An allergist-immunologist is a physician who successfully completed an accredited educational program in allergy and immunology. An allergist/immunologist specializes in the treatment of allergic and immunologic diseases. This special practice includes the diagnosis and treatment of allergic rhinitis, asthma, allergic eye diseases, atopic dermatitis, hives, chronic cough, chronic sinus infections, frequent colds or bronchitis and immune system problems. Allergists also treat patients with food allergies, medication allergies, venom allergies and even latex allergies. Allergists or immunologists are medical doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of immune system diseases. They treat people with conditions such as asthma, eczema and allergic reactions to food, medications, insect stings or environmental agents such as pollen. Allergists may specialize in treating certain types of conditions, such as food allergies, or they may specialize in treating people in certain age groups, such as pediatric allergists, who treat children. As researchers discover more about immune system disorders, allergists treat a broader range of conditions caused by immune system problems.

Buprenorphine

Buprenorphine is a partial agonist of opioid receptors that carries a low risk of overdose. Buprenorphine reduces or eliminates withdrawal symptoms associated with opioid dependence but does not produce the euphoria and sedation caused by heroin or other opioids. In 2000, Congress passed the Drug Addiction Treatment Act, allowing qualified physicians to prescribe Schedule III, IV and V medications for the treatment of opioid addiction. This bill created a major paradigm shift that allowed access to opioid treatment in general medical settings, such as primary care offices, rather than limiting it to specialized treatment clinics. Buprenorphine was the first medication approved under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act and is available in two formulations: Subutex®, which is a pure form of buprenorphine and the more commonly prescribed Suboxone®, which is a combination of buprenorphine and the opioid antagonist naloxone. Suboxone is a unique formulation with naloxone that causes severe withdrawal symptoms when addicted individuals inject it to get high. Physicians who provide buprenorphine treatment for detoxification and or maintenance treatment in office must have special accreditation. The government requires these physicians to have the capacity to provide counseling to patients when indicated or to refer patients to those who do. Treatment of opioid addiction in an office can be cost-effective approach that increases the reach of treatment and the options available to patients. Many patients have life circumstances that make treatment in the office of a physician a better option for than specialty clinics. For example, a recovering addict may live far away from a treatment center or have working hours incompatible with the clinic hours. Addiction treatment is available in the office of a primary care physician, psychiatrist and other specialists, such as internists and pediatricians. Patients stabilized on adequate, sustained dosages of methadone or buprenorphine can function normally. Recovering addicts can hold jobs, avoid the crime and violence of the street culture and reduce exposure to HIV by stopping or decreasing injection drug use and other risky sexual behavior. Patients stabilized on medications can also engage more readily in counseling and other behavioral interventions essential to recovery and rehabilitation.

Implants

There are many kinds of implants. The artificial pacemaker helps to regulate heart rhythms. Lithium-ion batteries may provide long-lived provision of energy to such devices. A bio-implant is a biomaterial surgically implanted to replace damaged tissue. Common areas of application include orthopedic re-constructive prosthesis, cardiac prostheses, the skin and the cornea. A breast implant alters the size and shape of the breasts. There are two primary types of breast implants: saline-filled and silicone-gel-filled implants. Saline implants have a silicone elastomer shell filled with sterile saline liquid. Silicone gel implants have a silicone shell filled with a viscous silicone gel. Dental implants are a kind of implant that exist both inside and outside the body. An oral surgeon embeds the implant in the bone of the mandible or maxilla and the top of the implant is visible from within the mouth. In orthopedic surgery, implants may refer to devices over or within bones that hold a fracture in place. Prosthesis is a more appropriate term for devices that replace a part or whole of a defunct joint. In this context, implants may be within or outside the body.