Meniere’s disease is classified as an inner ear disorder that causes repeated attacks of dizziness and the discomfort of fullness from the affected ear. This is due to increase pressure of the inner ear fluids. Fluids in the inner ear chambers are constantly being produced and absorbed by the circulatory system. If there are any disturbances in the delicate relationship, there is an over production or under absorption of the fluids.

Meniere’s disease is a disorder that produces a group of symptoms: sudden attacks of whirling dizziness, tinnitus or head noise, a feeling of pressure or fullness in the ear, and a fluctuating hearing loss. While the underlying cause is not known, it is believed to result from a fluctuation in the pressure of fluid that fills the inner ear. An attack may last from a few hours to several days.

Medical Options: Treatment may vary, depending on the patient. This depends on several factors according to the cause, magnitude, and frequency of the symptoms. In order to improve the inner ear circulation and control the fluid pressure, treatment may consist of medication to stimulate the inner ear circulation. Drugs which accomplish this are vasodilating drugs (blood pressure pills) and diuretics (water pills) with anti-dizziness medication.

http://www.yourhealth.com/bin/build_r esult_doc.pl?SEARCHTERM=3DMeniere's+Disease++&page =3D/ahl/1644.html Approximately 500 cases of meningitis are caused by pneumococcus each year in Canada. In Waterloo Region, 30 cases of pneumococcal meningitis have been reported since 1990 (with 1 to 6 cases reported every year). Meningitis caused by this organism occurs as an isolated event or complication of illness in an individual.

ANSWER: Sonoma County Public Health Laboratory, 3313 Chanate Rd, Santa Rosa. Call the Tick Information Line (707) 565-4715 for general information on ticks.

Your query falls outside the scope of our mission and expertise. You may wish to visit the Web sites for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health and do a keyword search for the topics you are researching.

Heartworms are parasites, largely of dogs. They are thin 6"-8" long worms that live literally within the heart of their host.

There are a number of reports of heartworm infestation being found in cats. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to identify their presence in cats. Fortunately, it is a relatively rare disease. They are usually discovered at autopsy. And again, there is no threat in Washington State.

Yes. There are several oral products and a couple of "spot-on" products that prevent the microfilaria from living in the dog, should it be bitten by an infected mosquito. These products only need to be given once per month, a far cry from the daily regimen of former years.

Yes, but it is a harsh treatment, fraught with danger for the dog. First a medication is injected to kill the adult worms. However, as they die, they flow out of the heart and into the lung field, where they lodge in the smaller arterioles. There they cause inflammation which can be quite severe, leading to pneumonia. Also, the medication used is an arsenic derivative, which is harmful to the dog in its own right.

Answer: When there is a reduction in blood flow to heart muscle due to narrowed coronary arteries, it is like a reduction in income to a business. When that happens the business has two options: one is to find another source of income, and the second is to reduce expenses to free up more money. In the case of the heart, there are drugs that can increase the blood flow to the heart muscle, and there are other drugs to reduce the expenses or work load of the heart.

Answer: You cannot cure coronary artery disease. Without adequate medical treatment it will progress, develop long range complications such as heart failure and ultimately result in death. Angioplasty, bypass surgery and chelation therapy will not change that because none of these treatments address the underlying results of the disease, the factors that accelerate its progression, and the complications of ischemia (reduction in blood flow to heart muscle.

The clinical trials are conducted by a separate clinical team. Onyvax itself is not able to make any medical comments or to provide advice on an individual basis.

Answer. It's an infection of the gums. It starts out as plaque, an opaque film on the teeth that hardens to form calculus or tartar. As tartar accumulates, it harbors bacteria which attacks the soft tissue around the gums. This early stage gum disease is called Gingivitis. Symptoms include red swollen gums, bleeding, bad breath and sometimes, an unpleasant taste in the mouth. Untreated, Gingivitis becomes Periodontis.

Answer: Hydroxyurea therapy for pediatric sickle cell patients is in transitionzone between "experimental therapy" and "commonly accepted therapy." In comparison to adult sickle cell patients, the number of pediatric patients treated with hydroxyurea has been small. More teenagers have been treated with hydroxyurea than younger children.

ANSWER: The exact cause of Parkinson's Disease is not fully understood. Parkinson's Disease results when an important neurotransmitter in the brain (dopamine) is depleted or reaches critically low levels. With normal aging there is a measurable decline in the amounts of dopamine. It is believed that this age related decline may be "accelerated" in certain individuals by possibly outside, environmental "insults" or neurotoxins.

Answer: A zoonotic disease is a diseased passed between animals and humans. There are diseases you can get from any animal, including pets. As long as you exercise common sense then the chance of getting a disease from an opossum is slim. Do not attempt to pet or get too close to the opossum. As mentioned in the question and answer above, rabies is extremely rare in the opossum.

A malfunction in the immune system is certainly a part of Crohn's disease. This may be an inability to "turn off" the immune system after it "turns on" for an appropriate reason. Or, the immune system may "turn on" for the wrong reason. Immunosuppressive medications used to keep individuals from rejecting transplanted organs have been shown to be effective in treating Crohn's disease. These factors have led many researchers to characterize Crohn's disease as autoimmune.