Second Opinion with Joan Lunden - Season 8

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. There are five types of psoriasis. The most common form, plaque psoriasis, appears as raised, red patches covered with a silvery white buildup of dead skin cells. Psoriasis can occur on any part of the body and is associated with other serious health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and depression. Psoriasis is the most common autoimmune disease in the U.S. As many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis.

While acute pain is a normal sensation triggered in the nervous system to alert you to possible injury and the need to take care of yourself, chronic pain is different. Chronic pain persists. Pain signals keep firing in the nervous system for weeks, months, even years. There may have been an initial mishap -- sprained back, serious infection, or there may be an ongoing cause of pain -- arthritis, cancer, ear infection, but some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or evidence of body damage. Many chronic pain conditions affect older adults.

Medical Radiation--X rays are a form of radiant energy like light or radio waves. Just like light and radio waves, they can pass easily through some things and are absorbed by others. In the human body, some tissues are better at absorbing the radiation than others. The images made by x-ray beams come from these differences. Bone stops x rays efficiently, making them look white in an image; air, like in the lungs, does not absorb radiation much at all, and looks black in the image. Sometimes the images are still, like pictures from a camera, and sometimes they show movement, like a video camera.

It's a difficult choice facing middle-aged woman; do you go for the lean, mean body or a plumper, younger looking face? Why can't we have it all? What happens to our faces as we age? What causes us to look older or younger? What role does fat…or bone…play in the aging face? What's behind the wrinkles? And most importantly, what can--or should--we do to preserve a youthful appearance?

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a medical condition that occurs when the normal support of the vagina is lost, resulting in "sagging" or dropping of the bladder, urethra, cervix and rectum. As the prolapse of the vagina and uterus progresses, women can feel bulging tissue protruding through the opening of the vagina.

Sugar is a confusing substance. Recently, it has been identified by the medical community as a factor in excessive body weight in both children and adults, and obesity-fighting campaigns now advocate for no sugar and no added sugar in adult and children's diets.

The pituitary gland is a pea-sized endocrine gland located at the base of the brain. The pituitary helps control the release of hormones from other endocrine glands, such as the thyroid and adrenal glands. The pituitary also releases hormones that directly affect body tissues, such as bones and the breast's milk glands. A pituitary gland tumor is an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland, the part of the brain that regulates the body's balance of hormones.

Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that is usually caused by bacteria or viruses. Globally, pneumonia causes more deaths than any other infectious disease. It can often be prevented and can usually be treated. Every 20 seconds, somewhere in the world, a child dies from pneumonia. Many of these deaths are preventable through vaccination and appropriate treatment. Pneumonia causes mild to severe illness in people of all ages.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.

Cancer of the colon or rectum is also called colorectal cancer. In the United States, it is the fourth most common cancer in men and women. Caught early, it is often curable. The colon and rectum are part of the large intestine. Colorectal cancer occurs when tumors form in the lining of the large intestine. It is common in both men and women. The risk of developing colorectal cancer rises after age 50. You're also more likely to get it if you have colorectal polyps, a family history of colorectal cancer, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, eat a diet high in fat, or smoke.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus is a neurological condition which normally occurs in adults 55-years and older. NPH is an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) causing the ventricles of the brain to enlarge, in turn, stretching the nerve tissue of the brain causing a triad of symptoms.

Heart disease is something we as Americans talk about a lot. But most often, the conversation surrounds the person who has heart disease or has had a cardiac event. But what about the spouse of that person? Many times the spousal role immediately changes to caregiver, nurse and housekeeper. Cardiac spouses are more susceptible to depression and other illnesses, but their health needs are often overlooked.