Depression has been a scourge of mankind since the dawn of ages. Vivid images from historical and religious texts describe sufferers of the illness we now know as depression. An -equal opportunity- illness, it exempts no one based on race, sex, creed, religion, social status, or nation of origin. It affects one in five of us and its potentially lethal outcome--suicide--is the third leading cause of death among American teenagers. What is this illness that costs us $44 billion each year? What does it look like? Is it moodiness? Is it the result of a character flaw? Can we just -snap out of...

Written from a patient's perspective, this book provides timely information about how to obtain and maintain the highest quality of life possible while living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis--together known as inflammatory bowel disease--are chronic illnesses of unknown origin. The inflammation within the intestinal tract (within the colon in ulcerative colitis, and anywhere from the mouth to the anus in Crohn disease) leads to some or all of the following clinical symptoms--diarrhea (with or without blood), abdominal pain, fever, and fatigue....

At least one of every four people in America has had some experience with addiction--either personally or through a family member. Addiction and its consequences cost billions of dollars each year in direct medical costs, lost productivity, accidents, crime, and corruption. Yet as a disease, addiction is still largely misunderstood.

Starting with the question -what is addiction?- Elizabeth Connell Henderson takes the reader through the many facets of this disorder. She examines the effects of addictive substances on the brain and reviews each of the major classes of substances. In the...

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Twenty years ago panic disorder was often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. Its symptoms frequently mimicked non-psychiatric diseases, making it a mystery to both doctors and patients. Sufferers filled emergency rooms and doctors' offices and endured countless general examinations that revealed nothing.

In Understanding Panic and Other Anxiety Disorders, Benjamin Root, a practicing psychiatrist since 1986, gathers the very latest research and news on the newest...

Hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, has many causes, including several viruses, a host of chemicals and drugs, bacteria, diseases of the immune system, inherited factors, and herbs.

For most of the population -hepatitis- refers to a disease caused by viruses, and viral hepatitis is the major concern of this book. However many of the nonviral types also are mentioned.

Every year, about 140,000 new cases of hepatitis A occur in the United States, and perhaps over a million around the world. Because some who are infected do not become ill, the statistics are perhaps ten times...

For decades, while other cancers grabbed the headlines, colorectal cancer was quietly ignored. The lifetime risk of colorectal cancer in the general population is 2.5 to 5 percent. This means that twenty-five to fifty out of one thousand people will be stricken by this disease. Although data show that in America colorectal cancer incidence and mortality have been waning in recent decades, cancers of the colon and rectum still cause approximately 56,000 deaths annually. About 140,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

It is plainly evident that colon cancer constitutes a large portion...

Sunlight and gravity cause facial aging. Lasers enable safe and predictable resurfacing to smooth facial wrinkles as well as surgery to remove aging tissue from eyelids while minimizing bruising. Lasers can also eliminate excess blood vessels and unwanted hair, and erase tattoos without scarring.

Laser surgery must be performed with great precision and care. Ideally, it should provide satisfactory improvement of one's appearance and do so with no adverse side effects. It is a complement to such non-laser surgeries as face-lift.

Understanding Cosmetic Laser...

In the United States, eighteen percent of women, six percent of men, and four percent of children suffer from migraine headaches. All races are affected, although, for reasons which are unknown, whites are more likely than African Americans to be afflicted with the condition, and Asian Americans are least often migraine sufferers. Migraine is an inherited condition-many families can trace it back for generations-and it has enormous economic and social consequences, both to individual sufferers, and to the society as a whole. The cost to the U.S. society...

In the United States, eighteen percent of women, six percent of men, and four percent of children suffer from migraine headaches. All races are affected, although, for reasons which are unknown, whites are more likely than African Americans to be afflicted with the condition, and Asian Americans are least often migraine sufferers. Migraine is an inherited condition-many families can trace it back for generations-and it has enormous economic and social consequences, both to individual sufferers, and to the society as a whole. The cost to the U.S. society...

What measures can parents and advocates take to insure that people who have mental retardation live full, rewarding lives from infancy to old age?

Understanding Mental Retardation explores a diverse group of disorders from their biological roots to the everyday challenges faced by this special population and their families. With parents and those who care for people who have mental retardation in mind, Patricia Ainsworth and Pamela C. Baker write in a style that is at once accessible, informative, and sympathetic to the concerns of those affected.

The authors provide practical...