The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a screening tool called the Listing of Impairments to identify claimants who are so severely impaired that they cannot work at all and thus immediately qualify for benefits. In this report, the IOM makes several recommendations for improving SSA's capacity to determine disability benefits more quickly and efficiently using the Listings.
This book explains the pharmacological relationships between the various systems in the human body. It offers a comprehensive overview of the pharmacology concerning the autonomic, central, and peripheral nervous systems. Presenting up-to-date information on chemical mediators and their significance, it highlights the therapeutic aspects of several diseases affecting the cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, gastrointestinal, endocrinal, and hematopoietic systems. The book also includes drug therapy for microbial and neoplastic diseases. It also comprises sections on immunopharmacology, dermatological, and ocular pharmacology providing valuable insights into these emerging and recent topics. Covering the diverse groups of drugs acting on different systems, the book reviews their actions, clinical uses, adverse effects, interactions, and subcellular mechanisms of action. It is divided into 11 parts, subdivided into several chapters that evaluate the basic pharmacological principles that govern the different types of body systems. This book is intended for academicians, researchers, and clinicians in industry and academic institutions in pharmaceutical, pharmacological sciences, pharmacy, medical sciences, physiology, neurosciences, biochemistry, molecular biology and other allied health sciences.
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a broad category of lung diseases that includes more than 150 disorders characterized by scarring or fibrosis of the lungs. In Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Interstitial Lung Disease: A Clinical Guide, renowned experts provide a state-of-the-art overview of the problems seen by physicians in the clinical management of ILDs. Divided into two sections, the first part provides and update on general issues and introduces both interstitial lung disease and associated pulmonary hypertension. A detailed analysis of the pathology of the various interstitial lung diseases is also provided. The second part addresses specific categories of disease. Bronchiolitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and other conditions are covered, and the use of inspiratory and expiratory high resolution CT scan is discussed as well. This important new text is an invaluable resource for the practicing physician who must be aware of the broad and troubling manifestations of interstitial lung disease.
This open access book focuses on the molecular mechanism of congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, offering new insights into the development of pulmonary circulation and the ductus arteriosus. It describes in detail the molecular mechanisms involved in the development and morphogenesis of the heart, lungs and ductus arteriosus, covering a range of topics such as gene functions, growth factors, transcription factors and cellular interactions, as well as stem cell engineering technologies. The book also presents recent advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanism of lung development, pulmonary hypertension and molecular regulation of the ductus arteriosus. As such, it is an ideal resource for physicians, scientists and investigators interested in the latest findings on the origins of congenital heart disease and potential future therapies involving pulmonary circulation/hypertension and the ductus arteriosus.
NORD Guide to Rare Disorders is a comprehensive, practical, authoritative guide to the diagnosis and management of more than 800 rare diseases. The diseases are discussed in a uniform, easy-to-follow format--a brief description, signs and symptoms, etiology, related disorders, epidemiology, standard treatment, investigational treatment, resources, and references.The book includes a complete directory of orphan drugs, a full-color atlas of visual diagnostic signs, and a Master Resource List of support groups and helpful organizations. An index of symptoms and key words offers physicians valuable assistance in finding the information they need quickly.
This book serves as a pocket-sized resource to aid with the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease in the inpatient setting. Containing up-to-date information from guidelines and clinical trials, this book is the only handbook-style reference on cardiac care designed specifically for the hospitalist. The first section of the book covers cardiac pathology with an emphasis on evidence-based and guideline-based approaches to patient care. Each chapter focuses on a specific cardiovascular disease state such as acute coronary syndrome, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary hypertension, and aortic disease. The second section examines the differential diagnoses and recommended workup for common cardiac chief complaints including chest pain, palpitations, syncope, and dyspnea. The third and final section discusses indications and interpretation of commonly used cardiac procedures and imaging modalities. This book provides a concise review over a broad range of cardiovascular disease states in an accessible handbook-style to aid with the care of these patients. The Handbook of Inpatient Cardiology is an essential resource for physician hospitalists caring for cardiac patients on the medical ward in addition to cardiology physicians and trainees, affiliate providers, and students.
This volume focuses on current evidence-based pharmacological treatments of various forms of pulmonary hypertension and provides a comprehensive review of the latest developments in this area. The first part of the book covers the definition, classification, pathophysiology, pathology, biomarkers and animal models of the disease, thus laying the conceptual basis for what follows. The middle section provides an overview of the established therapies, such as calcium channel blockers, prostanoids, endothelin receptor antagonists, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors and inhaled nitric oxide. The last section explores novel pathways and emerging therapeutic approaches including soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators, Rho-kinase inhibitors, inhibitors of serotonin receptors and transporters, peptide growth factors, vasoactive peptides, modulators of redox equilibrium and cyclic nucleotide homeostasis, as well as immunosuppressive and anti-proliferative agents. Particular attention is given to the clinical applications of these experimental therapies, that are on the horizon. The book thus spans the continuum from basic science to clinical applications.
Detailing state-of-the-art developments in the various aspects of primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), this practical reference explores the history, most current scientific concepts, and treatments of this disease. Includes new advances not yet formally published! Written by nearly 30 of the top international experts in the field, Primary Pulmonary Hypertension addresses the general histological features of the normal and hypertensive pulmonary vasculature and the pathology of PPH discusses etiological possibilities of pathogenesis, common morphological features, and findings in experimental models examines risks factors for PPH and looks separately at familial PPH and PPH in children presents an approach to the differential diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension, emphasizing the recognition of PPH elucidates the invasive and noninvasive modalities available for obtaining qualitative and quantitative hemodynamic data for the diagnosis of PPH covers a variety of therapeutic options and much more!
The heart and lung are intricately linked. When the heart is affected by disease, the lungs will often show some related pathological or clinical conditions and vice versa. Pulmonary heart disease is by definition a condition when the lungs cause the heart to fail. The left ventricle in combination with the other structures in the “left heart” pumps blood throughout the body. The right ventricle (and structures of the “right heart”) pumps blood to the lungs where it is oxygenated and returned to the left heart for distribution. In normal circumstances, the right heart pumps blood into the lungs without any resistance. The lungs usually have minimal pressure and the right heart easily pumps blood through. However when there is lung disease present, like emphysema, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) or pulmonary hypertension- the small blood vessels become very stiff and rigid. The right ventricle is no longer able to push blood into the lungs and eventually fails. This is known as pulmonary heart disease. Pulmonary heart disease is also known as right heart failure or cor pulmonale. The chief cause of right heart failure is the increase in blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary artery).
The value of echocardiography in the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected acute pulmonary embolism.- New developments in the thrombolytic therapy of venous thrombosis.- Mechanism of blood coagulation. Newer aspects of anticoagulant and antithrombotic therapy.MR-angiography in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.Scintigraphy-ventilation/perfusion scanning and imaging of the embolus.- Clinical course and prognosis of acute pulmonary embolism.- The molecular mechanisms of inherited thombophilia.
