Harvard Health Content API

Skin is the largest organ in the body and is made up of three layers:  the epidermis (top layer), the dermis (middle layer), and the hypodermis (bottom fatty layer).  Skin has many functions, but the main purpose is to protect your body from outside threats like toxins, germs, UV light, trauma, and changes in temperature.  Nerves in your skin allow you to sense touch, pain, hot, and cold.  Your skin is also part of the body’s immune system and contains cells that help fight off infection, and it helps regulate your body temperature through its sweat glands.  Your skin also cushions muscles and bones from injury, like when you fall.  And here is a fun fact:  your skin continuously regenerates so that you have new skin every 1 to 2 months.

The most clearly established benefit of vitamin D is that it helps the body absorb calcium and therefore promotes healthy bones. Insufficient vitamin D levels can happen if a person gets very little sun exposure or doesn’t consume enough food or fortified beverages. Low vitamin D intake can lead to Ricketts in children, soft bones (osteomalacia) at any age and osteoporosis with increased fracture risk in adults. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to other health problems, but they are not solely responsible for these problems. 

There is no specific diet known to reliably improve rheumatoid arthritis.

However, preliminary studies suggest that an “anti-inflammatory diet” (such as the Mediterranean Diet) might be helpful. This diet includes:

• fruits and vegetables

• foods with high fiber and whole grains

• beans, lentils, nuts and seeds

• fish, poultry

• olive oil

Anti-inflammatory diets typically discourage consumption of:

• highly processed foods such as prepackaged chicken nuggets, hot dogs, processed and cured meats, instant soups, and many baked goods

• foods or drinks with sweeteners, such as candy, sodas, juices, cookies

• white bread, cereals

• white pasta, white rice or foods made with refined flour

While this is an active area of research, there is no current evidence suggesting that diet alone can replace medications in controlling rheumatoid arthritis.

If the retina separates from the deeper layers of the eyeball that normally support and nourish it, the retina is said to be detached. Without this nourishment and support, the retina does not function properly, and this can cause a variety of visual symptoms. A retinal detachment needs immediate evaluation and almost always doctors recommend a surgical procedure to repair the separated layers in the back of the eye. Untreated, there is significant risk of vision loss.

Several techniques are available to repair retinal tears and to eliminate the area of separation behind the detached retina. Some options include (in some cases more than one of the options listed below may be combined):

• Pneumatic retinopexy — A bubble of special gas is injected near the area of retinal detachment to press the retina back into place.

• Scleral buckling — This procedure is designed to put gentle pressure on the white part of the eye, which helps the retina reattach.

• Vitrectomy — Part of the vitreous fluid is removed near the detachment and then replaced with sterile saline (a salt solution) or some other fluid.

• Cryotherapy — The retinal tear is sealed with a freezing probe.

Stage 0 breast cancer indicates that a patient has ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) where the cancer has not grown outside the milk ducts of the breast. If not treated, however, DCIS can progress to invasive cancer. Treatment depends on the size of the area involved, the hormone receptor status of the cancer, and the health of the patient. Many women can be successfully treated with surgery sometimes followed by radiation. Chemotherapy is generally not necessary in patients with DCIS, although hormonal therapy may be recommended to prevent recurrence.

An abnormal spot on brain imaging such as a brain CT scan or MRI can show a rim of fluid surrounding it. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is a cancer. There are other causes such as an infection or bleeding within the brain. If the image suggests the spot is actually filled with fluid, then it is more likely a brain cyst, but sometimes it can still be cancerous.

Bipolar disorder was previously known as ‘manic depression’ because it is a combination of two conditions, ‘mania’ and ‘depression’. However, this term is no longer used. Screening for depression is one component of diagnosing bipolar disorder. Some of the depression screening criteria your doctor will ask about when diagnosing bipolar disorder are sadness, loss of interest in activities, guilt, low energy, lack of concentration, poor appetite, suicidal thoughts, and feeling like you are moving very slowly.

It’s very common for people to have an occasional irregular heartbeat. A person might feel like the heart has skipped a beat or an electrocardiogram (heart tracing) shows some minor heart rate variation. These slight changes rarely mean there is a serious heart problem. But if you do feel something is not right, you should arrange for medical evaluation. This is especially true if you have any other symptoms such as lightheadedness, chest pain or shortness of breath.

Hepatomegaly means an enlarged liver. The enlargement could be temporary due to inflammation from viral hepatitis or it could be more persistent. The two most common reasons for persistent hepatomegaly are over use of alcohol and a fatty liver (known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD). The hepatomegaly can be reversed by lifestyle changes including avoiding alcohol, a healthy diet, weight loss if necessary and exercise. Without treatment, alcoholic and fatty liver disease can lead to cirrhosis of the liver.