The Prostate Cancer Knowledge Centre is an interactive resource which provides healthcare
professionals with the latest information in the field of prostate cancer.
Globally, at least 913,000 people are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, accounting for
13.8% of new cancer cases in men. Of these approximately 385,500 new cases were identified in
2008 in Europe alone, making prostate cancer a major cause of morbidity and mortality in
Europe.1
Hepatitis can be caused by many different things including viral infections, parasites, bacteria, chemicals, autoimmunity, drugs or alcohol. Of these, viral infection is the most common cause of chronic (long-term) hepatitis, which can lead to severe liver damage including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a progressive disease of the respiratory system resulting in decreased lung function, which is a growing cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has been estimated by The WHO Global Burden of Disease project that COPD was the fourth leading cause of death in 2004 and predicts that by 2030 it will be the third.
The Neuropathic Pain Knowledge Centre is a unique resource containing a wealth of current information in this field of medicine.
The nervous system (central and peripheral) constantly receives and interprets information about the body's surroundings and the body's own functioning, responding by sending out messages to tissues and organs.
The Knowledge Centre addresses the two types of pain: nociceptive and clinical. Nocicpetive pain aims to protect individuals from harm. Clinical pain results from damage or inflammation of a part of the body and consists of both spontaneous pain that may arise with no apparent peripheral stimulus, and from hypersensitivity to peripheral stimuli1 due to peripheral and central sensitisations.
Throughout life, the bone marrow continuously produces a variety of blood cell lineages in a tightly controlled, yet flexible process termed haematopoiesis1. The 2 main groups of mature blood cells are red blood cells (RBCs) and white blood cells (WBCs), or leukocytes.
Insomnia is a very common and debilitating disease with major morbidity and social consequences. Despite the negative impact on the ability to function well during the day, insomnia is underdiagnosed and undertreated.
This resource is aimed at physicians who are involved in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of men with hypogonadism. It aims to provide a better understanding of the epidemiology and etiology of male hypogonadism, the diagnostic procedures and the available treatment options for hypogonadal men.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumours of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Before the current definition of GIST evolved, GISTs were classified as benign or malignant smooth muscle tumours including true smooth muscle tumours (leiomyomas, leiomyoblastomas, leiomyosarcomas) and neuronal tumours (schwannomas)
The last decade has seen an increase in the incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile
infections (CDI), making it one of the most talked about disease topics with many recent
congresses focusing on the disease.
Patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) develop a wide range of clinical consequences and experience varying degrees of disease severity. Regardless of its clinical presentation, the basic problem of the disease is the same - an abnormality in the glands that produce or secrete sweat and mucus.
Niemann-Pick type C disease is a rare genetic lysosomal storage disorder that causes severe, progressive neurological symptoms. It is a very serious, life-threatening condition that can affect infants, children and adults. NP-C is characterized by cellular accumulation of lipids, in particular unesterified cholesterol and glycosphingolipids, in many parts of the body including brain, liver and spleen.
Soft Tissue Sarcomas (STS) are malignant (cancerous) tumors that develop in tissues which connect, support, or surround other structures and organs of the body. Muscles, tendons (bands of fiber that connect muscles to bones), fibrous tissues, fat, blood vessels, nerves, and synovial tissues are types of soft tissue.
Diabetes is a disease that currently affects approximately 285 million people worldwide and this figure is only expected to increase1. For Europe, the IDF estimates that 55.2 million, or 8.5% of the population aged 20 to 79 years, have diabetes. This is expected to rise to 66.2 million (10.0%) by 2030. Further information on the scale of the type 2 diabetes problem can be found in the overview section of the knowledge centre.
Heart Failure is a progressive chronic disorder that results in the inability of the heart to pump blood efficiently to the bodys tissues.
Chronic heart failure is an increasing public health problem; the growing prevalence in industrialised countries means that 1-2% of the adult population of these countries are now thought to have chronic heart failure.1-3 Estimates suggest that the prevalence in Europe, USA and Japan could increase by approximately 16.5% over the next ten years.4
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease which will affect most of us at one point in time - either directly (as the prevalence is expected to quadruple over the next 50 years) or indirectly through the suffering of a loved one.
Kidney cancer is the 14th most common cancer and there were approximately 200,000 new kidney cancer cases worldwide in 2002. RCC is a global problem, but its incidence varies considerably by geographical location. Rates of RCC are high in North America, Europe and Australia, whereas rates are low in Africa, India and China.
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory non-communicable skin disorder characterised by periods of exacerbations, interspersed with periods of apparent remission. This highly prevalent disease has a significant impact on the quality of life of both patients and carers.
