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Overview The cricopharyngeus muscle is a circular muscle that sits around the top of the food pipe, the tube that passes food from the mouth into the stomach. The muscle is responsible for opening and closing the food pipe. A Cricopharyngeal spasm occurs when the cricopharyngeus muscle gets overly contracted. The condition is usually harmless, apart from the nuisance and discomfort it causes. The most common symptom of the condition is that the affected individual feels a perpetual ‘lump’ in the throat, which is also known as globus pharyngeus.  Causes Cricopharyngeal spasms can be caused by a number of underlying conditions, such as: In some cases, cricopharyngeal spasms can be caused by neurological conditions or damaging events, such as a stroke, or they can occur because of cricopharyngeal dysfunction. In such cases, a neurologist is better consulted. When associated with cricopharyngeal dysfunction, muscle spasms may cause dysphagia or difficulty swallo...

Overview Virtual colonoscopy is a procedure usually done to look for polyps inside the colon. It is a procedure related to gastroenterology . Polyps that grow on the inside lining of the colon sometimes turn into colon cancer. It is recommended by gastroenterologists that both men and women begin screening for colon cancer at the age of 50, and continue every five years. In case of family history of colon cancer or other colon related problems, it is advised to start screening even earlier.    Why is it done? Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women. The reason for virtual colonoscopy is to find polyps and remove them before they become cancer or to find colon cancer at an early stage when it can be treated successfully. Also read: Colon Cancer – Understand it to Detect it What Are The Advantages Of Virtual Colonoscopy? As compared to conventional colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy has several advantages,...

Overview Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are medical illnesses that result in strange or bizarre thinking, perceptions like sight, sound, behaviours, and emotions. Psychosis is a brain-based condition that is made better or worse by environmental factors like stress. Children and youth who experience psychosis often say "something is not quite right" or can't tell if something is real or not real. It is a rare psychiatric illness in young children, although not uncommon and is hard to recognize in its early phases. Childhood Onset Most children with schizophrenia show delays in language and other functions long before their psychotic symptoms e.g. hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking, appear. In the first years of life, about 30% of these children have transient symptoms of pervasive developmental disorder, such as rocking, posturing, and arm flapping. Childhood-onset of psychosis may present with poor motor development, suc...