What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis? Rheumatoid arthritis – RA – is an autoimmune disease.  It occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body’s tissues.  Inflammation is a process in which the body’s immune system helps protect us from infection...

What Are Mood Disorders? It is normal for your mood to change, and most people go through times of feeling sad. When these feelings last for a very long time or interfere with the quality of your life, you may have a mood disorder.  Mood disorders are also...

What Is Multiple Sclerosis -MS? Multiple sclerosis -MS- is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system —the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves.  In an autoimmune disease, the body attacks its own healthy tissue when it thinks a foreign substance...

What Is Diabetes? Diabetes, also called diabetes mellitus, is an endocrine disorder where the pancreas does not respond appropriately to the sugar your body consumes during meals. In people with normal pancreatic function, the pancreas produces the proper amount of...

What is Breast Cancer? Generally, cancer is a disease in which the cells in the body begin to uncontrollably grow and multiply. Unlike normal cells, cancer cells do not die but rather continue to rapidly divide, grow, and form more abnormal cells. Once cancer cells...

What Is Chronic Kidney Disease? Chronic kidney disease – CKD – also called chronic renal failure, chronic kidney failure, or chronic renal insufficiency – describes the process of your kidneys gradually losing their ability to function. The function of the kidneys is...

What is Coronary Artery Disease? Coronary artery disease – CAD, also called ischemic heart disease, is the leading cause of death in the United States.  With CAD, the blood flow to the heart is decreased and deprives the heart of oxygen.  CAD occurs when the...

What is Asthma? Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell, producing extra mucus, making breathing difficult and causing coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.  People with asthma suffer from the condition all the time, but appear...

How Does The Social Security Administration Determine If Someone Is Blind For Disability Purposes? Generally, SSA considers someone to be blind if their vision can’t be corrected to better than 20/200 in their better eye or if their visual field is 20 degrees or less...

What is Degenerative Disc Disease? DDD usually relates to normal changes in the spine due to aging, but DDD can be caused by an injury to the spine. DDD can occur throughout the spine, but it most frequently occurs in the lumbar (lower back) and...