Conditions and Diseases
Air Pollution: Losing Lives Even More than All Motor Vehicle Fatalities
Breathing is something we do unconsciously, regularly and non-stop. When something interferes with that process, our bodies react. When you have a slight cold or an allergy, having a stuffy nose is annoying and makes it difficult to sleep and smell.
Imagine having to face that challenge daily. The Lung Association of New Brunswick deals with breathing and air quality issues on every level, from...
Advertisement
Measuring Blood Protein is Better Indicator than Cholesterol
Measuring proteins that carry cholesterol in the blood may give a better estimate of heart attack risk than measuring cholesterol, a major study finds.
The study focused on the ratio of two of the proteins, called apolipoprotein B100 (ApoB) and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1). The international team of researchers studied data on more than 27,000 people and found that the ratio of apolipoprotein B100 (...
New Advice to Monitor Blood Pressure at Home
More than 100 million Americans should monitor their blood pressure at home, according to new recommendations. About 72 million people have hypertension—defined as a reading of greater than 140 over 90—and an additional 25 million have prehypertension, which is a reading higher than 120/80 but below 140/90. The recommendations are published online in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart...
Risk of Psoriasis for Same Genetic Diseases
Psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, causes the skin to become thicker because the growth of skin cells is out of control. In psoriasis, immune cells, which usually protect against infection, instead trigger the release of cytokines, which causes inflammation and the overproduction of skin cells. Other autoimmune diseases with similar side effects include lupus, which can lead to skin lesions, and...
Rhinosinusitis (Sinusitis; Followed by Rhinitis) Relief by Simple, Effective Way
When the tiny openings that drain the sinuses get blocked, mucus becomes trapped in the sinuses. Like water in a stagnant pond, it makes a good home for bacteria, viruses, or fungi to grow. If a cold lasts for more than 10 to 14 days (sometimes you may have a low-grade fever), you may have sinusitis. This means an infection of the sinuses. For environmentally caused disease, avoiding exposure to...
New Ways to Detect Diabetes Earlier
What if there was a way to detect the possibility of developing diabetes in young people decades before it numbed the nerves in their feet, clogged their arteries, stole their vision and shut down their kidneys?
In the past, urine sugar tests and fasting blood tests have been used as primary methods of screening for diabetes. Low in sensitivity, however, the tests often give negative results to...
Fresh Spinach May Have E. Coli Risk
E. coli refers to a group of bacteria normally found in the intestines of healthy humans and animals. Of the hundreds of types of E. coli, most are harmless. But a few strains of E. coli are responsible for serious food-borne infections — including E. coli O157:H7, the strain of the bacteria responsible for the current outbreak.
E. coli enteritis is a type of bacterial gastroenteritis . The...
Autism Risk Linked to Older Fathers at Age 40
Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior. Autism occurs in as many as one child in 166 in the United States. However, the National Institute of Mental Health gives a more conservative estimate of one in 1000. For families that already have one autistic...
Drug coated vs. Bare Metal Stents: Which One Better for Diabetes or Blocked Coronary Arteries (Risk of Heart Attacks)
Stents have been used for many years to clear blockages in the arteries of the heart and neck. But the arteries in the brain present a very different challenge because they are more fragile and have many more curves, making it harder to get the stent to the site of the blockage. Physicians use a minimally invasive technique to deploy the stent inside the brain.
A coronary stent is stainless tube...
H5n1 Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) may Transmit from Person to Person
We do know a few important things about H5N1. First, it's particularly virulent. Second, the virus appears to be spreading among birds. Third, it seems to be affecting more species, including cats, which usually aren't susceptible to bird flu. But whether this virus will ever make the genetic changes needed to infect humans on a mass scale, or how long that might take — there's just no way of...
New Cancer Vaccine Exploration for Girls Could Cut Deaths by 75%
A routine jab could cut the number of deaths from cervical cancer by three quarters if given to all girls aged 12, say researchers.
It could also reduce the need for smear tests which lead to anxiety for thousands of women each year who have an abnormal result.
And it might even reduce the likelihood of other cancers caused by the same sexually-transmitted virus.
Cervical cancer is a malignancy...
Outweigh Benefits of Surgery for Spondylolisthesis Mediated Low Back Pain
You may have SPONDYLOLISTHESIS, when one vertebra in the spine slips over another, or SPONDYLOSIS, a type of arthritis.Direct injury to the spine may cause a bone fracture anywhere along your vertebral column. Osteoporosis — loss of bone density — can weaken vertebrae, causing them to fracture or collapse.The following conditions may require surgery if they're progressive, painful or causing...
Recover Heart Attack with Repairing Cardiac Tissue by Heart Patch, Showing Hope
The most common causes of heart failure are hypertension (high blood pressure) and coronary artery disease. Uncontrolled high blood pressure, or hypertension, can cause a heart attack but it is also a major cause of heart failure even in the absence of an attack. In fact, about 75 percent of cases of heart failure start with hypertension.
A heart attack is an injury to the heart muscle caused by...
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) and its Latest Treatment
Having some amount of vaginal discharge is normal, especially if you are of childbearing age. Glands in the cervix produce a clear mucus. These secretions may turn white or yellow when exposed to the air. These are normal variations.The amount of mucus produced by the cervical glands varies throughout the menstrual cycle. This is normal and depends on the amount of estrogen circulating in your...
New Treatment for Ewings Sarcoma Type Bone Cancer, Showing Hope
Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of rare tumors that arise predominantly from the embryonic mesoderm. The various sarcomas include bone sarcomas (osteosarcomas and chondrosarcomas), Ewing’s sarcomas, peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors, and soft tissue sarcomas, which are the most frequent.
In 1921, James Ewing, MD, described a bone tumor that, unlike the common bone tumor, osteosarcoma...