Ladies, stand up for yourselves in the doctor's office. Millions of people are misdiagnosed each year, and many of these cases are women. Women who are less likely to speak up may put themselves at risk in an already overwhelmed clinic.

If there’s a bug going around the office and you wake up with some of the same symptoms, you’ll likely assume you’ve got it, too. Most doctors think the same way. If he or she sees three people with colds in one day, it would be an easy guess that the next person with a stuffy nose and fever has the same thing.

The problem is that a lot of conditions share symptoms, and it can be misleading if not all the symptoms show up. This makes it easy to make a misdiagnosis—as many as one in five diagnoses are incorrect or go undiagnosed.

For women, the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions include ovarian cancer, autoimmune disease and hormonal imbalances. Heart disease, for example, is more common in men. When women experience the same symptoms, especially young women, a doctor may consider stress to be the cause instead.

The best way to avoid a misdiagnosis is to share all of your symptoms. Seeing the same doctor doesn’t hurt, either. When you and your doctor know your history and get the full story, it’s harder to miss the little details that make a big difference. Finally, don’t be afraid to do some research before your appointment and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

If you don’t stand up for your health, no one will. Get the full scoop from MSNBC.

A new approach for controlling type 1 diabetes may be on the horizon.  Researchers found that some cells can transform into and regenerate beta cells, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

University of Geneva Medical School researchers induced type 1 diabetes in mice by destroying their beta cells, treating the mice with insulin injections to regulate blood glucose levels. The research team, led by professor Pedro Herrera, then monitored alpha cells for changes.

Alpha cells actually changed into active beta cells, and according to Herrera, this transformation can occur even when alpha cells are absent. Eventually the injections were no longer necessary.

Andrew Rakeman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation says this research could provide insight into treating type 1diabetes.

“Anytime you’re thinking about any type of cure or really good treatments for type 1 diabetes, you have to consider both the beta cells and the immune side,” Rakeman told Health Day.

“Reprogramming is something that can happen naturally. If one can delineate what’s causing it to happen in mice, it might be possible to find interventions to induce that to happen in humans.”

Beta cells are destroyed in individuals with diabetes because the body’s immune system recognizes the cells as foreign substances. White blood cells, responsible for defending the body against viruses, attack the beta cells, and the body can no longer produce insulin. The body may also destroy transplanted cells, leaving the individual independent on insulin therapy.

“At this point it’s unclear whether reprogrammed alpha cells would be vulnerable,” Rakeman says. “Alpha cells are not normally destroyed by the immune system...(due to cellular changes) it’s likely that they’ll appear to the immune system as beta cells.”

Research is in its early stages, and current results, though hopeful, are merely suggestive. More information is needed to determine what happens to alpha cells during transformation. The study appears in the journal Nature.

New genetic links may help doctors in the early detection of celiac disease, or celiac sprue, which is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to become intolerant of gluten.

Professor David van Heel of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry led a team of international professionals that examined genetic material from 9,451 people with celiac disease. Researchers found that people with celiac disease had disturbances in how the body’s T cells react to wheat proteins, how the thymus gland eliminates these cells, and how the body responds to viral infections.

“We now understand that many of these genetic risk factors work by altering the amounts of these immune system genes that cells make,” van Heel explained in a press release. “The data also suggests that celiac disease is made up of hundreds of genetic risk factors. We can have a good guess at nearly half of the genetic risk at present.”

Gluten is found in products made from wheat, barley, and rye. When a person with celiac eats foods that contain gluten, the villi in the small intestine are damaged or destroyed and cannot absorb nutrients. Symptoms include stomach pain, vomiting or nausea, diarrhea, and unexplained weight loss.

The only way to treat celiac disease is to adopt a gluten-free diet. If left unmanaged, it can cause malnutrition, fatigue, osteoporosis, and anemia. Understanding these risks could help doctors predict and detect celiac disease before these complications arise.

This research could provide insight into other autoimmune diseases. According to van Heel, there may be reason to believe the same immune disturbances used to detect celiac disease could also potentially be used to predict type 1 diabetes.

The study appears in the February 28 edition of Nature Genetics.

Your showerhead may be home to some very dangerous bacteria. A new study from the University of Colorado at Boulder may have you cringing rather than singing in the shower. People with compromised immune systems may want to take a bath.

Researchers studying the microbiology of water systems at 45 sites in seven different states across the U.S. found unusually high levels of bacteria in showerheads—almost 100 times more than any other place in the home. Although bacteria levels were high in all showerheads, some sample sites in the New York City and Denver areas had large amounts of Mycobacterium avium, a relative of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis and leprosy.

“If you’re getting a face full of water when you first turn your shower on, that means you are probably getting a particularly high load of Mycobacterium avium,” says study author Norman Pace, professor of biology at the University of Colorado.

Mycobacteria are found in soil, water, and decaying matter. Certain Mycobacteria, such as Mycobactrium avium, can cause digestive, lymphatic, and pulmonary infections. In the shower, these bacteria are delivered as aerosols. Particles are small enough to get into the lungs, and when inhaled or swallowed, can lead to a host of pulmonary problems.

The study, part of a bigger study that began as a class project, used DNA barcode testing to extract rRNA (bacterial DNA) from different parts of the shower and showerhead. Researchers sampled water flowing from the showerhead and obtained swab samples from the inside of the showerhead. Finally, samples were collected from water flowing out of the pipe after the showerhead was removed.

Homes with well water systems did not have Mycobacteria in their showerheads, a factor authors believe may be due to Mycobacteria’s chlorine resistance. Although they suggest that bathing may be safer, researchers assure that it’s not dangerous to shower.

“We did see some organisms that might be of concern if you have immune issues (such as) cystic fibrosis, AIDS, recent organ transplant, substance abuse, or are pregnant or otherwise immune compromised,” the authors wrote.

Click for more information on pulmonary disease.

Although there are 1.4 million people in the United States affected by lupus - many unanswered questions remain about this disease. The exact cause or causes of lupus are unknown. Lupus is often difficult to diagnose and is sometimes mistaken for other diseases because there is no consistent set of symptoms for the disease. There is also limited knowledge about the triggers of lupus.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the immune system inappropriately attacks the body’s healthy cells. Lupus can involve the heart, blood vessels, brain, joints, kidneys, lungs, and skin. 

There are several forms of lupus with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) being the most common type. A physical exam and a blood test can help detect lupus. Signs and symptoms of lupus may vary for each individual. Some symptoms of lupus include:

• skin rash
• swollen or painful joints
• weight loss
• muscle pain
• headaches
• fever
• depression
• hair loss
• blood clots
• fatigue
• seizures

There is no cure for lupus, but various treatments are available depending on the type of lupus. Treatments can help reduce symptoms and pain, and prevent serious complications. Treatments include aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs, change in diet, anti-malarial drugs, skin and sun protection, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressants.

About 9 out of 10 people who have lupus are women. Lupus is more common among women of African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American heritage. For more information about lupus, please visit healia.com.

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