Dyslexia is a language-based disorder that is characterized by difficulty with decoding single words. This difficulty is normally a reflection of the individuals inability to properly phonological process words. It is important to note that dyslexia has nothing to do with any sort of visual impairment, and that they can severly hamper an individual’s ability to read. Dyslexia includes the inability to: – Name letters – Read words and/or sentences – Recognize words directly (even if the individual can sound them out) The different forms of dyslexia are most likely directly related to the different brain regions that are affect; most theories focus on the non-primary area that are located in the frontal lobe and temporal lobe of the brain. Dyslexia symptoms vary greatly on the area of the brain that is affected but any symptoms that lead to complications with the above listed inabilities are to be taken seriously. Originally Dyslexia was defined as «a difficulty with reading and writing that could not be explained by general intelligence». One general way to test for dyslexia is to compare the reading and writing abilities of an individual in relation to their general intelligence and then taking that data and comparing it with a general population. For a last quick note, there is a growing list of notable people who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. To name a few: Orlando Bloom(actor), Tom Cruise(actor), Walt Disney(producer), Albert Einstein(scientist), and even the gorgeous actresss Salma Hayek. Take a look at what these individuals have accomplished and don’t let dyslexia hold you down!

Many people may not take notice of diabetes symptoms because so many of them don’t seem serious enough to attach to an actual disease. Feelings of nausea, for instance, are felt by so many people so often and for such a wide variety of reasons that most people never even think to associate it with diabetes. And because we all seem to be working longer hours than ever before and having to get up earlier in an attempt to avoid spending an hour or two in traffic, feelings of fatigue and tiredness are usually associated with the price of living in the 21st century. Even the need to urinate more frequently usually goes unnoticed. The fact is, however, that all of these can point to the onset of diabetes. One of the problems associated with recognizing diabetes symptoms is that the Type I version of the disease builds gradually. The first thing you may notice is the tiredness. While precious few of us don’t experience occasional bouts of fatigue, diabetes-related tiredness tends to be more noticeable. For one thing, the tiredness isn’t occasional; it lingers on and on. Even so, it may be very easy to ignore the severity of the fatigue and fail to associate it with diabetes. Very often, a diabetes patient won’t begin to question his health until subsequent symptoms appear. The extreme fatigue begins to be accompanied by frequent thirst. Not just the usual kind of thirst where you may finish off a 20 ounce bottle in less than an hour, but an unusual thirst where you may go through two or more 20 ounce bottles in an hour. But even a sudden spike in thirst can often be attributed to something else, such as perhaps the heat. Less likely to be so casually ignored, however, is one of the more extreme diabetes symptoms. Many patients experience feelings of intense hunger while they are losing weight. This is a symptom that is not typical of normalcy. Most people who are not on a diet and who are eating regularly don’t feel continually hungry while also losing weight. At this point, most people who have been ignoring other symptoms sit up and take notice. Additional diabetes symptoms that people tend to take notice of include blurred vision, frequent infections and sores that either take a long time to heal or don’t heal at all. One of the problems in diagnosing diabetes is that not everybody experiences the same symptoms. Another problem is that symptoms can vary depending on whether you are suffering from Type I or Type II diabetes. Although both types share certain symptoms such as frequent urination, dry mouth and increased thirst, there are other symptoms that are usually unique to each type. For instance, weight loss with continued hunger is primarily associated with Type I. On the other hand, leg pain and yeast infections are common symptoms of Type II.

With so many dangers associated with smoking, especially the correlation between smoking and the development of lung cancer, it is amazing to see how many people continue to voluntarily take part in this activity! Why is it that these mostly mature, reasonably intelligent men and women of every nationality allow such a small object to have so much control over their lives? You’d think it would be easy to just say “NO” to this tiny little death machine, but in reality it just isn’t so. Why? Because smoking is a habit and habits are hard to break. Interestingly even efforts to raise the price of a pack of cigarettes have failed to slow the demand. And even though they aren’t cheap, cigarettes are very easy to buy, which makes it even harder to break this habit. Smoking is the number one contributor to lung cancer. Besides causing lung cancer, cigarette smoking can cause other health-related problems including emphysema, bronchitis, and heart disease. Combine cigarette smoking with excess weight, stress, and a sedentary lifestyle, and a person who smokes literally becomes a ticking time bomb. Here are some interesting bits of information about smoking and lung cancer. Any amount of smoking can ultimately cause lung cancer, but how long you have been smoking, how deeply you inhale, and how many cigarettes you smoke on a regular basis all impact the development of lung cancer. It goes without saying that people who smoke a pack or more a day and who have smoked most of their lives are significantly increasing the likelihood that lung cancer will develop. Quitting smoking may not stop lung cancer from developing, but doing so still is highly advisable. You immediately lower your risk of developing lung cancer the moment you stop (but only when you stop for good). The body will go into repair mode within a day or two after you stop. It’s not possible to determine whether the damage that has been done internally can be corrected, but stopping is worth the gamble. Women are just as much at risk of developing lung cancer from smoking as men are, assuming equivalent smoking patterns and history. When it comes to lung cancer, men generally get most of the attention. There are more cases of men with smoking-related lung cancer than there are women, but don’t let this statistic fool you. Women are in danger too. In fact, more women die each year from smoking-related lung cancer than from breast cancer. Passive smoking can also cause lung cancer, even in people who do not smoke. Passive smoking is the same as inhaling second-hand smoke. If you smoke, be considerate to others who don’t. Don’t smoke in enclosed spaces such as homes or cars. This is especially important around small children who don’t even realize the dangers they’re being exposed to. If a pregnant woman smokes, her unborn baby smokes too! And finally smoking is the cause of 90% of the cases of lung cancer. That alone should keep you from starting!

Cardiomyopathy is a rare heart muscle disease over the world, but not in Africa where it is one of the major causes of heart failure, according to experts that reviewed all available cardiomyopathy studies performed in Africa, along with all the information about the causes and types of heart muscle disease in Africa, where 10 per cent of the world’s population lives. A 10 per cent to 17 per cent of cardiac problems found through autopsies in South Africa and Uganda, and 17 per cent to 48 per cent of heart failure diagnoses in many parts of Africa are due to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which is an enlargement of the entire heart, explain researchers. In the United States, 4 to 8 per 100,000 people are affected by DCM, but African overall incidence is unknown, because the corresponding studies have not been made yet. Researchers’ findings show that Peripartum cardiomyopathy has a very high incidence throughout Africa and Nigeria. This illness can cause heart failure and it develops between the last month of pregnancy and the first five months after childbirth. Peripartum cardiomyopathy incidence in the US is 1 in 15,000 deliveries; meanwhile the incidence in South Africa is 1 in 1,000 cases. DCM is caused by various factors, under generally accepted African theory. These include untreated high blood pressure, infective and toxic agents, inappropriate immunologic reactions, nutritional deficiencies, and genetic factors. According to experts, it is important to do more research to understand the underlying reasons for Africa’s high cardiomyopathy rate, and prevent or reduce it.