BREAST CANCER

http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/

EATING DISORDERS: BULIMIA NERVOSA

MIGRAINE

Migraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by altered bodily perceptions, severe headaches, and nausea. http://www.medicinenet.com/migraine_headache/article.htm

AUTISM

Autism is a complex neuro-developmental disorder of childhood with an onset usually before the age of two and half years old. It affects more males than females. Generally there are 3 distinctive classes of behaviors that characterize autism. Autistic children have:

1.       Impaired reciprocal social interaction which can manifest as: (i) Marked unawareness of the existence and feelings of others (e.g. treating person as a piece of furniture), being oblivious to others’ distress and their need for privacy. They lack empathy. (ii) Abnormal response to being hurt – he does not come for comfort and makes stereotyped response e.g. repeating a word over and over. (iii) Impaired imitation (e.g. does not wave bye-bye). (iv) Abnormal Play – e.g. prefers being solitary or using others as mechanical aids and does not know how to play interactively with other children. (v) Gross impairment in making peer friendships. If he tries at all, the effort will lack the conventions of social interaction e.g. reading from a telephone directory to an uninterested peer.

2.       Abnormal verbal and non verbal communication manifested as: (i) No babbling, facial expression or gestures in infancy. Parents are usually the first to notice symptoms of autism in their child. A baby with autism ay be unresponsive to people or focus intently on one item to the exclusion of others for long periods of time. A child may appear to develop normally and then withdraw and become indifferent to social engagement. (ii) Avoid mutual gaze (often avoid eye contact with other people), no smiles when making social approach, does not greet his parents, stiffens when held and also may fail to respond to their name. (iii) They have difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling because they can’t understand social cues such as tone of voice or facial expressions and don’t watch other people’s faces for clues about appropriate behavior. (v) Abnormal speech production e.g. repetitions. They tend to start speaking late than other children and may refer to themselves by name instead of “I” or “me”. (vi) They have difficulty in initiating and sustaining conversations.

3.       Poor range of activities and interest: (i) Stereotyped movements, repetitive movements such as hand flicking, spinning, rocking or self abusive behavior such as biting or head banging. (ii) Preoccupation with parts of object (e.g. sniffing or repetitive feeling of textured object, spinning wheels of toys). (iii) Marked distress over trivial changes e.g. moving a vase or object from its original position. (iv) Insists on following routines in precise detail. (v) Markedly narrow range of interests e.g. preoccupied with lining up objects.

Children with autism have a reduced sensitivity to pain but are abnormally sensitive to sound, touch or other sensory stimulation. These usual reactions may contribute to being cuddled or hugged. About 20-30% of children with autism develop epilepsy by the time they reach adulthood and the reason for this is still unclear.

Diagnosis: Autism varies widely in its severity and symptoms and may go unrecognized especially in mildly affected children or when it is asked by more debilitating handicaps. Doctors rely on a core group behavior to alert them to the possibility of a diagnosis of autism. These include – impaired ability to make friends with peers, impaired ability to initiate and sustain a conversation with others, absence or impairment of imaginative and social play, stereotyped, repetitive or unusual use of language, restricted patterns of interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus, preoccupation with certain objects o subjects and inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals. Doctors may use a questionnaire or other screening instruments to gather information about a child’s development and behavior. A multidisciplinary team is needed to give a comprehensive evaluation and includes a psychologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, speech therapist e.t.c.

Causes: It is not certain what causes autism but it is likely both genetics and environment play a role. Researchers have identified a number of genes associated with the disorder. Some studies suggest autism could result from the disruption of normal brain development early in fetal development caused by defects in genes that control brain growth and that regulate how neurons communicate with each other. These finding are however preliminary and require further study.

Treatment: There is no cure for autism. Therapies and behavioral interventions are designed to remedy specific symptoms and can bring about substantial improvement. The ideal treatment plan coordinates therapies and interventions that target core symptoms of autism i.e. impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and non-verbal communication and obsessive or repetitive routines and interests. Most professionals agree that the earlier the intervention, the better. Special schooling may be needed. Medications like antidepressant may be prescribed to handle symptoms of anxiety and depressions. For many children, autism symptoms improve with treatment and with age. Some children with autism grow up to lead normal or near –normal lives. During adolescence some children with autism may become depressed or experience behavioral problems. Parents of such children should be ready to adjust treatment for their child as needed. About 50% have learning disabilities but some are very intelligent and may even be gifted in specific areas e.g. musical ability, calculating ability, rote memory may be highly developed