Category: Health Problems

Microglia, the immune cells of the central nervous system, differ in male and female mice. MDC researchers have reported on the sex-specific features in Cell Reports. Their findings could change how we treat neurological diseases. Microglia monitor the brain’s health around the clock, much like a battalion of tiny soldiers. When the cells sense pathogens

I can remember being a baby. I recall being in a vast room inside a doctor’s surgery. I was passed to a nurse and then placed in cold metal scales to be weighed. I was always aware that this memory was unusual because it was from so early in my life, but I thought that

Physician researchers with The Ohio State University College of Medicine at the Wexner Medical Center say increased levels of the hormone aldosterone, already associated with hypertension, can play a significant role in the development of diabetes, particularly among certain racial groups. “This research is an important step toward finding new ways to prevent a major

Adults both with and without Alzheimer’s disease have better cognition skills in the late summer and early fall than in the winter and spring, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Andrew Lim of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues. There have been few

What if social behavior affected the progression of even noncontagious diseases? This has now been demonstrated by French CNRS teams and international collaborators. Using a fly model of intestinal cancer, the researchers have shown that disease progression is impacted both by social isolation—which has a negative effect—and the composition of the social group with which

When you’re dealing with something challenging or upsetting, you might feel tense or stressed. You may have some good ways to deal with stress or may need help. This guide will give you more information about stress and what you can do about it. What is stress? When you’re stressed, you feel it in your

Healthy relationships are an important part of life. You can have a healthy relationship with anyone in your life, including your family, friends and dating partners. Relationships take time, energy, and care to make them healthy. The relationships that you make now can be a special part of your life and will teach you some

You may not have missed anything—it can be hard to truly “know” someone, especially when the only access you have to them is through social media, like Facebook. Because social media is more public than direct one-on-one communication, it is often a space where people are more likely to post their best photos and “best

A superbug resistant to all known antibiotics that can cause “severe” infections or even death is spreading undetected through hospital wards across the world, scientists in Australia warned on Monday. Researchers at the University of Melbourne discovered three variants of the multidrug-resistant bug in samples from 10 countries, including strains in Europe that cannot be

Life is not possible without death and yet, modern medicine has waged an unending war against death. Now, a Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) residential fellow is exploring how the concept of kenosis might create a common ground for personal growth, mutual understanding, civil discourse and productive policymaking in today’s diverse and polarized

An international research team, led by Professor Peter Collignon from The Australian National University (ANU) Medical School, has found we need to take a much broader approach than simply focusing on antibiotic usage, when it comes to fighting the spread of “superbugs”. Superbugs—or strains of bacteria that have adapted after coming into contact with antibiotics—are

(HealthDay)—An allergen in red meat may be tied to heart disease, according to a study published in the July issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. Jeffrey M. Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and colleagues analyzed blood samples for total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and specific IgE to galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-Gal) among

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Matcha, the green tea packed with antioxidants, is often hailed as containing properties which prevent disease. Scientists in Salford, UK have shed a ray of light on the claim by testing it on cancer stem cells – with surprising results. In research published in the journal Aging, a team from the

Neisseria gonorrhoea continues to show high levels of resistance to azithromycin across the European Union and European Economic Area, according to the 2016 results of the European Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (Euro-GASP). This threatens the effectiveness of the currently recommended dual therapy regimen for gonorrhoea. Overall, the rates of resistance to cefixime, ceftriaxone and azithromycin

The United States is in the midst of a head-and-neck cancer epidemic. Although survival rates are relatively high—after treatment with chemotherapy and radiation—survivors can suffer permanent loss of salivary function, potentially leading to decades of health problems and difficulties eating. It is unknown why the salivary gland sometimes cannot heal after radiation damage, but Wen

Insights into how harmful white blood cells form during tuberculosis infection point to novel targets for pharmacological interventions, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Valentina Guerrini and Maria Laura Gennaro of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and colleagues. Foam cells are a type of white blood cell, known as

Scientists for the first time have used CRISPR gene editing to halt the progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in a large mammal, according to a study by UT Southwestern that provides a strong indication that a lifesaving treatment may be in the pipeline. The research published in Science documents unprecedented improvement in the muscle

The recent news about an international tourist with measles who visited Santa Monica raised anew concerns about the potential for an outbreak of the disease, which has been all but eradicated in the United States. Measles remains endemic in many parts of the world, including popular tourist destinations in parts of Western Europe, and travelers

The European MACUSTAR consortium is conducting a multi-country clinical study on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) coordinated by the University of Bonn. The clinical study focuses on the intermediate stage of the disease, in which a person’s vision under low-light and low-contrast conditions is impaired. Throughout Europe, a total of 20 study centers will recruit and

It’s no secret that teenagers can be moody, but research shows that ongoing moodiness often is far more serious. Dr. Janna Gewirtz O’Brien, a Mayo Clinic pediatrician, says teen depression is much more common than most people realize. “This is something that affects teenagers of all walks of life, of all backgrounds, and actually of