Alzheimer’s disease is a physical condition that affects the brain and is the most common form of dementia worldwide. A German neurologist by the name of Alois Alzheimer first described the disease in the early 1900’s and was he who the condition was named after.

Alzheimer

When the disease is present in the brain, types of “tangles” develop in the brains structure which kills brain cells. Disease sufferers also have a shortage of a chemical in the brain which is responsible for the transmission of messages. As the disease progresses over time, more areas of the brain are damaged and any symptoms then become more severe.

Early stage symptoms include memory lapses and difficulty in finding the right words to speak or describe something. The progression of the disease brings confusion, forgetfulness, mood swings and frustration and withdrawal due to communication and confidence issues.

Up to the present time, no one has been able to pinpoint one particular factor that contributes to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease but it is widely agreed that it is probably a combination of factors including age, genetic makeup, diet, environmental factors and general health. Some people may even have the disease for years before any symptoms appear.

Unfortunately, presently there is no known cure for the condition, but certain drugs have been produced that can help alleviate some of the symptoms or slow down the diseases progression.

Autism is a type of brain disorder that affects the way individuals understand and hence, react with the world about them. Because of this, these people tend to act differently to others. On encountering an autistic child, someone would be hard-pressed to distinguish between the child and other “healthy” children around them. As there are no obvious external clues that visually tell us a child or person is autistic, these individuals are often mistakenly identified as naughty (in children) or rude.

Most autistic people have an exceptionally hard time trying to convey what they want to say or require, and others may end up saying the same things over and over again. This difficulty in understanding causes great confusion among the autistic, and although they can hear everything that is said to them, they cannot grasp the gist of what is being said.

Autism In Children

Mood swings are another symptom of autism. A person may be fine one moment but will have a mood change in a flash. This often happens because they can’t explain to people properly what they want. There are simple things that can trigger the mood swings as well. Anything from using the wrong dish for a meal to parking in the wrong spot can cause the person to change.

Autism is classed as a “spectrum disorder” which basically means the symptoms and characteristics of the condition are never the same in any two people. One thing that is common to all autism sufferers though is that they all have a hard time making sense of the world around them.

The heart is a pump that is designed to force blood through the body and as with any type of pump, it works by generating pressure. In the body, the blood is pumped through the arteries to all major organs, but if there is too much pressure it can put a strain on the heart itself or the arteries, causing all sorts of problems.

Blood pressure is dependent on two things. The first is the force with which the heart pumps the blood around the body, and the second is the narrowness of the arteries. Hypertension happens when the blood is forced with increased pressure through the arteries.

When blood pressure is measured, it is done so using two numbers, an example being 120 over eighty. The first number listed is the systolic blood pressure which is the maximum pressure exerted on the arteries when the heart beats, and the second number listed is the diastolic blood pressure, or the minimum amount of pressure on the arteries when the heart is relaxed. The example above is of a normal blood pressure reading.

Blood pressure can be considered high when the systolic blood pressure reading is constantly above 160, and/or the diastolic blood pressure reading is above 100. One of the biggest problems with high blood pressure though, is the fact that it doesn’t always cause any symptoms meaning it may go unnoticed until a later complication such as a heart attack or stroke.

Other complications arising from high blood pressure can be an aneurysm, heart failure, eye damage, kidney failure or atherosclerosis, which is the narrowing of the arteries. Some factors that could contribute to high blood pressure include hereditary reasons, obesity, kidney disease, diabetes, excessive salt intake, lack of exercise and high intake of alcohol.

High Blood Pressure