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This wide-ranging encyclopedia addresses our rapidly changing understanding of health and wellness, providing a collection of essays that are up-to-date and comprehensive in both scope and breadth. Encyclopedia of Wellness: From Açaí Berry to Yo-Yo Dieting offers expert advice to anyone seeking information on a condition or illness. More than that, however, this three-volume resource is a compendium of practical information on how to reduce poor health choices and live a healthy, active, vibrant life. A source of basic, easily understandable entries on health and wellness, the encyclopedia covers an extraordinarily broad array of health-related topics including acupuncture, art therapy, bi...
This engagingly written survey covers the history of anxiety disorders and current approaches to their definition and treatment. Anxiety disorders are significant mental health illnesses that impair lives and cost society millions of dollars in health care expenses and lost productivity. Greater awareness of anxiety disorders is essential for both the general public and health professionals if those who suffer from them are to be identified, receive proper treatment, and have a chance at leading fulfilling lives. To that end, Anxiety begins with a historical overview of the ways in which anxiety disorders have been understood, from the prehistoric era until the present time, examining the disorders from the perspectives of conceptualization, classification, research, and treatment. Subsequent chapters examine these themes in light of our current understanding and approaches to anxiety disorders. Current diagnostic and assessment methods are discussed, as are modern treatment options. The book concludes with a survey of the future directions in research for the understanding and treatment of anxiety disorders.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of Alzheimer's disease, including information on the affliction's history, diagnosis, and effects on family members. Alzheimer's disease is a vastly underrecognized disease that primarily appears in patients age 65 and older. It affects the entire family of those afflicted and has a tremendous impact on our health care system—the Alzheimer's Association estimates the cost of treating this form of dementia at $172 billion annually in the United States. Current treatment with medications has only limited success. Therefore, awareness of symptoms—which are often mistaken for aging or stress—and early recognition of the disease are the best ways to help patients and their caregivers. Alzheimer's Disease is written to provide a broad overview of the disease, conveying all information and concepts in easy-to-read and understandable language. This text is intended for high school and college students, but is appropriate for general reading audiences as well.
In this book, two distinguished surgeons offer an up-to-date, easy-to-understand book on thyroid disease. Millions of people are affected by thyroid disease worldwide, yet most people know little about the thyroid. Thyroid Disease fills that gap, explaining the importance of the thyroid gland to the smooth functioning of the human body and mind. This book covers all of the important aspects of diseases of the thyroid, a small gland that secretes hormones that deliver energy to cells of the body. Historical details on the earliest references to the thyroid gland and goiters, as well as historic details on the links between goiter, iodine, and cretinism are discussed. Thyroid diseases, such as hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, goiter, thyroid nodules, and thyroid cancer, are addressed in detail. Historical vignettes help explain important topics, such as the iodination of salt and Nobel Prize–winning work on thyroid surgery, and also provide examples of famous people with thyroid conditions.
Written for students interested in learning about multiple sclerosis, this book describes how this frequently disabling disease affects patients, exploring its effects on minds, bodies, and daily lives. Written by a professor of medicine who is also personally affected by the disease, Multiple Sclerosis offers an overview of every aspect of the condition. It begins by introducing the central nervous system and describing how multiple sclerosis affects the brain and spinal cord. The author then reviews early understanding of MS, how it was first recognized as a disease, and the discoveries that have helped explain its causes. Moving to contemporary understanding of multiple sclerosis, the book explores the epidemiology of MS in the United States and around the world, describes MS symptoms, and reviews today's treatments and research directions. Perhaps most important, it presents the experiences of persons living with multiple sclerosis, concluding with a discussion of factors affecting these individuals in their homes, families, and communities.
This comprehensive review examines the biological, medical, social, historical, and political aspects of HIV/AIDS. In AIDS, three Harvard-educated physicians explore the evolution of the HIV epidemic, contextualizing the disease from historical, social, and medical perspectives. Addressing the last 25 years, the book examines basic biological principles, including what a virus is, how the human immune system works, and how HIV impairs these functions. It presents an in-depth discussion of the HIV life cycle, explores central issues pertaining to diagnosis and treatment, and sheds light on how the treatment was developed and implemented. The book also reviews global epidemiology of HIV/AIDS and principles of transmission, as well as what comprises an epidemic and the factors that determine whether an infectious outbreak will propagate or die out. Finally, it looks at where HIV came from; early reactions to the disease and the social stigma it engendered; the cultural impact of HIV-positive role models; and the global economic, population, and political effects of this illness.
This thought-provoking biography of tuberculosis presents medical, historical, and social perspectives on this reemergent threat. Tuberculosis is a complicated medical condition that has a rich and important history, a distinctive social context, and an active and destructive present. The disease appears in Greek literature as early as 460 BCE and was a favorite of 19th-century novelists whose heroines often succumbed to "consumption." Through history, the development of TB diagnosis and treatment has been synonymous with events in the development of medicine. Tuberculosis presents TB from the perspective of the people and events that shaped its past and the factors that influence its current global state. The book begins with an essay discussing the importance of the social factors that influence the transmission and progression of TB. The following eight chapters focus on disease-specific information, historical and biographical perspectives, influence on the arts, the current state of TB in the world, and future directions. Throughout, medical information about the disease is intertwined with a historical and cultural perspective to illustrate the state of the disease today.
"A young drama teacher in the West of Scotland suffers deep psychological problems which affect all areas of her life. She fails to find meaning in anything around her, but in her search she strips situations of their conventional values and sees them in a sharp, new light." --Publisher's description.
Disease conditions that affect the human heart and the methods used to diagnose and treat them are all covered in one concise volume. Written by a past president of the Boston Chapter of the American Heart Association, Heart Disease is a comprehensive account of the leading cause of death in the West. Sequential chapters describe the structure and function of the heart, the various disease states, and the treatments for each major disease. In addition, the book examines the vast array of diagnostic tests and the most advanced treatments available, from basic drugs for prevention such as aspirin to transplants and artificial hearts. Dr. de Silva, who teaches at Harvard Medical School, also covers historical aspects of heart disease, discoveries about the structure and function of the heart, and the ways in which heart disease can be diagnosed and treated. Underlying conditions that affect the heart are described and linked to the treatments and devices used to correct disease conditions.
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