Muscle Diseases
Muscle is better known for its ability to flex and give shape to a body. Like any other part of the body, muscles too are prone to diseases. Muscle Diseases, like any other kind of disease and infection, can affect anybody. It can even make a person physically disabled. The Muscle Diseases often make the person weak. The person suffering from Muscle Diseases is under constant pain and feels weakness in the muscles. He or she finds it difficult to walk, sit and get up, climb, run, lift or carry, or move the limbs. In most cases, progressive muscle wasting followed by contraction of muscles takes place.
Muscle Diseases vary in their conditions and require different types of treatment. While some treatments respond to medicine, the others have 'only' a chance of improvement. Muscle Diseases may be caused due to various reasons. Some Muscle Diseases are genetic. These are caused due to defective genes in the body. Such diseases are genetic disorders that can make the individual permanently disabled, physically.
Genetic Muscle Diseases often need not be inherited from a parent with a family history of genetic disorder. This can happen spontaneously, due to gene abnormality. These diseases may affect the eyes, cause muscle wasting and even paralysis. The most well-known disease of the muscle occurring genetically is Muscular Dystrophy, or muscle-wasting disease. This is caused by the error in the gene and can affect anybody at any age. It is also known to affect the heart in some cases.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a muscle-wasting disease, affects only boys, unlike muscular dystrophy. There are other diseases that are non-genetic Muscle Diseases. These are acquired gradually and not caused genetically. These diseases may be caused by body's own immune system, some kind of hormonal imbalance or even a disorder caused by the intake of medicines.
One such acquired disease is the inflammatory Muscle Disease, where the immune system of the body injures its own muscles. There are the metabolic Muscle Diseases, which may not be as common as the other Muscle Diseases. But once affected it has very little chance of recovery. These are caused by deficiencies in the enzymes. The symptoms begin with weakness of the muscles, until the condition of the ailing person deteriorates. For instance, the Carbohydrate-Processing Disorders is a type of metabolic disease where the breakdown of glycogen or glucose is affected.
BlueStone Construction | MN Lakehome Fireplace.Cultured or Natural Stone?
During the design phase of a project our customers will often ask the difference between cultured or real stone fireplaces. There are several we will highlight here.
For those who may not be familiar with cultured stone, it is a man-made composite. Individual pieces are thinner and size is predetermined. Therefore costs can be two to three times less than going with natural stone.
In the past cultured stone was not what it is today. When customers think about cultured stone often their reaction against this product is "it looks fake". While this used to be true, cultured stone has made great strides in recent years. Color, size and shapes now more closely resemble the real thing. But there are still differences to consider.
1. Real stone fireplaces take more of a craftsman to create that "Wow" factor. They are more skilled at dealing with stone size and shape irregularies and know how to bring out the best look.
2. It takes more planning and forethought to construct a natural stone fireplace. Footings are larger to handle greater weights associated with real stone. Many times these fireplaces bear live loads and become an integral part of structural integrity. Roof and floor truss placement must be considered if fireplace will serve as a load bearing point.
3. natural stone has much greater thermal characteristics. Larger thermal mass means more heat is stored to be released over longer periods of time. Cultured stone has comparitively little thermal capacity. For example, natural stone feels cool in summer and radiates gentle warmth over winter months. Perhaps this is why people tend to congregate around real stone fireplaces and often lean against them. Real stone connects with us on a deeper level providing comfort and warmth.
4. There is a sense of longevity with natural stone that cultured stone doesn't offer. Real stone has an enduring quality to it. Even if the cabin burned to the grouned physically, a natural fireplace will survive and be standing for generations to come. It is the basis for the entire structure. The backbone, if you will.
5. There is an heirloom quality instilled into the project when using natural stone. Nobody expects cultured stone to stand for generations. But there is an instictive feeling that real stone will last and last. Building something that we can pass down to our children and our children's children has an appeal.
6. Real stone often supplies a sense of history. Some want to use stone that resembles what can be found onsite. Others bring in stone from other places that remind them of significant memories and places from times past. Still others like the story that goes along with a particular stone or stones and incorporate them into their cabin project. That way they can always say, "I dug this out of the ground myself a long time ago."
Whatever motivations customers may have, stone sets the tone and feel of a home. It helps us connect with our surroundings and our past on a deeper level. I would say stone captures the essense of what it means to live at the lake.