Diagnosis & Disease Information

HIV Lessons

HIV Lessons From the Mississippi Baby

The news in July that HIV had returned in a Mississippi toddler after a 2-year treatment-free remission dashed the hopes of clinicians, HIV researchers, and the public at large, who were tantalized by the possibility of a cure.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Blocking Single Receptor Could Halt Rheumatoid Arthritis

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine have shown for the first time how the activation of a receptor provokes the inflammation and bone degradation of rheumatoid arthritis, and that activation of this one receptor, found on cells in the fluid of arthritic joints, is all that is required.

Poor People With Diabetes and Amputation

Poor People With Diabetes Up to 10 Times Likelier to Lose A Limb Than Wealthier Patients

It’s no secret that poverty is bad for your health. Now a new UCLA study demonstrates that California diabetics who live in low-income neighborhoods are up to 10 times more likely to lose a toe, foot or leg than patients residing in more affluent areas of the state. Earlier diagnosis and proper treatment could prevent many of these amputations, the researchers say.

Flu Spray for Kids

Health Officials Recommend Flu Spray Over Shot for Kids

According to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of US health officials that makes recommendations to the CDC regarding which vaccines people should get, children between the ages of 2 and 8 years should use the nasal spray over the shot when it comes to the flu vaccine. Studies show that kids within that age group are about half as likely to get the flu after a squirt in the nose rather than a shot in the arm.

Is It Time to Ditch the Mustache?

Is It Time to Ditch the ‘Stache?

As the 1970s were ushered in, the 60s counterculture became mainstream. At that time, there was hardly a home without a lava lamp, mood rings, or at least a pet rock. Americas youth was dressing, speaking, and acting differently than previous generations. It was a time of sexual liberation for women and psychedelic experimentation. It was the era of free love, disco, and bellbottoms. Even in corporate America, one could find employees dressed in leisure suits and often sporting facial hair. Mustaches and beards could be seen in every walk of life. It was a veritable facial hair epidemic that swept across America through the 70s and into the 80s. Moustachery was in vogue and celebrities such as David Crosby, Billy Dee Williams, and Burt Reynolds wore them with pride.

Laughter Therapy in Cancer Patients

Laughter Therapy Shown to Boost Immune Function in Cancer Patients

Laughter really is the best medicine

There’s no doubt that laughter is contagious. Who hasn’t experienced breaking out into uncontrollable laughter just by watching someone else laugh, even without having any idea what was so funny? A unique case out of Tanzania details a reported “laughter epidemic” that started with 3 girls, spread throughout their boarding school in Kashasha, and affected 95 of its 159 students. The epidemic lasted 16 days until the school was forced to close, but it didn’t stop there. It further spread to neighboring villages, ultimately lasting 6 to 18 months, closing down 14 schools, and affecting 1000 people in total.

Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis

EV: The Other HPV

It was once a pervasive theory that warts come from playing with toads and frogs, but it is now nothing more than an old wives’ tale. Today, for most people, it is an absurd concept. But it is derived from an old medical axiom, which is really medical folklore, about “like producing like.” Simply put, because toads and frogs have wart-like bumps, playing with them transfers those wart-like bumps to humans. Forget about the fact that frogs are smooth, or the fact that neither actually have warts. It was a simple and easy way to understand and explain an unknown phenomenon. In fact, it would not be surprising if this folklore were still passed down from parent to child in some remote corner of this country.

Sickness Can Be Detected by Smell

Sickness Can Be Detected by Smell, Study Says

A new way of detecting sickness might be literally right under our noses. A study published in Psychological Science suggests that humans are able to smell sickness in someone whose immune system is highly active within hours of exposure to a toxin.

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