A CORNUCOPIA OF DELIGHTS FOR MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN
This research reviews the pathophysiology of a variety of diseases as these diseases affect middle-aged women. A veritable cornucopia of delights for such women, these diseases include osteoarthritis, asthma, venous insufficiency, hypertension, gastritis, and depression, all with a little fat (obesity) stirred into the pot for good measure!
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of the cartilage of joints (Swedberg & Stenbauer, 1992, p. 557). The disease is characterized by diverse etiology and obscure pathogenesis. Clinically, the disease is characterized by joint pain, tenderness, limitation of movement, crepitus, occasional effusion, and variable degrees of local inflammationùall without systemic effects. Pathologically, the disease is characterized by irregularly distributed loss of cartilage (with the greatest loss occurring in areas of increased load, such as the knees), sclerosis of subchondral bone, subchondral cysts, marginal osteophytes, increased metaphyseal blood flow, and variable synovial inflammation. Histologically, the disease is characterized early by fragmentation of the cartilage surface, cloning of chondrocytes, vertical clefts in the cartilage, variable crystal deposition, remodeling, and eventual violation of the tidemark by blood vessels. Osteoarthritis also is characterized by evidence of repair, particularly in osteophytes, and later by total loss of cartilage, sclerosis, and focal osteonecrosis of the subchondral bone. Biomechanically, the disease is characterized by alteration of the tensile, compressive, and shear properties and hydraulic permeability of the cartilage; increased water; and excessive swelling. These cartilage changes are accompanied by increased stiffness of the subchondral bone. Biochemically, the disease is characterized by reduction in the proteoglycan concentration, possible alterations in the size and aggregation of proteo...