The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges in our everyday lives. As we each do our part to help slow the spread of coronavirus disease, we look to the helpers all around us and wonder if we, too, could do more. Here, from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are some ways you and your… Continue reading COVID-19: How You Can Make A Difference in The Pandemic
Tag: blood
When Blood Transfusions Can Be Fatal
Although blood is meant to save lives in emergency situations, that might not always be the case. Major trauma victims who receive transfusions of packed blood 22 days or older may face an increased risk of death within 24 hours, according to a new study in Annals of Emergency Medicine. Following a major trauma, the… Continue reading When Blood Transfusions Can Be Fatal
Bladder Cancer: Risk Factors, Symptoms
Bladder cancer is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the bladder. The bladder is a hollow organ in the lower part of the abdomen. It is shaped like a small balloon and has a muscular wall that allows it to get larger or smaller to store urine made by the… Continue reading Bladder Cancer: Risk Factors, Symptoms
A Crucial Discovery about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
For the first time, researchers have identified biological markers of chronic fatigue syndrome in both intestinal bacteria and inflammatory microbial agents in the blood. Chronic fatigue syndrome is condition where normal exertion leads to debilitating fatigue that isn’t alleviated by rest. There are no known triggers, and diagnosis requires lengthy tests administered by an expert.… Continue reading A Crucial Discovery about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Colorectal Cancer: What You Need to Know
Last year in the United States, more than 136,000 people were diagnosed with—and more than 50,000 died from—colorectal cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, striking some groups more often than others. The toll this disease takes on minorities is especially high,… Continue reading Colorectal Cancer: What You Need to Know
Living with Heart Failure
About five million people in the U.S. have heart failure, and that number is inching up. The condition is linked to 300,000 deaths per year, and it’s the most common reason people are hospitalized. The condition develops gradually, experts say, as the pumping ability of the heart grows weaker. At that point, it can’t pump… Continue reading Living with Heart Failure
Stay Calm and Be Healthy
Keeping calm can play a key role in your long-term health, researchers say. In a study measuring adults’ reactions to stress, investigators from Penn State found that adults who fail to maintain positive moods such as cheerfulness or calm when faced with the minor stressors of everyday life appear to have elevated levels of inflammation.… Continue reading Stay Calm and Be Healthy
New Hope for Treating Brain Diseases
Researchers have found that an antiviral compound may protect the brain from invading pathogens. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, demonstrated that the compound, interferon-lambda, tightens the blood-barrier, making it harder for the virus to invade. The blood-brain barrier is a natural defense system that is supposed to keep pathogens out… Continue reading New Hope for Treating Brain Diseases
Scientists Discover New Aging Pathway
Scientists have identified a new molecular pathway to aging, and they say that the process can be manipulated to revitalize old blood. According to a news release from the University of California Berkeley, the researchers found that blood stem cells’ ability to repair damage caused by inappropriate protein folding in the mitochondria, a cell’s energy… Continue reading Scientists Discover New Aging Pathway
Older Blood Is Safe for Transfusions
Although blood is perishable, it’s just as good as new blood after three weeks of storage, Canadian researchers say. The finding was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. According to a release from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the large clinical trial provides reassuring evidence about the safety of blood routinely transfused to… Continue reading Older Blood Is Safe for Transfusions
Too Many Patients Are Delaying Hospice Care
Although hospice can benefit terminally ill patients over a period of time, one in six cancer patients enroll it in only during the last three days of life, according to a new study. The findings, by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, also revealed a profile of the kind of patient… Continue reading Too Many Patients Are Delaying Hospice Care