Health Care Zone

Celebrities With Bipolar Disorder: Jean Claude Van Damme, Van Gogh, Sting. Belgian-born martial artist, actor and director Jean-Claude Van Damme, best known for the 1989 action film Kickboxer that catapulted him to riches and fame, struggles with bipolar disorder.

Like the character he plays in that movie, kickboxer Kurt Sloane, Van Damme knows firsthand how to freefall into the dumps then skyrocket into riches and fame, and then plunge back to hell again.

Extreme highs and lows have been an intimate part of Van Damme’s life — coping with teenage depression using karate, ballet and “rosy dreams,” falling into a downward spiral of cocaine addiction, grossing over US$100 million worldwide in a single film, 1994’s Timecop, being a sex symbol.

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It’s been 10 years since ‘Baywatch’ star Pamela Anderson — famous for her stunning body and for being a favorite Playmate in the 1990s first disclosed that she has hepatitis C — contracted from sharing a tattoo needle with her ex-husband, rock star Tommy Lee.

A lot of nasty things and snide comments have been said since about the Canadian-American Hollywood actress, but the fact is, her life since her tragic disclosure is proof that people can still live a full life, even with this serious liver disease.

What is hepatitis C?
Caused by a virus that infects the liver, Hepatitis C can lead to permanent liver damage as well as cirrhosis, liver cancer — and eventually, liver failure.

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Famous People Who Had Heart Bypass Surgery: Bill Clinton. He’d been complaining of chest discomfort over several days, and on Feb. 11, 2010, Former President Bill Clinton underwent a successful heart procedure at the Columbia campus of the New York Presbyterian Hospital.

After putting Mr. Clinton through a battery of tests — including an angiogram, an electrocardiogram and blood tests — doctors found no evidence of heart attack or damage to the heart but noticed that one of the four bypass grafts he had received in 2004 was completely blocked. The surgeons then inserted two stents into his native coronary artery to increase blood flow to the heart.

“President Clinton is in good spirits and will continue to focus on the work of his foundation and Haiti’s relief and long-term recovery efforts,” said his counselor, Douglas J. Band, in a statement released by the former president’s office.

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Celebrities With Herpes: Jessica Alba & Derek Jeter? A nasty rumor spread like wildfire late in 2007: “Jessica Alba is chasing the Valtrex dragon and it was Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter who gave it to her,” Hollywood gossip mags murmured.

According to the paparazzi press, the ‘Fantastic Four’ star and sex symbol — voted FHM’s Sexiest Woman Alive 2007 and the number one on AskMen.com’s list of ‘99 Most Desirable Women’ the year before — had contracted the sexually transmitted disease from the baseball star she had dated previously.

According to the website L.A. Rag Mag, the source of the story was Jessica’s assistant at the time, who claims she had to replenish the pop star’s prescription for Valtrex, an antiviral for herpes, on a regular basis.

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