Words: Dr Narayan C DESHPANDE One of my good, old teachers of clinical medicine would often articulate, in his impeccable Queen’s English, that the abdomen is a ‘temple of surprises.’ The abdomen is unquestionably a difficult-to-fathom ‘customer’ — it is not just the abdominal pain, or colic, which starts and ends that matters. The whole

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Anxiety, in simple terms, is related to changes that occur in the body when the mind sees a threat, or challenge. The threat can be real, or imaginary — also, most changes that occur in the body, are primarily due to anxiety, or stressful disquiet. They are caused by the release

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning — and, behavioural abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. These include memory, language skills, visual perception, problem solving, self-management, and the ability to focus and pay attention. Some people with

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Hair loss is not just a cosmetic problem; it is actually a medical disorder. It not only affects one’s self-confidence, it can also ‘hijack’ one’s career. Research suggests that people with hair loss don’t get promotions on time. Studies suggest that certain cells [stem cells] that can send molecular signals to

Words: Dr Narayan C DESHPANDE A 2014 report, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, was primarily intended to better inform doctors about obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD]. The report  quoted Dr Jon E Grant, MD, a psychiatrist at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, US, illustrating the case of a nineteen-year-old man who

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Sickness of the mind, or body, reveals how our systems work — and, why loss of equilibrium often leads to a breakdown. To bring a sense of measure to this component, we’d draw on a wealth of information related to the latest biological, biochemical and medical findings, especially in our age

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is a common disorder in kids. The word, eczema, comes from the Greek, for ‘to boil, or flow out.’ The expression is, of course, used for a group of skin conditions that show a pattern — with redness, itching, serum-filled blisters, crusting and scaling. Atopic eczema is

Words: Dr Loredana ORTIZ I was having a chat with a close friend, the other day. We were discussing cancer. She asked me what I would do if I had cancer and how I would go about with its treatment. The following is what occurred to me, I hope it proves helpful in educating and

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Asthma comes from the Greek word, aazein, which means, “to exhale with open mouth; to gasp.” It is this typical feeling in asthma that makes its ‘victims’ run out of breath. Literally. Asthma is a psychosomatic disorder — it is triggered by allergens [allergy-causing substances], dysfunctional relationships and emotional, or psychological,