Mariah Carey took to Twitter today to report that her husband, America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon has been hospitalized in Aspen, Colorado with “mild kidney failure.” Cannon had been taken to the hospital for abdominal pain.

Mariah later blogged on her website:

This is us in the hospital – role reversal; Last year it was me attached to the machines (after having dembabies) and Nick was there with me through it, and now here we are.

We’re trying to be as festive as possible under the circumstances but please keep Nick in your thoughts because this is very painful. They tried to kick me out of the hospital but here I am pon de bed with Mr. C.

We’re doing OK but we’re “straaaaaanded in Aspen”. #DramaticDivaPlace (I know, we could be in a lot worse places) but the truth is as long as we’re together, we’re OK. I’m not trying to make light out of the situation because it’s a serious moment that’s very tough on all of us so please keep us and our family in your prayers

What do the Kidneys do?

The kidneys are a pair of vital organs that perform many functions to keep the blood clean and chemically balanced. They also help control blood pressure and make hormones that your body needs to stay healthy. They are bean-shaped, fist-sized organs located near the middle of the back, on either side of the spine just below the rib cage.

The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines. Every day, a person’s kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to filter out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water. The wastes and extra water become urine, which flows to the bladder through tubes called ureters. The bladder stores urine until releasing it through urination.

The actual removal of wastes occurs in tiny units inside the kidneys called nephrons. Each kidney has about a million nephrons.

In the nephron, a glomerulus—which is a tiny blood vessel, or capillary—intertwines with a tiny urine-collecting tube called a tubule.

The glomerulus acts as a filtering unit- it keeps normal proteins and cells in the bloodstream, but allows extra fluid and wastes to pass through.

A complicated chemical exchange takes place, as waste materials and water leave the blood and enter the urinary system.  At first, the tubules receive a combination of waste materials and chemicals the body can still use. The kidneys measure out chemicals like sodium, phosphorus, and potassium and release them back to the blood to return to the body. In this way, the kidneys regulate the body’s level of these substances. The right balance is necessary for life.

What is Kidney Failure?

If the kidneys are damaged, they don’t work properly. Harmful wastes can build up in your body. Your blood pressure may rise. Your body may retain excess fluid and not make enough red blood cells. This is called kidney failure.

Kidney disease is most often caused by diabetes or high blood pressure. These diseases damage the blood vessels in the kidneys, so the kidneys are not able to filter the blood as well as they used to. Usually this damage happens slowly, over many years. As more and more blood vessels are damaged, the kidneys eventually stop working.

Other risk factors for kidney disease are cardiovascular (heart) disease and a family history of kidney failure.

What are the Symptoms of Kidney Failure?

People in the early stages of CKD usually do not feel sick at all.
People whose kidney disease has gotten worse may:

• need to urinate more often or less often
• feel tired
• lose their appetite or experience nausea and vomiting
• have swelling in their hands or feet
• feel itchy or numb
• get drowsy or have trouble concentrating
• have darkened skin
• have muscle cramps

If your kidneys fail completely, a kidney transplant or dialysis can replace the work your kidneys normally do.

Check out the Celebrity Diagnosis Casebook on Kidney Failure at Resounding Health.com.

Last night on America’s Got Talent, two sisters from Idaho Falls, Idaho, Christina (13) and Ali (20) showed that their diagnosis of cystic fibrosis was not going to keep them from singing out loud. The two sisters are in the “Top 48″ and performed the song “God Bless the Broken Road”. At their initial audition, the sisters told the judges that doctors told them they would never be able to sing, but singing has become their passion, and they continue to sing despite the physical limitations cystic fibrosis has caused them. Before their performance, elder sister Ali told host Nick Canon: ” I know my knees will be shaking, but it’s so important to shoot for the stars and try to achieve your dreams.”

Click here to watch a video of their performance. Will the sisters move onto the next round? We’ll find out tonight.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease of the secretory glands- the glands that make mucus and sweat. CF affects the lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, sinuses, and sex organs. A defect in a gene called  CFTR  causes cystic fibrosis (CF). This gene makes a protein that controls the movement of salt and water in and out of the body’s cells. In people who have CF, the gene makes a protein that doesn’t work right,  causing thick, sticky mucus and very salty sweat.

Overview (from The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute)

Mucus is a substance made by the lining of some body tissues. Normally, mucus is a slippery, watery substance. It keeps the linings of certain organs moist and prevents them from drying out or getting infected. However, if you have CF, your mucus becomes thick and sticky.

The mucus builds up in your lungs and blocks your airways—the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. The buildup of mucus makes it easy for bacteria to grow. This leads to repeated, serious lung infections. Over time, these infections can severely damage your lungs.

The thick, sticky mucus also can block tubes, or ducts, in your pancreas. As a result, the digestive enzymes that your pancreas makes can’t reach your small intestine.

These enzymes help break down the food that you eat. Without them, your intestines can’t fully absorb fats and proteins. This can cause vitamin deficiency and malnutrition because nutrients leave your body unused. It also can cause bulky stools, intestinal gas, a swollen belly from severe constipation, and pain or discomfort.

CF also causes your sweat to become very salty. As a result, your body loses large amounts of salt when you sweat. This can upset the balance of minerals in your blood and cause a number of health problems. Examples include dehydration (a condition in which your body doesn’t have enough fluids), increased heart rate, tiredness, weakness, decreased blood pressure, heat stroke, and, rarely, death.

If you or your child has CF, you’re also at increased risk for diabetes or a bone-thinning condition called osteoporosis. CF also causes infertility in men, and it can make it harder for women to get pregnant.

Outlook

The symptoms and severity of CF vary from person to person. Some people who have CF have serious lung and digestive problems. Other people have more mild disease that doesn’t show up until they’re adolescents or adults.

The symptoms and severity of CF also vary over time. Sometimes, you will have few symptoms. Other times, your symptoms may become more severe. As the disease gets worse, you will have more severe symptoms more often.

Lung function often starts to decline in early childhood in people who have CF. Over time, permanent damage to the lungs can cause severe breathing problems. Respiratory failure is the most common cause of death in people who have CF.

As treatments for CF continue to improve, so does life expectancy for those who have the disease. Today, some people who have CF are living into their forties, fifties, or older.

Early treatment for CF can improve both your quality of life and lifespan. Such early treatment includes nutritional and respiratory therapies, medicines, exercise, and other treatments.

Respiratory System Signs and Symptoms

People who have CF have thick, sticky mucus that builds up in their airways. This buildup of mucus makes it easier for bacteria to grow and cause infections. Infections can block the airways and cause frequent coughing that brings up thick sputum (spit) or mucus that’s sometimes bloody.

People who have CF tend to have lung infections caused by unusual germs that don’t respond to standard antibiotics. For example, lung infections due to bacteria called mucoid Pseudomonas are much more common in people who have CF. An infection caused by this bacteria may be a sign of CF.

People who have CF have frequent bouts of sinusitis, an infection of the air-filled spaces behind your eyes, nose, and forehead. Frequent bouts of bronchitis (bron-KI-tis) and pneumonia (nu-MO-ne-ah) also occur. These infections can cause long-term lung damage.

As CF gets worse, you may develop more serious complications, such as pneumothorax (noo-mo-THOR-aks), or collapsed lung; or bronchiectasis (brong-ke-EK-ta-sis).

Some people who have CF also develop nasal polyps (growths in the nose) that may require surgery.

Digestive System Signs and Symptoms

Mucus that blocks tubes, or ducts, in your pancreas and prevents enzymes from reaching your intestines causes most digestive system signs and symptoms.

Without these enzymes, your intestines can’t fully absorb fats and proteins. This can cause ongoing diarrhea or bulky, foul-smelling, greasy stools. Intestinal blockage also may occur, especially in newborns. Too much gas or severe constipation in the intestines may cause stomach pain and discomfort.

A hallmark of CF in children is poor weight gain and growth. These children are unable to get enough nutrients from their food due to the lack of enzymes to help absorb fats and proteins.

As CF gets worse, other complications may occur, such as:

• Pancreatitis (PAN-kre-a-TI-tis). This is a condition in which the pancreas become inflamed, which causes pain.
• Rectal prolapse. Frequent coughing or problems passing stools may cause rectal tissue from inside you to move out of your rectum
• Liver disease due to inflamed or blocked bile ducts
• Diabetes
• Gallstones

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease. The most common cause is a single mutation in the CFTR gene. This most common mutation can be identified through direct-to-consumer genetic testing.  HOWEVER, these tests have what statistics experts call a “high false negative” factor because they don’t currently examine the many less common mutations in this gene. You MUST check with your doctor or genetic counselor before making decisions based on these tests!

For more information, click here to go to the Resounding Health Casebook on Cystic Fibrosis.

Today Show personality Al Roker reported this morning on “detox” dieting with the help of Today’s diet and nutrition editor Madelyn Fernstrom.  Ms. Ferstrom pointed out that our bodies have built-in systems to eliminate waste products and other “toxins” and these systems include our liver, kidneys, lungs and skin. She also provided the sound, if nonspecific, advice to “avoid extremes”  and “talk to your doctor” and also reminded us that the beneficial bacteria in our large intestines can be disturbed by colon “cleanses” (a nice word for enemas).

Mr. Roker, over the years, has been very public about his various attempts to lose and control his weight and was on the cover of People Magazine in 2002 holding up a pair of jeans that no longer fit because he lost 100 pounds after stomach (gastric) bypass surgery. Other public figures who have undergone bariatric surgery include American Idol’s Randy Jackson, lawyer and TV personality Star Jones, singer Carnie Wilson, vampire writer Ann Rice and America’s Got Talent’s Sharon Osbourne. [Note: Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity.]

alroker tweeted about four hours ago about his own recent detox/cleanse. Al isn’t the only Today Show host that has experimented with these controversial health regimens. Co-host Meredith Viera talks about her own detox last October which she apparently did under the supervision of the same Chicago-based nutritionist that Al interviewed this morning.

We have blogged before about various aspects of “detox” diets and you might want to check out these earlier posts:

• Diets of the Stars
• A Damning Diagnosis on Health Styles of the Rich and Famous
• Resveratrol, alternative medicine, medical tourism and detox diets
• Gwymeth Paltrow and Dr. Junger “clean up” on Detox Diets

Recently, we teamed up with a group of doctors and researchers from Harvard Medical School, Boston University and MIT to develop a brand new approach to dieting, “picturing your diet” with a free iPhone app called PhotoCalorie. This app works with any diet plan and the web site includes authoritative health and nutrition resources as well as a blog that posts information on the latest diet and exercise research.

One of most talented contestants of this year’s America’s Got Talent is Texas native, singer Barbara Padilla.  She has said on the show that she is a cancer survivor, but did not say what kind of cancer she had. According to her website (http://www.barbarapadilla.com/page2.html):

“Barbara was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.  During this time Barbara was told that she may never be able to sing again as the radiation could harm her vocalchords.  She was in treatment for several years and was near death onmore than one occasion, but her faith, family and friends helped her through those difficult times.”

Hodgkin’s Disease (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) is named for the physician who first described the disease- Dr. Thomas Hodgkin. It is a cancer of the immune system, specifically of infection-fighting lymph cells (lymphocytes) found in lymph nodes, spleen, liver and bone marrow. It is most common in two different age groups- 15-40 year-olds,and those over 55 years old. In Hodgkin’s Disease, lymphocytes are transformed into much larger cells called Reed-Sternberg cells, which have the ability to divide in an uncontrolled manner, thus spreading throughout the body.Symptoms of Hodgkin’s Disease include:

• painless swelling of the lymph nodes, especially in the neck, armpits, or groin
• fever and chills
• night sweats
• weight loss
• loss of appetite
• itchy skin

As in most other kinds of cancer,treatment and prognosis are related to “staging” of the disease.  What this means is how far along is the cancer? Is it localized to one area?Has it spread to local lymph nodes? Can it be found in other, more distant organs? For lymphoma in particular- are there tumor cells in the bone marrow. Treatment usually consists of chemotherapy, radiation therapy or both. Fortunately for patients with Hodgkin’s Disease, the prognosis has improved dramatically over the years. Today the survival rate for Hodgkin’s lymphoma is generally 90% or higher when the disease is detected during early stages, making it one of the more curable forms of cancer.

Back in May, we reported on another celebrity affected by Hodgkin’s Disease, Ethan Zohn, who said that the most frightening aspects of his disease are the medical bills, even though he had what he considered “decent” health insurance.

Resounding Health e-book on Hodgkin’s Disease