The weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the dead and dying is morbidly fascinating. In both men and women, heart disease and cancer are #1 and #2 killers, respectively. However, everything changes after that.
Disease
Bacteria were conquered, at least temporarily, when modern antibiotics arrived on the scene. But the scene has changed. The bugs are fighting back and winning, which is putting us in a dangerous mess. In this chapter of his multi-part series, "What Will the Next Plague Be?" Dr. Steve Schow examines what can happen if we don't come up with better weapons against resistant bacteria.
Like a headache, pneumonia is a symptom or condition. Specifically, it's lung inflammation and it can be lethal. Lacking further information, simply having pneumonia provides no clue as to its underlying cause. Pneumonia can be the result of infection with bacteria, viruses or fungi. Which means there's no such thing as a "pneumonia vaccine."
Pancreatic cancer is the most aggressive, least treatable form of the disease, and in a large majority of cases it reduces the victim's life expectancy to a matter of months. German researchers say they've discovered why it's so ravenous, and they've traced the cancer's aggressiveness to a key factor in its earliest growth and composition.
In most people's minds, high blood pressure is undoubtedly linked to salt intake. But there's another mineral that should also be considered — potassium. A recent review of several types of studies strongly indicates that it's not just a proper sodium level that helps one achieve, and maintain, normal blood pressure.
Difference in difference is a statistical technique used in observational studies. It can provide insight – but don't be fooled by numbers and p-values into believing it is necessarily true.
Synthetic trans-fatty acids have been restricted in several NY State counties since 2007. Now a new study says it was a good move, since that restriction was responsible for a greater decrease in the hospital admissions for heart attack and stroke than occurred in unrestricted counties. We're not so sure, however, it's really that straightforward.
Should we all be taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins? Even if one has never had a heart attack or stroke, should they be on a statin for so-called primary prevention? The USPSTF has reviewed the data and answers with a qualified "yes."
Bacteria are ubiquitous. While most are benign, they inhabit every surface we touch. They're on our companion animals, as well as all over our food and loved ones. Perhaps the scariest is Yersinia pestis — the cause of the black plague – which killed 60 percent of Europe during a 14th century outbreak. So, can it return?
The key to preventing Alzheimer's Disease may lie in the North Atlantic island of Iceland. Its relatively homogeneous population has been a treasure trove for genetic researchers looking for mutated genes that either increase or decrease the disease's risk.
Of all the nasty things floating around out there just waiting around to kill us, viruses are the nastiest. You've all heard of smallpox, rabies, Spanish flu, polio, AIDS and Ebola. But emerging viral infections are seriously scary.
Prions are the smallest and possibly the most dangerous of all infectious pathogens. They are also unique in that they contain no genetic material at all — just proteins. But as guest writer Steve Schow describes, those proteins can do some horrible things if they get into your brain.