The deadliest time in a viral respiratory illness sometimes is actually after the virus is cleared from the body. Destructive processes that are set in motion during an infection crest in the weeks after the virus is defeated, leading to organ damage that can cause chronic illness or even death. After an initial bout of COVID-19, for example, some people […]
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Both acute and chronic stress in many different forms can lead to a condition known as acute thymic atrophy, which can severely impact the health of the immune system. Thymus. Image Credit: Nerthuz/Shutterstock.com What is the thymus? Except for jawless fish, the thymus is found in all vertebrates. The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ located above the heart that […]
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Exactly what American health care will look like if Democrats can pass their $3.5 trillion spending plan is unclear, but the senator negotiating its health-related provisions hopes what emerges will be dramatic: the first complete health care system for older Americans and significantly reduced costs for everyone else. “We are setting very, very ambitious goals,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told […]
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Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. For the third time in nine years, the Affordable Care Act has survived a constitutional challenge at the Supreme Court. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that the states and individuals […]
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Sickle cell trait is where a person carries a single mutated hemoglobin A beta subunit allele. Usually, two mutated copies of this gene are needed to cause sickle cell disease (SCD). Typically, people with SCT do not suffer from any symptoms in life, except in limited circumstances where there may be complications. Sickle Cell. Image Credit: SciePro/Shutterstock.com Sickle-Cell Disease (SCD) […]
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Stress is not the same for everyone, as every person experiences stress in different situations with different trigger points and intensity. Some studies have shown that some level of stress is necessary for people to function, as it helps them feel the pressure which then becomes motivation to perform. However, taking too much stress has not done anyone any good, […]
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Philip R. O. Payne, PhD, director of the Institute for Informatics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected a fellow of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI). Established in 2017 by the International Medical Informatics Association, the IAHSI recognizes leaders in the field whose work has had an international impact. Payne, who also […]
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Smell loss (anosmia) is a common symptom of COVID-19 and occurs in a large proportion of infected patients even in the absence of any other symptoms such as fever or cough. Image Credit: Nenad Cavoski/Shutterstock.com Smell loss and COVID-19 Smell loss (anosmia), reduced smell (hyposmia) or altered smell are common features of colds and flu, in addition to sinusitis and […]
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More than 20 years after the launch of a landmark clinical trial, follow-up examinations and analyses found that not all patients with elevated eye pressure need pressure-lowering treatment to prevent vision loss from glaucoma. When the study was launched, it was universally accepted that all patients with elevated eye pressure should be given medication to lower that pressure. The Ocular […]
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Clinical scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and University College London are collaborating with pharmaceutical companies AbbVie, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb and Roche to investigate the role of neurofilament light (NfL) chain in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. NfL is a protein that provides structural support to […]
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