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Atelectasis means part of the lung is collapsed and not getting the usual amount of air. A small area of atelectasis often causes no symptoms, but may be noted on a chest x-ray or CT scan. Ground glass changes on an imaging study usually indicate inflammation or infection in the lungs and are a different problem. A person could have both ground glass changes and atelectasis. Treatment for the ground glass changes would include medication for the infection or inflammation and deep breathing exercises to open the atelectasis.

Surgery is the most common treatment for thyroid cancer. Your surgeon will remove all of the cancer, as well as all or part of the remaining thyroid and nearby lymph nodes. How much of the thyroid is removed is determined by the size of the tumor, the type of cells that make up the cancer and how likely it is to spread.

Most people with swollen ankles have "venous insufficiency." Valves inside your veins help move blood from your feet back to your heart. When the valves are working correctly, blood flows in just one direction — back toward your heart. If the valves in the veins become leaky, it raises the pressure inside the veins. This can lead to fluid moving out of the veins into the tissues, making your ankles and legs puffy. Medical conditions such as kidney disease, heart disease or a blood clot in the leg also can raise pressure inside the veins, which can force fluid into the legs’ tissues. Some drugs, such as calcium blockers like amlodipine or nifedipine, can lead to swelling of the feet and legs.

Diet and exercise cannot shrink a hiatal hernia, but weight loss and prudent exercise can help it from getting worse. However, the main symptom related to having a hiatus hernia is acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. Lifestyle measures alone can lead to significant improvement in GERD symptoms.

Dementia is a pattern of mental decline caused by different diseases or conditions. Most commonly, dementia occurs when brain nerve cells (neurons) die, and connections between neurons are interrupted. Symptoms of dementia emerge slowly, get worse over time and limit the person's ability to function. Most often the first symptom is memory loss. Along with memory loss, a person with dementia may have trouble with complex mental tasks. They may have difficulty balancing a checkbook, driving, knowing what day it is and learning new things. They may be inattentive, and display poor judgment.  Their mood and behavior also may change. 

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are diseases in which the bone marrow does not make enough healthy stem cells, the cells that produce red and white blood cells and platelets. As a result, people with MDS don’t have enough healthy blood cells and have low blood cell counts. The abnormal stem cells also can develop into blood cancers like leukemia.

The effect of caffeine on blood pressure varies considerably. For many, even heavy use doesn’t raise it. But for some, even a small amount can significantly raise the systolic blood pressure (the top number). Most studies have been done on regular coffee. Higher consumption over a short period of time is most predictive of a spike in blood pressure. Otherwise research results looking at longer term effects of daily moderate coffee consumption have shown different results, even in people with known hypertension. 

Paralysis means lack of movement of a body part. It could affect one arm, one leg, one side of the face; both legs; or the whole body below the neck. Examples include Bell’s palsy which leads to drooping on one side of the face; a stroke could cause marked weakness in both the arm and leg on the same side of the body; or a spinal cord injury causing lack of movement of both legs or the whole body if the injury is in the neck.

Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell. The normal range of eosinophils is zero to 400 eosinophils per microliter of blood. In some laboratories up to 500 is still considered normal. Mild eosinophilia is not strictly defined. Eosinophil counts between 400 to 750 are common, and happen most often in people with allergies, asthma, eczema, or parasitic infections. Medication reactions are also a common reason for mild eosinophilia. 

Chorea is a condition in which the person has random, uncoordinated and uncontrolled movements. It looks like the person is fidgeting and restless. The muscles of the arms and legs are involved much more often than trunk or facial muscles. There are multiple underlying causes, such as from a hereditary disorder, brain injury, stroke, certain infections, or medication side effect. Finding a treatable underlying cause is the first step in management. Medications that can either deplete dopamine or block dopamine receptors can significantly improve symptoms.