Articles
Focus on Addison’s disease
Description Addison's disease is an endocrine or hormonal disorder that occurs in all age groups and affects men and women equally. Addison's disease occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce enough of the hormone cortisol and, in some c...
Focus on Asthma
Description Asthma is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath and coughing. The coughing...
Focus on Bronchiectasis
Description Bronchiectasis is a condition where the bronchial tubes of your lungs are permanently damaged, widened, enlarged and thickened. These damaged air passages allow bacteria and mucus to build up in your lungs. This results in frequen...
Focus on Cardiomyopathy
Description Cardiomyopathy is a condition where the heart muscle is abnormal. The main types of cardiomyopathy include dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy makes it harder for your heart to pump and deliver blood...
Focus on Cardiac Dysrhythmia
Description Heart rhythm problems occur when the electrical impulses that coordinate your heartbeat do not work properly, causing your heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly. Heart arrhythmias may feel like a fluttering or racing ...
Focus on Cardiac Failure
Description Heart failure, sometimes known as congestive heart failure, occurs when your heart muscle doesn't pump blood as well as it should. Certain conditions, such as narrowed arteries in your heart (coronary artery disease) or high blood p...
Focus on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Description COPD is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. It is caused by damage to the lungs over many years and is a progressive disease that gets worse over time. It includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. COPD is a condition ...
Focus on Coronary Artery Disease
Description Heart disease is a result of plaque build-up in your coronary arteries, a condition called atherosclerosis, that leads to blockages. The arteries, which start out smooth and elastic, become narrow and rigid, restricting blood f...
Focus on Crohn's disease
Description Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It causes inflammation of the lining of your digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition. Inflammation cause...
Focus on Diabetes
Description Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism, which is the way the body uses digested food for growth and energy. Most of the food people eat is broken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood. Glucose is the main source of fu...
Focus on Epilepsy
Description Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures (convulsions) over time. It is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain. Epilepsy means the same thing as "seizure disorders". Seizures are episodes o...
Focus on Glaucoma
Description Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the eye’s optic nerve. It is often associated with a build-up of pressure inside the eye. Glaucoma tends to be inherited and may not show up until later in life. The increased press...
Focus on Haemophilia
Description Haemophilia is a rare disorder in which your blood doesn't clot normally because it lacks sufficient blood-clotting proteins (clotting factors). If you have haemophilia, you may bleed for a longer time after an injury than you wo...
Focus on Hyperlipidaemia
Description Lipid is another word for fat. Lipids are easily stored in the body and serve as a source of energy. Cholesterol and triglycerides are lipids. When the concentration of triglycerides or cholesterol in your blood is too high, it i...
Focus on Hypertension
Description High blood pressure is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease. Blood pressure is determined both...
Focus on Hyperthyroidism
Description Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland is overactive and makes excessive amounts of thyroid hormone. The thyroid gland is an organ located in the front of your neck which releases hormones that control you...
Focus on Hypothyroidism
Description The thyroid gland is found in the front of the neck below the larynx (voice box) and has two lobes, one on each side of the windpipe. The thyroid is one of the endocrine glands, special groups of cells that make hormones. Hormo...
Focus on Multiple Sclerosis
Description Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the world’s most common neurological diseases. Nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are surrounded by a layer of protein called myelin. This layer protects the nerve and helps electrical si...
Focus on Parkinson's Disease
Description Parkinson's disease is a chronic and progressive movement disorder, meaning that symptoms continue and worsen over time. Parkinson’s involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. Parkinso...
Focus on Rheumatoid Arthritis
Description Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks itself, causing chronic joint inflammation. While it primarily affects joints, it can also cause inflammation of organs as the disease gets worse. People w...
Focus on Systemic Lupus Erythematous
Description Lupus is an autoimmune disease characterised by acute and chronic inflammation of various tissues of the body. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The immu...
Focus on Ulcerative Colitis
Description Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). A chronic disease of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that causes inflammation and sores, called ulcers, on the inner lining of the large intestine. Crohn's disease and ...