December 26, 2017

Guillain–Barré Syndrome - Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Key Facts

No comments:
In Guillain-Barré syndrome, the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The syndrome can affect the nerves that control muscle movement as well as those that transmit feelings of pain, temperature and touch. This can result in muscle weakness and loss of sensation in the legs and/or arms.

December 25, 2017

Yellow Fever - Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Key Facts

No comments:
No one knows for certain, but scientists believe that yellow fever has plagued the world for at least 3,000 years. It is believed the disease was brought into the western world on slave ships from West Africa. The first definitive evidence of yellow fever in the Americas was in Mayan manuscripts describing an outbreak of the disease in the Yucatan and Guadeloupe in 1648. Yellow fever virus is found in parts of tropical and subtropical areas in Central and South America, and Africa.

Healthy Diet - Basic Principles and Practical Advice for Daily Living

3 comments:
A healthy diet is one that helps to maintain or improve overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, adequate essential amino acids from protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and adequate calories. The requirements for a healthy diet can be met from a variety of plant-based and animal-based foods.

December 12, 2017

Huntington Breakthrough: New Drug May Stop or Cure The Disease

No comments:
The defect that causes the neurodegenerative disease Huntington's has been corrected in patients for the first time. An experimental drug, injected into spinal fluid, safely lowered levels of toxic proteins in the brain.

December 11, 2017

Chikungunya Viral Disease: Transmission, Clinical Features, Diagnosis, Prevention and Key Facts

No comments:
Chikungunya (pronunciation: chik-en-gun-ye) is a mosquito-borne viral disease first described during an outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952. The most common symptoms are fever and joint pain, however, other symptoms may occur.

December 07, 2017

Marburg Virus Disease Key Facts: Transmission, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Control

No comments:
Marburg virus is the causative agent of Marburg virus disease (MVD), a disease with a case fatality ratio of up to 88%. Marburg virus disease was initially detected in 1967 after simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany; and in Belgrade, Serbia.

December 05, 2017

Avian and Other Zoonotic Influenza: Risk factors, Clinical features, Treatment and Other Key Facts

No comments:
There are 3 types of influenza viruses: types A, B, and C. Influenza A viruses infect humans and many different animals. Influenza B viruses only circulate among humans and cause seasonal epidemics. Influenza C viruses can infect both humans and pigs but infections are generally mild and are rarely reported.

December 04, 2017

Pathophysiology of Ebola Virus Disease

No comments:
Ebola virus disease (EVD; formerly, Ebola haemorrhagic fever) is one of the Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers. It is a severe, often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees). It is one of the world’s deadliest and most virulent diseases.

November 15, 2017

Adequate Vitamin D Leads to Higher Live Birth Rate After ART in Women

No comments:
Among women undergoing assisted reproduction treatment (ART), those with adequate vitamin D levels were a third more likely to deliver a live baby, compared with women whose levels were deficient or insufficient, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis suggests. The researchers are now calling for a randomized clinical trial to study the potential effect of vitamin D supplementation on live birth rates with ART.

November 14, 2017

New Guidelines Redefine Blood Pressure, Nearly Half of Americans Now Hypertensive

No comments:
New guidelines on blood pressure recognition and management have been released redefining the target set point for high blood pressure diagnosis so that the condition can be treated earlier.

November 13, 2017

Welcome to World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2017!

No comments:
It's World Antibiotic Awareness Week! This year's theme: Seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional before taking antibiotics. So how much do you know about antibiotics and its attendant problems? Don't worry, this page has all you need to know about antibiotics, its safe use and other important issues.

What You Need to Know About Antimicrobial Resistance and Antibiotic Resistance

No comments:
Antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial resistance have become an important topical issue in our health systems worldwide because of the enormous costs both to healthcare spending and potential life-threat to the individual patient.

How to Avoid Falling Ill While On A Tour or Travelling to A Destination

No comments:
Travelling? Then you should be careful not to fall sick because that could be a huge disappointment while on the road. Not only does it take the fun out of your trip, ill-health will disorganize your entire schedule and cost you some good money as you are forced to seek medical care outside of your insurance cover.

November 09, 2017

Antibiotic Resistance

No comments:
Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to the use of these medicines. This is different from Antimicrobial resistance. Read more on Antimicrobial resistance.

Antimicrobial Resistance: Understanding the Basics, the Key Facts and the Global Concern

No comments:
Antibiotics and similar drugs e.g. antivirals and antimalarials, together called antimicrobial agents, have been used for the last 75+ years to treat patients who have infectious diseases. Since the 1940s, these drugs have greatly reduced illnesses and deaths from infectious diseases.

October 22, 2017

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) - reducing disease burden and treatment

No comments:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels. They are the leading cause of death and disease burden in many countries, and the number of people living with them is increasing due to factors like population ageing and improved treatments that have resulted in people living longer with CVD.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) - meaning, risk factors and clinical features

No comments:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death and disease burden in many countries across the world. The number of people living with cardiovascular disease is increasing due to factors like population ageing and improved treatments that have resulted in people living longer with CVD.

October 10, 2017

Palliative Care

No comments:
Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients (adults and children) and their families who are facing problems associated with life-threatening illness. It prevents and relieves suffering through the early identification, correct assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, whether physical, psychosocial or spiritual.

September 17, 2017

Cell Phone Radiofrequency Exposure Alters Brain Glucose Metabolism

No comments:
Effect of Cell Phone Usage On Brain Activity
Cellular telephone use has become quite common worldwide. A number of concerns have been raised regarding whether exposure to radiofrequency-modulated electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by cellular phones can lead to an increased rate of cancer, although epidemiologic studies have failed to prove this increased carcinogenic risk. These RF-EMFs could also, in theory, influence neuronal activity in the brain, and a 2011 study by Volkow and colleagues (2011) elegantly attempted to study whether changes in regional brain activity could be observed with cellular phone use.

September 13, 2017

Parkinson's disease - Living with this medical condition

No comments:
As we defined in an earlier post, Parkinson's disease (PD) is a long-term degenerative disease in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years. Symptoms of Parkinson's disease include muscle rigidity, tremors (or shaking), and changes in speech and gait. Causes are unknown but genetics, aging, toxins are suspected. We also saw that although there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, treatments are given to help relieve symptoms.

Top 10 Countries With The Highest Pay for Doctors

No comments:
The practice of medicine is a fulfilling one for many who come into it as a calling to serve humanity. Medical practice, however, can either greatly make you wealthy or greatly impoverish you depending on the country and region where you practice.

September 09, 2017

How Has Specialist Training Programs for African Physicians Fared Over Time?

No comments:
Specialist Training Programs for African Physicians

Many African countries are liberal in accepting medical degrees and specialist qualifications acquired abroad. This in part stems from the lack of training programs on the African continent that can supply the required or near the required numbers of doctors to serve the populations. As the majority of African states are English-speaking, academic and professional qualifications obtained in other English-speaking countries are more likely to be accepted than those from countries with some other official language. Francophone and Lusophone African countries are also likely to be accommodating to French and Portuguese medical qualifications, respectively.

September 08, 2017

MERS Coronavirus Infection - Symptoms, Treatments and Key Facts

No comments:
What is MERS-CoV?
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), previously called the Novel Coronavirus or severe acute respiratory syndrome-like (SARS-like) virus, is a member of the coronavirus family. Coronaviruses commonly cause respiratory illness in mammals, including humans. Coronaviruses are responsible for approximately 1 in every 3 cases of the common cold. Though SARS-CoV seem more human-transmissible, MERS-CoV is more deadly. MERS-CoV is much more deadly than any other coronavirus seen before.

September 05, 2017

Alcohol Use and Health Implications for You

No comments:
Alcohol is a psychoactive substance with dependence-producing properties that has been widely used in many cultures for centuries. The harmful use of alcohol causes a large disease, social and economic burden in societies.

September 02, 2017

How Schools Prevent Adolescent-related Health Risks and Maintain Adolescent Health

No comments:
Schools -- The Right Place for a Healthy Start
In the first part of this 2-article series, we broadly defined adolescence as the period between childhood and adulthood. We saw it is a period of rapid physical and cognitive growth, puberty, and move from the relative security of childhood to an array of social and other life challenges. We defined the age range to be 10-19 years. We also looked at adolescent health, or youth health, which is the range of approaches to preventing, detecting or treating young people’s health and well being (WHO, 2001).

September 01, 2017

Adolescent Health Risks and How to Solve Adolescent-related Health Problems

No comments:
Adolescent health, or youth health, is the range of approaches to preventing, detecting or treating young people’s health and well being (WHO, 2001). The term adolescent and young people are often used interchangeably, as are the terms Adolescent Health and Youth Health.

August 31, 2017

Blockchain and Healthcare: data integrity and overall patient security, privacy and accessibility

No comments:
Using Blockchain within the healthcare industry is a fairly new concept. Blockchain has been around for several years, and one of its more famous assets Bitcoin is increasingly in the media. Blockchain is basically a digital ledger that records all transactions that have taken place on it. These transactions are secure, they cannot be edited or deleted. Many see blockchain as a digital currency platform, yes banks are taking advantage of the technology but the technology can be used for anything, such as contracts, messaging, data sharing, file storage, file transfer- anything that needs to be independently recorded and verified as having happened.

August 29, 2017

Lung Cancer: How to Manage Treatment Side Effects

No comments:
The body’s reaction to chemotherapy, radiation, or targeted treatments depends on a number of factors such as length of treatment, dosage prescribed, and a person’s health history. Most side effects are short term, but some can last throughout your treatment and even for some time afterward. Although side effects can be uncomfortable or painful, doctors now have many ways to reduce and even prevent side effects from treatment.

August 27, 2017

Lung Cancer: Staging and Treatment

No comments:
In the previous article, we noted that if lung cancer is suspected as a result of a screening procedure (CT, MRI or PET scan), then a follow-up biopsy would be required, and also that a bronchoscopy might be needed in some circumstances. Please see symptoms and diagnosis of lung cancer for more. In this article, we will discuss the staging and treatment of lung cancer.

August 26, 2017

Diploma in UK Medical Practice for International Medical Graduates

No comments:
Diploma in UK Medical Practice (DipUKMP)
The DipUKMP was developed through a partnership between Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the Royal College of Physicians of London (RCP) and now incorporates a partnership with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).

August 19, 2017

Cancer (Understanding the Basics): Detection, Care and Treatment

No comments:
Cancer--Detection, Care, Treatment and WHO Response
We previously defined cancer as a generic term for a large group of diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade other tissues. We learnt cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems; and that this is not just one disease, but many diseases with more than 100 kinds of cancer.

Cancer (Understanding the Basics): Causes, Risk factors and Prevention

No comments:
Cancer is a generic term for a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body. Other terms used are malignant tumours and neoplasms. One defining feature of cancer is the rapid creation of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual boundaries, and which can then invade adjoining parts of the body and spread to other organs, the latter process is referred to as metastasizing. Metastases are a major cause of death from cancer.

August 15, 2017

What is Candida auris? Understanding this bug, how it is spread and how to avoid it

No comments:
Candida, which is a type of yeast, is an uncommon type of fungus that can cause a range of illnesses. Healthcare facilities in several countries have reported that a type of Candida called Candida auris has been causing severe illness in hospitalized patients.

Safety Alert: Drug-resistant Fungus In 55 UK Hospitals

No comments:
Alert! Drug Resistant Bug in Many UK Hospitals
The UK Government health agency, Public Health England (PHE), reported last year it had been notified of a number of cases of Candida auris (C.auris), an emerging drug-resistant yeast. Since then, the fungus which is largely resistant to known drugs has spread to at least 55 hospitals across the UK.

July 29, 2017

Winning The HIV War: New Monthly Injections With Better Outcome To Replace Daily Pills

No comments:
Long-acting Antiretroviral Injection Safe and as effective as Daily Oral Medication for HIV
An injectable antiretroviral therapy (ART) consisting of two drugs (cabotegravir and rilpivirine) administered every four or eight weeks may be as effective as a daily oral dose of the drugs in maintaining viral suppression in patients with HIV, according to a new phase 2 trial published in The Lancet.

June 29, 2017

Walking Maintains Brain Volume, Prevents Cognitive Impairment

No comments:
The article below has been republished because it will impact your health positively. It is a summary of scientific findings from the work of Kirk I. Erickson (PhD) of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and his colleagues. Their finding was first reported in the October 13, 2010 online issue of Neurology, and supported by the National Institute on Aging.

June 14, 2017

Preventing Unsafe Abortions Amongst Women

No comments:
Unsafe abortion occurs when a pregnancy is terminated either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both. In a previous article, we had looked at abortion and the risks and consequences that could result from this.

May 28, 2017

Leprosy - Symptoms, Treatment and Key Facts

No comments:
Leprosy was once feared as a highly contagious and devastating disease, but now it is established that it does not spread easily and treatment is very effective. However, if left untreated, the nerve damage it causes can result in crippling of hands and feet, paralysis, and blindness. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment prevents disability related to the disease.

May 27, 2017

Leprosy - An Overview of Current Public Health Burden

No comments:
Hansen's disease (also known as leprosy) is a long-lasting infection caused by bacteria. The disease was once feared as a highly contagious and devastating disease. Now, however, the disease is relatively rare and easily treated. Early diagnosis and treatment usually prevents disability related to the disease.

May 24, 2017

Poor Sleepers Have Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

No comments:
People who sleep badly or not long enough have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This does not apply to people who only sleep for a few hours, but wake up feeling fit and rested.

May 14, 2017

Ebola Virus Disease: WHO Issues Statement On New Outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo

No comments:
KINSHASA, 12 May. The Minister of Public Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Dr Oly Ilunga Kalenga, has informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of “an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)” in Likati health district (Aketi, Bas-Uélé province), more than 1300 kilometres from Kinshasa in the northern DRC, following confirmation of the disease by the National Biomedical Research Institute (INRB), the national reference laboratory.