Best California Internists

Sickle Cell Anemia
Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disorder. It alters the shape of the red blood cells (RBCs). This decreases their ability to carry oxygen. It can also cause acute episodes of pain. These are called a sickle cell crisis. The body will also destroy the sickle cells. The loss of RBCs results in Anemia.

Iron-Deficiency Anemia
This condition results from reduced iron stores in the blood. This happens when you do not eat enough iron to replace the iron that your body uses. Your body uses iron to produce hemoglobin. This is part of red blood cells that carries oxygen to tissues and muscles. Bleeding a lot can also cause Anemia.

High Cholesterol
You have this condition if there are high levels of cholesterol in the blood. There are three parts of cholesterol: Low density lipoproteins (LDL)-known as bad cholesterol. It causes build up of cholesterol and other fats in the blood vessels. High LDL levels can cause artery and heart disease.High density lipoproteins (HDL)-known as good cholesterol. It can remove cholesterol and other fats from the blood vessels. High levels of HDL can protect against heart disease.Triglycerides-a common form of fat in the body. Often elevated in people with diabetes or certain genetic conditions.Particles-proteins associated with certain types of cholesterols in the body. These may be a better signal about your risk of developing disease in the blood vessels.

Dementia
Dementia is the name given to a group of disorders of the brain. They progressively damage the ability of the brain to function normally. In order to be diagnosed with dementia, there must be: A disturbance in memory A decline in one or more cognitive domains that cause functional impairment in: LanguageVisuospatial functionExecutive function (foresight, planning, anticipation, insight)Praxis (learned motor skills)

Nutritional Anemia
Anemia is a condition characterized by an inadequate amount of red blood cells, which are produced in your bone marrow. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, a substance that picks up oxygen from your lungs, carries it throughout your body, and gives it to your cells. Your cells need oxygen to perform the basic functions that generate energy and keep you alive. In addition, hemoglobin picks up some of the carbon dioxide given off by your cells and returns it to the lungs, where it is exhaled when you breathe out. Without enough red blood cells to transport oxygen to your cells and carbon dioxide away from your cells, your body functions at a less than optimal level.

Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear. The fear is accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress. These sensations often mimic symptoms of a Heart Attack or other life-threatening medical conditions.

Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing stops for brief periods of time while a person is sleeping. These episodes of interrupted breathing last anywhere from 10-30 seconds at a time, and may occur up to 20-30 times per hour. Over the course of a single night's sleep, this can mean up to 400 episodes of interrupted breathing.

Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease is a chronic, slowly progressive, gradual in onset, irreversible condition that destroys brain nerve cells and other structures in the central nervous system. People with Alzheimer's disease slowly develop Dementia-a loss of memory and intellectual and social skills that result in confusion, disorientation, and the inability to think, reason, and understand. The decline in cognition and memory results in activities of daily living to performed with increasing difficulty.

Pernicious Anemia
Pernicious Anemia develops when the body is unable to absorb the vitamin B12 it needs from food because of a lack of a protein, called intrinsic factor, produced by the stomach. Intrinsic factor is required for absorption of vitamin B12. Pernicious anemia is often associated with an autoimmune-mediated attack of parietal cells of the stomach and/or intrinsic factor. Anemia is the insufficient delivery of oxygen by red blood cells from the lungs to the cells of the body. The sooner pernicious anemia is treated, the better the outcome. If you suspect you have this condition, contact your doctor.

Anemia
Anemia is a disorder of the blood. It is the result of very low levels of red blood cells (RBC) and hemoglobin. Their main job is to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. When RBC and hemoglobin levels are low the body does not get the right amount of oxygen. This causes fatigue, pale skin, irregular heartbeat, and other symptoms of anemia.