Medilab+

Early cancer diagnosis is not one “universal test”, but a whole system of actions that helps to find the disease as early as possible. It consists of two different directions: early detection of cancer in people who have already developed symptoms, and screening in people without symptoms, if there is a proven examination method for a certain type of cancer. This approach is considered the basis of modern cancer prevention, because early detection increases the chances of more effective treatment, less complex therapy and a better prognosis. The most common mistake is to look for a “test for everything” or to think that early cancer diagnosis is equal to a package of tumor markers. In fact, evidence-based medicine works differently: for some tumors there are screening methods that have proven beneficial, and for others the main thing is not to miss alarming symptoms and consult a doctor in time. The US National Cancer Institute directly notes that only some screening tests have a proven ability to detect cancer early and reduce the risk...

Osteoporosis diagnosis is not only necessary when a fracture has already occurred. The problem is that osteoporosis may not cause any symptoms for a long time and is often first manifested by a fracture. Because of this, the key task of diagnosis is to detect a decrease in bone density before a serious injury occurs, especially in people with age or risk factors. Most often, when talking about diagnosing osteoporosis, densitometry is meant - DXA or DEXA scanning. This method is considered the main and most reliable for assessing bone mineral density, especially in the hip and spine. The examination is quick, painless, non-invasive and uses low doses of X-ray radiation. What does the patient's route look like if osteoporosis is suspected? In practice, osteoporosis diagnosis rarely comes down to one step. First, the doctor assesses age, gender, menopausal status, fractures in the past, the presence of smoking, low body weight, taking glucocorticoids or other risk factors. Then, if the risk is increased, DXA densitometry may be recommended,...

Contact allergy is a skin reaction to a substance it comes into contact with. In everyday life, it is often called simply «skin allergy,» but more accurately, it is allergic contact dermatitis. This rash is not contagious, but it can be very unpleasant: the skin itches, turns red, dries, or even becomes covered with blisters. Most often, the reaction does not appear all over the body, but specifically where there was contact with metal, cosmetics, paint, rubber, glue, plants, or other substances. If the cause is removed, the rash often disappears within 2–4 weeks. It is important not to confuse contact allergy with ordinary skin irritation. There are two main types of contact dermatitis: irritant and allergic. Irritant occurs when the skin is damaged by soap, detergents, solvents, disinfectants, water, or other aggressive factors. An allergic reaction is an immune reaction that usually appears not upon first contact, but after the body has already "met" the allergen and has become...

An oncogenetic test is a genetic test that looks for inherited changes in genes that can increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer. The most important thing to understand right away: such a test is not a «cancer test.» It does not diagnose itself, but shows whether a person has a hereditary predisposition to certain cancers. According to the US National Cancer Institute, approximately 5–10% of all cancers are associated with inherited harmful genetic changes. That is why an oncogenetic test is most often of interest to people in whose family cancer has occurred repeatedly, at a young age or in several generations in a row. In such situations, testing can help to understand whether the cases in the family are associated with an inherited syndrome, and whether a person needs more frequent examinations, a different screening schedule, or consultation with a specialist. Genetic testing for hereditary cancer risk is also different from genetic testing for the tumor itself: analysis of the tumor looks for changes that...

Tick season has already begun in Ukraine. The Public Health Center reports that these parasites are especially active in the spring. Ticks do not fly or fall from trees - they wait for a person in the grass and bushes, usually no higher than a meter from the ground. That is why you can pick up a tick not only in the forest, but also in a park, square, garden, at the dacha or even near the house. The main danger of ticks is that they can transmit infections. Most often, people mention Lyme disease, but another important thing: not every bite means infection. After a bite, you need to act calmly and correctly - quickly remove the tick, treat the bite site and monitor your well-being for several weeks. This tactic reduces risks better than folk methods or self-medication. Where can you most often find ticks The highest risk is in tall grass, bushes, on the sides of paths, in forest parks, urban green areas and gardens. Ticks...

The term «dysbiosis» is still very often used in everyday life when it comes to bloating, rumbling, unstable stools, constipation or diarrhea. But in modern medicine, they often talk about a violation of the microbiota or dysbiosis - that is, an imbalance of microorganisms in the intestine. This is important because it is not the term itself that needs to be treated, but the cause of the symptoms: the effects of antibiotics, irritable bowel syndrome, infection, SIBO or another condition. That is why the treatment of dysbiosis cannot be the same for everyone. If one person’s problem began after antibiotics, and another’s lasts for months with abdominal pain, bloating and alternating constipation and diarrhea, the approach will be different. In some people, the symptoms are indeed associated with a temporary disturbance of the microflora, but in others, there is a functional disorder or even a separate intestinal disease behind this. What is most often meant by dysbiosis The following symptoms are most often described with this word: bloating; gas; unstable stool; ...

A personalized diet is not a fancy name for another menu from the Internet. It is an approach in which nutrition is tailored to a specific person: their goals, health status, lifestyle, preferences, daily routine and how the body reacts to food. That is why modern science is increasingly talking not about the «ideal diet for everyone», but about the fact that people can respond differently to the same products and the same eating patterns. The NIH directly notes that there is no universal «best for everyone» diet, and precision nutrition studies study how the reaction to food is influenced by genes, proteins, microbiome, metabolism and other individual factors. In a practical sense, a personalized diet does not mean that each person necessarily needs complex expensive tests. It often starts with much simpler things: understanding why you need to change your diet, what your schedule is, whether you have any medical diagnoses, how you tolerate certain products, etc.

The phrase "serotonin deficiency" sounds simple and understandable, so it is often used in everyday life. Usually this is how they describe a condition when a person experiences a decrease in mood, anxiety, fatigue, sleep problems or emotional exhaustion. But in real medicine, this is not a separate diagnosis that can be confirmed by a single analysis. Serotonin is indeed involved in the regulation of mood, sleep, appetite, anxiety and digestion, but the work of the serotonin system is much more complex than just a "low" or "high" level on a laboratory form. Many are surprised by another fact: a significant part of serotonin is not associated with the brain, but with the intestines and blood. That is why a blood test for serotonin does not directly show how the mechanisms in the brain that affect mood, sleep and behavior work. Because of this, the query "how to check for serotonin deficiency" is very popular, but the answer to it is not as simple as we would like. Briefly: what is important to know about serotonin deficiency Serotonin...

People often ask the question "is diabetes hereditary" if one of the parents or close relatives already has diabetes. The most common question is simple: if there is diabetes in the family, does this mean that children will definitely have it too? The short answer is no. In most cases, it is not the disease itself that is inherited as a ready-made scenario, but an increased susceptibility to it. The role of heredity is different for different types of diabetes: in type 1 and type 2, genetics is important, but other factors also influence the development of the disease, and rare monogenic forms can indeed be transmitted according to a clearer hereditary pattern. That is why the concept of "hereditary diabetes" is not entirely accurate when it comes to all cases of diabetes. For most people, it is more correct to talk about family risk or hereditary predisposition. This is an important difference: predisposition does not equal an inevitable diagnosis. It means that a person should be more attentive to prevention, mass...

The request "cancer marker tests" often arises when a person wants to get tested "just in case" or find a simple test that will immediately give an answer whether there is cancer. But here it is important to understand the main thing: tumor markers are not a universal test for all types of cancer. These are substances that may be associated with a tumor or with the body's reaction to it, and they can be determined in blood, urine, tumor tissues or other biomaterials. They can help the doctor in diagnosis and monitoring, but by themselves do not give a final answer. What do tumor marker tests show? Tumor markers can tell whether further examination is needed, how the tumor responds to treatment, whether there is a risk of recurrence, and sometimes what type of therapy may be appropriate. But an elevated indicator does not mean cancer, because some non-cancerous conditions can also change the level of markers. And vice versa: a normal result does not guarantee that oncological...