_ Skin Skin Health The Newest Treatments for Psoriasis By Jane Farrell article People who suffer from psoriasis know how aggravating it can be, but treatments for the persistent skin condition are improving. … Read More→
_ Medical Care An Effective Treatment for Ebola By Sondra Forsyth article A leading Ebola researcher from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has gone on record stating that a blend of three monoclonal antibodies can completely protect monkeys against a lethal dose of Ebola virus up to five days after infection, at a time when the disease is severe.
_ Men's Health Tailor Made Prostate Treatment By Sondra Forsyth article Sequencing RNA (ribonucleic acid), not just DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), could help doctors predict how prostate cancer tumors will respond to treatment, according to research published in August 2014 the open access journal Genome Biology. Because a tumor's RNA shows the real time changes a treatment is causing, the authors think this could be a useful tool to aid diagnosis and predict which treatment will most benefit individual cancer patients.
_ New Hope for Alzheimer’s Treatment By Sondra Forsyth article A relatively frequent genetic variant turns out to provide significant protection against Alzheimer's disease and can delay the onset of the disease by as much as four years. That is the finding of research done by Judes Poirier, PhD, C.Q., and colleagues at the Douglas Mental Health Institute and McGill University in Montréal. The discovery opens new avenues for treatment against this devastating disease. Dr. presented the study at the annual Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Copenhagen in July 2014.
A New Cancer Treatment for Dogs By Jane Farrell article A cancer therapy that was until now only available for humans has been developed for dogs. Scientists from the Messerli Research Institute of the Vetmeduni Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna, and the University of Vienna have developed a way to use cancer immunotherapy on dogs. Almost half of dogs ten years or older develop cancer.
_ Alternative Health Alternative Treatments for Fibromyalgia By Jane Farrell article People who suffer from fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder with symptoms that include musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness, often seek relief from alternative-health practices. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) part of the National Institutes of Health, talks about the research:
_ Heart Health Painless AFib Treatment By Sondra Forsyth article A technique called cardiac optogenetics achieves defibrillation without the pain of electric shocks, according to research presented on July 4th at Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. The meeting is organized by the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in collaboration with 13 European cardiovascular science societies.
_ Two Anti-Smoking Treatments Better Than One By Jane Farrell article A combination of quit-smoking therapies is more effective than using just one for male smokers and people with a high level of nicotine dependence. Researchers from Duke Medicine analyzed the outcomes of 349 people who reported smoking ten or more cigarettes per day. The participants were given a six-item questionnaire that measured their level of nicotine dependence. Before they quit, the researchers provided the subjects with a nicotine patch.
_ The "New Normal": Life After Cancer Treatment By Jane Farrell article Cancer is a frightening and even traumatic experience not only for patients but for caregivers. But once diagnosis and treatment are over, people who cared for a loved one may expect to put it behind them and go back to their normal life. As the National Cancer Institute (NCI) explains, though, thatΓÇÖs not usually the case. Caregivers are faced with a ΓÇ£new normalΓÇ¥ that may make life seem more forbidding and uncertain. Here, experts from the NCI take a look at a situation thatΓÇÖs often neglected, and share some strategies for coping:
_ A Breakthrough in Anti-Aging Treatment By Jane Farrell article The hormone oxytocin ΓÇô associated with childbirth, sex and social attachments ΓÇô is also essential for muscle maintenance and repair, researchers have found. But an animal experiment found that it declines with age. The new study, published) in the journal Nature Communications, indicates that oxytocin, if it could be administered to humans, could eventually be a treatment for age-related muscle wasting, or sarcopenia. The discovery is especially significant because oxytocin is already approved by the Food and Drug Admnistration for use in people.
_ Managing your life during Hepatitis C Treatment By Jane Farrell article TREATMENT Managing your life during Treatment Courses of treatment for hepatitis C can be long, arduous and may not even ultimately eliminate the virus. Patients have to deal with side effects such as hair loss, nausea, and depression. Although the treatment for many cases is a course of antiviral medications, some patients choose to defer treatment even when advised not to do so, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. In the most serious cases, a patient may get a liver transplant. ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT
_ Doctors Don't Want Aggressive End-of-Life Treatment for Themselves By Jane Farrell article Although most physicians would choose a do-not-resuscitate code for themselves when terminally ill, they tend to pursue life-prolonging treatment for patients in a similar condition, new research shows. The study, conducted by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine, demonstrates a ΓÇ£disconnectΓÇ¥ that needs to be further explored. ΓÇ£Why do we physicians choose to pursue such aggressive treatment for our patients when we wouldnΓÇÖt choose it for ourselves?ΓÇ¥ said lead author VJ Periyakoil, director of the Stanford Palliative Care Education and Training Program.
_ How Long Should Hep C Treatment Last? By Jane Farrell article As new treatments for hepatitis C virus (HCV) are approved, biomedical scientists are exploring their mechanisms and what they reveal about the virus. An online publication in May 2014 in Hepatology is the first to report real-time tracking of viral decay in the liver and blood in 15 patients with HCV.
_ Pain Management New Target for Chronic Pain Treatment By Jane Farrell article Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have found a new target for treating chronic pain: an enzyme called PIP5K1C. In a paper published on may 21st 2014 in the journal Neuron, a team of researchers led by Mark Zylka, PhD, Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology, shows that PIP5K1C controls the activity of cellular receptors that signal pain. By reducing the level of the enzyme, the scientist demonstrated that the levels of a crucial lipid called PIP2 in pain-sensing neurons is also lessened, thus decreasing pain.
_ 10 Common Cancer Treatment Myths By Jane Farrell article By Mayo Clinic Staff As advances in the treatment of cancer have increased, you may have discovered more opportunities to learn the facts about this disease. Yet some misleading ideas about cancer treatment still persist. Timothy J. Moynihan, M.D., a cancer specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., helps debunk some of the most common misconceptions about cancer treatment and explains the truth. Myth: A positive attitude is all you need to beat cancer.
_ Exercise Health & Fitness Injury Prevention & Treatment Debunking Injury Prevention and Treatment Myths By Sondra Forsyth article By Sondra Forsyth
_ The Right Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome By Jane Farrell article Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects an estimated 3 to 20 percent of the population, according to the federal National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). According to the NDDIC, IBS is a collection of symptoms, not a condition. It’s been known by a number of other names in the past, including colitis and spastic colon.
_ More Effective Kidney Stone Treatment By article Researchers in France have hit on a novel method to help kidney stone sufferers ensure they receive the correct and most effective treatment possible. Kidney stones represent a major medical problem in the Western and developing world. If left untreated, apart from being particularly painful, they can lead to renal failure and other complications. In many patients treated successfully, stone recurrence is also a major problem. Clearly a more effective pathological approach to diagnosis and treatment needs to be identified to ensure successful eradication of stones.