become active when exercising and are released through the body, then they dissapear into the bloodstream. this means these hormones have gone (well, most of them will) and you become less stressed by about 60%, depending on how vigorous the exercise is

it does help…. but not if you get all obsessive about it!
a good walk out in the fresh air does the world of good, even more so if you walk with someone and talk to them as you go

I believe it's because exercise relieves stress and so you are happier.

Good Luck!