Parsteiner Blog

Archive for July, 2010

What is Hip Dysplasia?

The hip joint consists of a ‘ball” on the femoral bone, and a “socket” on the hip bone. Canine hip dysplasia simply defined is when a dog’s hips do not develop normally and the ball does not fit snugly into the socket.

What Causes Hip Dysplasia?

While there is no conclusive proof of the cause of hip dysplasia, there are 2 general schools of thought about its cause – 1) genetic or 2) environmental.

These two differing viewpoints often place the dog breeders at odds with the dog owners, causing each to blame the other for the problem.

Genetic: The puppy is born with the problem

Environmental: The puppy is too heavy resulting in excessive growth and/or over or under exercising a puppy during its growth phase resulting in developmental problems.

The most common theory is that hip dysplasia is indeed genetic. Most breeders have their breeding dogs’ hips rated by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) or Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program (Penn-HIP), or various other international orthopedic groups. We could discuss the merits of both theories, but it doesn’t change the facts. If your dog has hip dysplasia, you need to deal with it.

When Does a Dog Get Hip Dysplasia?

If you subscribe to the theory that it is genetic, they are born with it. Dogs that have severe hip dysplasia often begin to have problems as puppies. Sometimes, the hip dysplasia does not cause pain for the dog, so they do not show signs of it until they develop arthritis in their hip joints. Some dogs that are not as severe can live out their entire lives with few, if any symptoms.

What are the Symptoms of Hip Dysplasia?

There are a number of symptoms of hip dysplasia. Some dog owners only say that their dog didn’t walk right. Others will say they saw no symptoms at all, or just that their dog began to limp. Following is a list of common symptoms, of which your dog may have a couple and not have hip dysplasia.

Bunny Hopping: The dog tends to use both hind legs together, rather than one at a time. This occurs when the dog is running, or going up stairs.

Side Sit: Also called lazy sit, slouch or frog sit. When the dog sits, its legs are not positioned bent and close to the body. They can be loose and off to one side, or one or both legs may be straight out in front.

Sway Walk: Also called a loose walk. When the dog is walking, the back end sways back and forth because the hips are loose.

Unusual Laying Position: Legs are straight out and off to the side when the dog is laying on its stomach or legs are straight out behind the dog. (All dogs lay with their legs behind them on occasion, many dogs with hip dysplasia lay like this all the time.)

Limping: The dog may favor one hind leg or the other, and may alternate legs that it is favoring.

Quiet Puppy: Puppies who are already in pain from hip dysplasia tend to be very good puppies. They do not rough house the way that normal puppies do. They also tend to sleep for a long time after playing or going for a walk. Some owners describe their puppy with hip dysplasia as the best puppy they’ve ever had.

Dog Doesn’t Jump: Not only do they not jump on you, they seem to pull themselves up by their front end onto furniture as opposed to jumping up.

Underdeveloped Hind Quarters and Overdeveloped Chest: This is caused by the failure to use the hind legs normally and jump. The dog also may actually be shifting weight forward.

Diagnosing Hip Dysplasia

The only way to diagnose hip dysplasia is with x-rays. However, I must note here that you should treat the dog and not the x-rays. Some dogs with seemingly mild hip dysplasia are in a lot of pain, while other dogs with apparent severe hip dysplasia do not display symptoms.

What Can Be Done for My Dog?

If you have had x-rays taken of your dog’s hips at your regular vet, you may have been referred to an orthopedic surgeon. The surgeon is going to recommend various surgical options for your dog. I am going to give you a very brief overview of these surgeries. You will need to discuss your dog’s options with the surgeon. They will provide the details of each surgical option. Some people are able to treat their dog with nutritional supplements and avoid surgery. Ultimately, it will be your decision to determine the best treatment for your dog.

Surgical Options:

Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis (JPS) – This surgery is performed on puppies under 20 weeks of age, generally when the puppy is neutered or spayed. It shows great promise as a preventive measure, by altering the pelvic growth. This surgery has a short recovery period, but is generally done before a puppy can be diagnosed. However, once you’ve lived with hip dysplasia, it may prove to be worthwhile for a puppy considered at risk for developing hip dysplasia.

Dorsal Acetabular Rim (DAR) – This surgery consists of bone grafts being taken from other areas of the pelvis to build up the rim on the hip socket (cup). The idea is for the femoral head to have a deeper socket to fit into. It’s relatively new, so there is some question as to how a dog will do into old age – there aren’t many older dogs that have had it done.
Triple Pelvic Ostectomy (TPO) – This surgery involves cutting the bone around the hip socket and repositioning the socket for a better fit with the femoral head. The bones are plated back together so they heal in the correct alignment. This surgery is performed on young dogs before they have finished growing.

Total Hip Replacement (THR) – This surgery consists of replacing the hip joint similar to a human hip replacement. A new cup is usually attached to the hip bone, and the femoral head is cut off the leg bone and an implant is inserted into the leg bone. This surgery is done on more mature dogs that have finished growing. Due to the size of the implants, this surgery is done on larger dogs. Previously, all artificial hip components were cemented in place. More recently, cementless hip replacements are being performed.

Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) – Also know as femoral head and neck excision. This surgery consists of removing the femoral head of the leg bone to eliminate the pain of hip dysplasia. The dog’s body will then develop scar tissue to create an artificial hip joint. Long considered only appropriate for smaller dogs or as a salvage operation for a failed THR, it has become increasingly popular for larger dogs.

Non-Surgical or Conservative Management Option

Many people choose to have surgery performed on their dog only as a last resort. Some are able to manage their dog’s hip dysplasia with supplements, acupuncture, chiropractic care, exercise and weight management. Sometimes, the puppy will show signs of pain from hip dysplasia, and once it is done growing and the muscles are fully developed, they seem to “go into remission”, developing signs of hip problems again as the dog ages. Surgical options are still available to you if the conservative path is unsuccessful.

For additional information on hip dysplasia, please visit MyPoorDog.com.

Antibodies for tissue transglutaminase found in the intestines of blood test negative celiac disease patients are also found in the intestine and brain in people with brain disease due to gluten. Gluten ataxia is a brain disorder characterized by balance disturbances not explained by any other cause but due to the ingestion of gluten. The disorder responds to a gluten free diet if irreversible brain damage has not already occurred. Calcifications can be seen in the brain on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Deposits of gluten related antibodies have been found in brain tissue obtained on biopsy and autopsy specimens. Mario Hadjivassiliou, M.D. from Sheffield England recommends gluten ataxia be added to a list of gluten related diseases that includes peripheral neuropathy and the skin disorder dermatitis herpetiformis. He has called for a new paradigm to be accepted where celiac disease is not considered primarily as an intestinal disease.

Dr. Hadjivassiliou and colleagues recently published a report of nine patients with gluten ataxia compared with seven patients with ataxia due to other causes. They found tissue transglutaminase IgA deposition on jejunum intestinal tissue on all nine patients with gluten ataxia but none of the control patients. Brain tissue from an autopsy of one patient with gluten ataxia was also found to have IgA tTG deposits in the cerebellum, pons and medulla of the brain but not in a control brain.

Previous studies have found negative celiac blood tests in patients with gluten ataxia suggesting that they may not have celiac though they had a gluten related disease. In light of a new report that blood test negative celiac disease can have intestinal tTG and advanced intestinal damage it is curious to wonder if the gluten ataxia patients with blood tests negative are seronegative celiacs. It is increasingly appearing that there is a very broad spectrum of gluten related disease and there are non-celiac gluten related symptoms that include the brain, skin, musculoskeletal system as well as the gut.

Many patients I have seen with gluten sensitivity describe symptoms of balance difficulty, concentration problems or “brain fog”, headaches, and neuropathy and a few report symptoms such as “bug crawling” sensations and strange muscle twitches. These symptoms commonly improve with a gluten-free diet and return with intentional or accidental gluten exposure. For some, intestinal symptoms or skin rashes occur but not all. The concept of gluten as a cause of brain symptoms is still not one widely known or accepted by many doctors, especially in the United States. However in Europe, especially England, Germany and Scandinavian countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand the gluten brain-gut connection is more accepted.

Casein causing brain symptoms is also not commonly accepted by doctors in the U.S. though many lay public organizations and support groups have found a casein-free diet to be associated with improvement of brain function as well as helping autism.

What is needed is more openness of U.S. doctors to the role of diet and foods in such symptoms and diseases and much more scientific research. I ask you to join me on the journey of the food, bacteria, gut-brain-joint-skin connection to disease and health.

References:

Autoantibody targeting of brain and intestinal transglutaminase in gluten ataxia. Hadjivassiliou M. et. al. Neurology 2006; 66:373-377.

Endomysial antibody-negative coeliac disease: clinical characteristics and intestinal autoantibody deposits. Gut 2006; 55:1746-1753.

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Once upon a time, there was a wife preparing to go on holiday, but she feared for her husband’s fidelity when left with the temptation of their Swedish au pair, so she left an apple on the au pair’s bed. Her husband was, after all, a doctor. Ever since apples were given a bad rep in the Garden of Eden, marketing gurus have been trying to recover the brand image and sell the fruit. The Beatles probably did more than anyone to put things back on the straight and narrow. For an all-too-brief moment, the record label was the fountainhead of some great music. Then it lived on in mothballs as the Fab Four fought over ownership of their back catalog.

After a few years, by some unknown means, the mantle of greatness was passed to Steve Jobs who, if you believe his fans’ blogs, walks on water every Tuesday just because he can. This candle of leadership has flickered in the wind, but Apple has now decided to confirm its status as a shaper of culture. Gone are the days when it just focused on the hardware. Now it’s all about the content. The numbers never lie. There have been more than 2 billions apps downloaded for the iPhone and iPod in the last eighteen months. That’s 6.3 million downloads a day. One of the more exciting is “Fire Up Your Sex Drive”. The developer is nothing if not inventive. He claims the app generates some powerful alpha waves. Exposing male users will enhance their sexual performance by up to 85% in less than two weeks. Presumably, the app broadcasts alpha male waves. What’s interesting is Apple’s willingness to allow its distribution. It used to have a reputation of being a little prudish. It seems some of the faux puritanism is rubbing off.

Fans also liked to think of their sport as being pure. This was athleticism elevated to art, and performance was endlessly analyzed to prove who were the best. In MLB, for example, people used to think Roger Clemens was just pleased to see his female fans. Now it turns out he was stuffing little blue pills into his locker. Indeed, the combination of steroids and Viagra seems to have been not uncommon among sportsmen. The theory is that, with the blood vessels dilated, the steroids reach the muscles faster and are taken up more efficiently. Whether you want to develop the top-heavy look favored by some football and baseball players, there’s no doubt of Viagra‘s real power to dilate arteries to good effect. Almost all men not suffering from physical incapacity or serious depression find Viagra works the first time they take it and produces consistently hard erections on all subsequent occasions. It’s a shame the manufacturers came along just a little too late to take over the “apple” brand. That image of a bite taken out of a green apple could have been the image to really launch the brand. As it is, customers have had to struggle with a foreign-sounding name. Fortunately, men have proved fast learners when it comes to passing on word of this drug’s power. It could probably have been called Xlzwp (Eden in the Serbo-Croatian language) and still have become the world’s most popular drug.

Among the spineless liberals, there’s always worry about the number of people walking around with guns. Thank God for the NRA being in support of the right of all citizens being allowed to be armed to the teeth just in case there’s a call to join a militia. We can all sleep safer in our beds. And as a perfect example of how to approach problem-solving with the help of a gun, we can’t do better than travel over to Michigan. So here comes the facts. Kathy lost her job. It was nothing exciting. Just disposing of hazardous waste. Then, about a month ago, one of her dogs took her by surprise and, with an unexpected lunge, seriously damaged her shoulder. There was just one problem. With the loss of her job, she had lost her health insurance. So what does a practical woman do when she can’t afford the treatment and she’s in severe pain?

Well, Kathy was staying with her in-laws and, as is the way of folk in small towns, they were the proud owners of some guns. As Kathy put it, the emergency room needs to see a life-threatening situation, so she decided to give them one. With impressive bravery, she took a gun and shot herself in her already injured shoulder. When the deed was done, her mother-in-law called in a shooting and the ambulance came. As she was spirited off to hospital, the police joined up the dots and concluded a self-inflicted wound.

Given the continuing opposition of the GOP to the reforms now called Obamacare, it should come as a shock to see one of the more than one million uninsured in Michigan resorting to bullets to get medical treatment. What are people to do when the pain is too severe for Tramadol on its own to bring relief? This is not a suicide attempt. This is a protest against a healthcare service that will only fix uninsured people if there’s a real emergency. Surely, in a civilized society, no one should be driven to such extreme measures. Worse, of course, is the threat she may also be prosecuted for shooting herself. That really would add insult to injury.

So there we have it. When the routine painkillers like Tramadol are just not strong enough to deaden the pain, desperation sets in. Perhaps we should look to excuse her because of the pain. People don’t always act quite so rationally when in pain. Or perhaps we should say she’s courageous and prepared to let nothing stand in the way of getting treatment. Whichever, the reality is she’s had the bullet removed and is now lined up for surgery on the damaged shoulder. While she’s waiting for the dust to settle, the hospital has said it will talk terms on installment payments, and has given her some free Tramadol to manage the pain. This is all better news for her even though the drugs may not be strong enough. We will just have to hope the pain does ease. Now the $64,000 question. If you were uninsured and in pain, how far would you go to get treatment? Kathy turned the gun on herself. Perhaps she should have committed a crime like robbery. People awaiting trial in custody are entitled to free treatment. What’s your answer?

Male enhancement underwear is the latest happening in male enhancement methods and men’s underwear. Men who have reportedly succumb to this newest male fashion trend say that wearing this type of underwear is fun and adventurous, giving a most welcome sense of excitement to the wearer. More importantly, wearing this type of underwear provides the wearer with much-needed confidence, one he might not be able to experience if he were to come out wearing ordinary underwear that shows his real, puny size.

Wearing male enhancement underwear can indeed be fun because there are so many designs to choose from, from playful colors and teasing cuts to classy forms and modest appeal. The wearer has total control over what product to wear – and there’s one for every mood and occasion! Different brands boast of several styles to consider, all with unique features and signature looks. If you are new at buying male enhancement underwear, it’s best to shop around first and compare prices and creative outputs before settling on a label.

You might be wondering why many men prefer male enhancement underwear over other more common male enhancement methods that have already established their effectiveness, such as natural male enhancement pills, patches, and lengthening equipment or devices. The answer is simple: aside from the already explained fun factor, wearing male enhancement underwear is also a lot more convenient. This is because it poses no irreversible or irreparable damage, such as impotency, erectile dysfunction, or partial or complete loss of penal sensation.

However, like any other male enhancement method in the market, the use of male enhancement underwear also has its disadvantages or hidden secrets, albeit they are of a less serious nature. For one, wearing this type of underwear may cause some discomfort, especially when the wrong size is chosen, which is likely to happen if you order online and can’t give the right measurements. Most brands use a pouch, which is then responsible for holding your thing. Smaller underwear, if forced on, may cause bulging and testicular choking due to your penis’ inability to relax in its original size. Thus, it is important to learn how to measure your maleness and to never, ever insist on wearing underwear unless it’s of the right size.

Another potential disadvantage is the existence of skin problems. Male enhancement underwear products are made of components that are different from the ones used to make ordinary underwear. This is because this type of underwear is designed to promote penile enlargement and must make use of resources that will allow the wearer to use it anytime he needs to, whether in public or in private, under water or in dry land, at night or during the day. Most products use synthetic material, which may irritate sensitive skin, triggering allergies or causing rashes. It is best to consult your doctor whether the underwear you are eyeing is safe for you.

A good deal of research and proper precautions must be taken to protect yourself from the harmful things advertisements of male enhancement underwear products do not tell you.

Prostate cancer is often treated successfully if it is caught early, but in its very early stages there may not be any visible symptoms. Prostate cancer early symptoms often don’t become apparent until the cancer has progressed enough to put pressure on the urethra. When this happens it may cause symptoms such as pain when urinating and pains in the pelvic area, although these may be caused by something completely different so do not mean you have cancer.

Some of the early prostate cancer symptoms are:

Sudden need to urinate, often at night Painful urination and/or ejaculation Irregular urine flow Blood in urine (in some rare cases) Pain in hip or pelvic area

Again, these symptoms do not mean you have cancer, as they can be caused by many other conditions. However if you do start to have these prostate cancer early symptoms occurring, then you should contact your GP who will be able to advice you whether a test or scan is required. This will be able to determine whether you have cancerous cells in the prostate gland.

If cancerous cells are detected, then depending on your age, health and progression of the tumour (which is rated using the Gleason scale) a treatment program will be recommended by your doctor. The final say in what treatment is performed is always down to the patient however. As prostate cancer is a relatively slow growing cancer that affect predominantly older men, in many cases the man dies of other causes before the prostate cancer takes effect.