Hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, can be caused by many things, which is one reason why it is takes so long to become a doctor: You have to at least know the most common causes and most facts about these causes, which, along with anatomy, burns a lot of [...]
HIV is a terrible disease that affects over 33 million people worldwide. In developed countries it occurs primarily in gay and bisexual couples, whereas in the third world, HIV is seen foremost among heterosexual couples. There have been huge advances in HIV treatment and, at least in America, the disease [...]
For those Americans who are obese or overweight-and that unfortunately includes about 70% of the population-the FDA has recently approved a new weight loss pill. In one sense, it is new. In fact Qysmia is only the third diet medication on the market. However, it is really just a combination [...]
What do an obscure chemical called nitric oxide and healthy blood vessels have in common? It turns out quite a bit. Nitric oxide dilates blood vessels. This property makes it attractive as a therapy for patients with diseases affecting the blood vessels. Researchers in Italy, who in their off time [...]
As a child, I was never spanked or punished in any physical manner. To be sure I got my share of punishment, well earned I might add. My father was very creative in meting out punishment. When I was caught red handed listening on a private conversation between my sister [...]
As if having cancer isn't bad enough, cancer survivors suffer significant added risks of heart damage. Why? The drugs used to treat cancer often have bad side effects on the heart. What's worse is that these side effects may occur immediately or up to years later. Some of the cancer [...]
Contacts, I believe, were developed in order to allow the visually impaired public to avoid glasses. Why? Glasses are hard to clean, scratch easily, get stepped on, run over by vehicles and most importantly can be nerdy. Contact lens wearers often swear by them. After all, no glasses and well, [...]
Honey not only tastes great, it is also great for you. Honey contains sugar in the form of complex carbohydrates, which simply put, means that it takes your body awhile to digest it. This in turn allows for your metabolism to offset the sugar load. Contrast this with the ever [...]
Not all bacteria are bad boys. For example, the bacteria in your gut help regulate digestion and prevent superbugs from taking over. It is well known that when taking antibiotics, gut bacteria are decimated. This in turn may lead to other bacteria taking advantage and causing nasty infections such as [...]
Most people think of medicine as a science. Just think of the new medicines investigated, the CT and MRI scanners, the human genome research, the organ transplants and the list goes on and on. Still, medicine is as much an art as it is a science. Most doctors are clinicians-that [...]