Tag: immune system

What you Should Be Doing at Home to Help Your Immune System Be Super Vigilant

The coronavirus is a virus that mutates quickly, making it unstable and difficult to contain. This also means we don’t have the typical immunity we’d have from other viruses. In addition to being cautious about social distancing and hand washing, here are some ways that you might keep your body’s immune system in top condition.… Continue reading What you Should Be Doing at Home to Help Your Immune System Be Super Vigilant

Are You at High Risk for Flu and Its Complications?

Most people who get sick with flu will have mild illness, will not need medical care or antiviral drugs and will recover in less than two weeks. Some people, however, are more likely to get flu complications that can result in hospitalization and sometimes death. Pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections and ear infections are examples of… Continue reading Are You at High Risk for Flu and Its Complications?

Study Links Psoriasis Treatment and Improvement in Heart Artery Disease

Treating the inflammatory skin disease psoriasis with biologic drugs can reduce the early plaque buildup that clogs arteries and leads to heart attacks and strokes, researchers say. Their findings highlight how immunotherapies that treat inflammatory conditions might play a role in the reduction of cardiovascular disease risks. The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung,… Continue reading Study Links Psoriasis Treatment and Improvement in Heart Artery Disease

Stress: Understand Root Causes for a Calmer, Healthier Life

Research has firmly established that stress weakens the immune system. When you are under stress your body produces adrenaline, cortisol and other stress hormones that can impair its ability to fight off disease. You owe it to yourself to find ways to reduce stress in your life for your own mental, emotional, and physical health.” THE… Continue reading Stress: Understand Root Causes for a Calmer, Healthier Life

New Research Tracks Hand-to-Nose Spread of Dangerous Bacteria

Pneumonia-causing bacteria can be spread via another way besides the airborne method: It can spread through contact between the hands and the nose, according to new research published in the European Respiratory Journal. Pneumococcus, the bacteria that can cause pneumonia, is known to be spread through inhalation of airborne droplets containing the bacteria, for example,… Continue reading New Research Tracks Hand-to-Nose Spread of Dangerous Bacteria

Dry Eye and Immune Cells

Immune cells that normally rush in to protect the eyes from infection might actually be disrupting moisturizing glands and causing dry eye, researchers say. Dry eye is a disease that afflicts more than 30 million people in the United States. This finding from a research team led by Duke Eye Center could lead to more… Continue reading Dry Eye and Immune Cells

Endurance Sports Don’t Weaken Immune System

New research overturns a myth that competing in endurance sports such as marathons suppresses the body’s immune system and makes competitors more susceptible to infections. . Research from the 1980s, which focused on events such as the Los Angeles Marathon, asked competitors if they had symptoms of infections in the days and weeks after their… Continue reading Endurance Sports Don’t Weaken Immune System

Battling A Sexually Transmitted Superbug

Every year, more than 100 million people worldwide develop the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, with health consequences such as infertility, transmission of the disease to newborn babies, and increased risk of HIV infections. Gonorrhea is caused by bacteria which can rapidly develop resistance to all known antibiotics; the bacteria are commonly called superbugs. Gonorrhea superbugs… Continue reading Battling A Sexually Transmitted Superbug

FDA: Beware of Fraudulent Flu Products

Editor’s note: Here, from the experts at the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a warning about “flu products” aren’t what they’re advertised to be: “This year the flu has been widespread, impacting millions of patients across the country, and leading to a new record number of flu-related hospitalizations,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D.… Continue reading FDA: Beware of Fraudulent Flu Products

What Do Your White Blood Cells Have to Do With the Flu?

As part of your annual physical, your doctor may order a complete blood count (CBC) to evaluate your overall health. This is a very important test that measures your white blood cells. Your white blood cells play a critical role in your fight against the flu and other viruses and infections. Think of your white… Continue reading What Do Your White Blood Cells Have to Do With the Flu?

A New Weapon Against Immune-System Diseases?

Anti-aging proteins are noted for protecting against cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular disease. One protein may also be beneficial to the immune system, new research shows. The protein in question is called SIRT1, more commonly known for being activated by red wine. In the new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, scientists from the… Continue reading A New Weapon Against Immune-System Diseases?

Lyme Disease: What Should Doctors Tell Their Patients?

Health experts are warning there will be increased odds of contracting Lyme disease this spring and summer, due to an explosion of infected ticks and an earlier, warmer spring. First identified – and named for – Lyme, Connecticut in the 1970s, the disease has spread steadily.  It’s now found in almost half of the counties… Continue reading Lyme Disease: What Should Doctors Tell Their Patients?

A New Use for Probiotics: Treating Hay Fever

A probiotic combination, already in use to maintain digestive health, may also help reduce hay fever symptoms, if it’s taken during allergy season, according to new research. Many published studies have shown a probiotic’s ability to regulate the body’s immune response to allergies, but not all of the probiotics show a benefit, University of Florida… Continue reading A New Use for Probiotics: Treating Hay Fever

Five Foods to Boost Your Immune System

Eat colorful fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and minerals. Reach for red and pink grapefruits, oranges, kiwis, and berries. Choose cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. These fruits and veggies are not only loaded with essential vitamins and phytonutrients, but they are also rich in antioxidants which give your immune system a boot and help build… Continue reading Five Foods to Boost Your Immune System

An Immune-System Factor in Depression?

Drugs used to treat arthritis and psoriasis could be used to treat depression, researchers have found. The discovery further implicates the immune system in mental-health disorders. Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge University led a team that analyzed data from 20 clinical trials involving the use of anti-cytokine drugs to treat a range… Continue reading An Immune-System Factor in Depression?

FDA Update on Targeted Lupus Therapies

It can be a difficult disease to diagnose and a difficult disease to treat. It’s called lupus, and as many as 24,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease each year. Scientists today are working on many fronts to understand the genetic underpinnings of the disease and to develop new and more… Continue reading FDA Update on Targeted Lupus Therapies

Immune-System Cells May Help Fight Alzheimer’s

Immune cells that help fight bacterial and viral infections may play a far greater role in Alzheimer’s disease than originally thought, according to University of California, Irvine neurobiologists The researchers discovered this when Alzheimer’s disease mice genetically modified to lack these key immune cells in their blood developed the distinctive brain plaques associated with the… Continue reading Immune-System Cells May Help Fight Alzheimer’s