Lowell T. Duncan (Editor)

Series: Advances in Health and Disease
BISAC: HEA039000

Advances in Health and Disease. Volume 16 first discusses iliopsoas, is a complex musculotendinous unit that acts primarily as a hip flexor, but it is also involved in pelvic stability and trunk balance. Although iliopsoas disorders are one of the most common causes of anterior hip pain in young athletes and active people, tendinopathy may also be described in elderly patients after total hip replacement.

The authors go on to discuss, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a significant enteric pathogen of public health concern that causes toxin-mediated diarrhea in humans. CDI is commonly reported among hospital in-patients undergoing prolonged antibiotic therapy, which disrupts normal gut microflora.

Additionally, schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease caused by trematodes of the genus Schistosoma, is examined. After malaria, schistosomiasis remains the most prevalent tropical disease in the world. Despite significant efforts to control schistosomiasis, the disease remains of considerable public health and economic importance in many developing countries.

The authors describe the clinical and pathological manifestations of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza as experienced firsthand in over a decade of infection in West Africa, and emphasize effective control measures.

A concise summary of pediatric post-laminectomy kyphosis is provided via a discussion of the following areas: the background and pathophysiology of how post-laminectomy kyphosis occurs in a pediatric population, risk factors for kyphosis, methods of prevention and eventual treatment if the kyphotic deformity progresses, and relevant studies of post-laminectomy kyphosis in post-tumor resection and post-spinal cord injury.

A clinical and histopathological overview of subependymal giant cell astrocytomas, including symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and genetic, is also provided.

Later, the authors explore mucositis, inflammatory and/or ulcerative lesions of the oral and/or gastrointestinal system. It is one of the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy used in cancer treatment.

Similarly explored is inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is a chronic inflammatory condition of the intestines with an incompletely understood pathophysiology. IBD encompasses gut inflammation which leads to changes in neutrally-controlled functions of the gut including abdominal pain, cramps, urgency to defecate, and diarrhea.

The penultimate chapter focuses on flat foot, a common postural disorder of lower extremity in children. It may occur during the growth and developmental period of children, and has been found to normally reduce with age.

The aim of the closing study is to investigate the occurrence of differences in flexible flatfoot in adolescents who have trained various sports (football, swimming, basketball, team handball, karate) in comparison to the untrained adolescents.

(Imprint: Nova Medicine and Health)