Category: Health Problems

Dichlorophenols (DCPs) are chemicals known to disrupt hormone systems. DCPs can be found in a variety of consumer and industrial products, such as deodorizers, antibacterial additives and even chlorinated drinking water. A new University of Minnesota School of Public Health study, recently published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, investigated two types of DCPs (2,5-DCP and

Human beings can configure their faces in thousands and thousands of ways to convey emotion, but only 35 expressions actually get the job done across cultures, a new study has found. And while our faces can convey a multitude of emotions—from anger to sadness to riotous joy—the number of ways our faces can convey different

Older mice who are surgically joined with young mice in order to share a common bloodstream get stronger and healthier, making parabiosis one of the hottest topics in age research. Publishing in Nature Metabolism, researchers from the Buck Institute report that MANF (mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor) is one of the factors responsible for rejuvenating the

Cancer drugs are able to halt life-threatening bacterial lung infections in mouse models by promoting lung repair, researchers at Duke Health have found. Reporting in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research team said that if the findings are confirmed in human studies, the drugs could point to a new weapon

Personalized treatment plans may extend life expectancy for early-stage kidney cancer patients who have risk factors for worsening kidney disease, according to a new study published in the journal Radiology. Kidney, or renal, tumors are often discovered at an early stage and are frequently treated with partial nephrectomy, a surgical procedure in which the tumor

Estimates suggest that 6% of doctors in the hospital workforce may be performing below the standard that is expected of them at any time. While serious cases will see doctors struck off, there are others where a doctor could benefit from help via a process called remediation. Dr. Nicola Brennan from the University of Plymouth

When we remember a past event, the human brain reconstructs that experience in reverse order, according to a new study at the University of Birmingham. Understanding more precisely how the brain retrieves information could help us better assess the reliability of eye witness accounts, for example of crime scenes, where people often are able to

Like cartographers completing a map, investigators have identified multiple new subtypes of the most common childhood cancer—research that will likely improve the diagnosis and treatment of high-risk patients. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists led the study, which appears as an advance online publication today in the journal Nature Genetics. Researchers used integrated genomic analysis,

Dear Mayo Clinic: I am 28 and healthy. I have never gotten a flu shot and have never had the flu. Do I really need a flu vaccination? My employer is recommending it for everyone, but I am hesitant. I have heard some people get sick from the actual vaccination. A: The Centers for Disease

A new long-acting contraceptive designed to be self-administered by women may provide a new family planning option, particularly in developing nations where access to healthcare can be limited, a recent study suggests. The contraceptive would be delivered using microneedle skin patch technology originally developed for the painless administration of vaccines. Long-acting contraceptives now available provide

It’s early, but the current flu season is shaping up to be gentler than last winter’s unusually brutal one, U.S. health officials said. In most parts of the country, most illnesses right now are being caused by a flu strain that leads to fewer hospitalizations and deaths as the kind of flu that dominated a

Each year, particularly during the winter months, millions of Americans are infected with influenza. The flu causes symptoms such as fever, coughing, body aches and fatigue, and, in some cases, can lead to serious complications and even death. Arnold Monto, professor of epidemiology and global health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health,

Some people suffer from repeated attacks of malaria. These can occur weeks to months or longer after contracting the disease. The phenomenon is only too familiar to those who were bitten by mosquitoes carrying the type of malaria-causing organism known as Plasmodium vivax. Whereas the malaria agent in Africa is primarily Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax

In a trial of one of the main class of prescription sleeping pills, half the participants slept through a fire alarm as loud as someone vacuuming next to their bed. But a newer alternative preserves the ability to wake in response to danger signals, according to a new research. Published this week in Frontiers in

(HealthDay)—The incidence of phlebitis caused by peripheral intravenous cannula insertions may be higher among patients with certain risk factors, according to a study published online Dec. 27 in the Journal of Clinical Nursing. Dragana Simin, Ph.D., R.N., from the University of Novi Sad in Serbia, and colleagues evaluated complications among 368 adult patients undergoing 1,428

Monash University engineers have unlocked the door to earlier detection of cancer with a world-first study identifying a potential new testing method that could save millions of lives. Researchers found that a sensor using new, more sensitive materials to look for key markers of disease in the body increased detection by up to 10,000 times.

January 2, 2019—As early as 3 months of age, infants with a severe form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome start having convulsive seizures, during which their arms and legs jerk repeatedly. As they become toddlers, another type of seizure begins to appear. These seizures do not cause obvious convulsions, but disrupt consciousness and can occur

(HealthDay)—College students face a much higher risk for the deadly bacterial infection meningitis B, a new analysis shows. Investigators from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that students who were aged 18 to 24 were 3.5 times more likely to contract meningitis B than their peers who were not in school. The

A major Cardiovascular (CV) risk factor is low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C). A lot of evidence that was accumulated supports a linear association between LDL-C levels and CV risk. However, whether the lower limit of LDL-C might offer CV benefits without any safety concerns is still a topic of debate. This review discusses data from studies

When we perceive the world around us, certain objects appear to be more noticeable than others, depending on what we do. For example, when we view a forest-covered mountain from a distance, the forest looks like a large green carpet. But as we get closer, we start noticing the individual trees, and the forest fades