Mayo Clinic Q & A - October 2013 Archives

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: If you get to the hospital quickly after having a stroke and get treatment right away, does that mean there won’t be any of the typical after-effects of a stroke? ANSWER: Although early treatment does not guarantee that there won’t be any lasting effects from a stroke, it can dramatically decrease the risk of permanent brain damage. If you have any symptoms of a stroke, get emergency medical care right away. There are two types of stroke. The first, called an ischemic stroke, is due to a lack of blood supply to an area of the brain, caused by a blocked artery. This deprives brain tissue of oxygen. Within minutes, the brain cells begin to die. Ischemic strokes make up about 85 percent of all strokes.

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: What is the best treatment option, other than hysterectomy, for uterine fibroids? If they return after treatment, does that mean I should then consider a hysterectomy? ANSWER: A range of options exist for treating uterine fibroids. The treatment that is right for you depends on your individual situation. If fibroids come back after one treatment, a hysterectomy may be the next step in some cases. But again, that option is not the only choice. Uterine fibroids are noncancerous growths that develop from the smooth muscular tissue of the uterus, called the myometrium. Fibroids can range in size significantly. Some are so tiny that they cannot be seen by the human eye. Others are bulky masses that can distort and enlarge the uterus.

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Why is it that some breast cancers have higher survival rates than others? ANSWER: The main reason for the difference in survival rates is that breast cancer is not just one disease. It is well accepted that there are four distinct molecular categories of breast cancer. However, new data suggests that there are additional distinct subsets of breast cancer. These subsets have unique characteristics that can influence the long-term outlook associated with each of them. The most common molecular subset of breast cancer is characterized by its ability to respond to the female hormone estrogen. This type of cancer is characterized by the presence of estrogen receptors. If a tumor is estrogen receptor (ER) positive, that means the breast cancer cells contain receptors that bind to estrogen. Women and men with ER-positive breast cancer tend to have an initial lower risk of the cancer coming back after breast surgery compared with women whose tumors do not have estrogen receptors (known as ER-negative breast cancer).

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: What happens to the brain when someone suffers a concussion? Do concussions increase the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? ANSWER: A concussion is a brain injury that changes the way your brain functions. The effects of most concussions are not long-lasting. But to avoid permanent damage, it is important to give someone who’s had a concussion plenty of time to rest and recover following the injury. Research does show that repeated concussions in some people can lead to cognitive impairment that could progress to Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Other than a lump in the breast, are there other symptoms of breast cancer? Is breast pain something to be concerned about? ANSWER: Yes, breast cancer can cause symptoms other than a breast lump. To make it easier to spot changes that could be symptoms, you should be familiar with what your breasts usually look like. If you notice any unusual breast changes, have them examined by your doctor. Breast cancer can lead to a variety of symptoms. The most obvious is a breast lump. But other symptoms include skin changes on your breast, such as redness, dimpling or puckering of the skin. Breast cancer also can cause a skin rash that looks similar to mastitis — an infection of the breast tissue that most often affects women who are breast-feeding.  If you find a new rash or breast redness, and you are not breast-feeding, that should be evaluated by your doctor.