Infectious diseases, such as influenza and tuberculosis, kill millions every year. But an infectious disease can kill in another way: by causing cancer. The good news is that many of these infections are preventable or treatable.
Disease
If you were about to undergo a significant operation – OK, even if you were just going “under the knife” for a minor one – what would be your biggest concern? We're figuring simply surviving the operation is high on the list, if not #1. Taking this thought experiment a step further, would it matter that the time period to ensure your survival was one month, 90 days or a year?
Norovirus has hit the U.S. hard and early this winter. It's not enough to simply stay away from people who are sick. There are innocent-looking, healthy evil-doers out there whose bodies are secret virus factories, and they are just as "happy" to give it to you as the guy with his head in the toilet.
Air pollution remains a contentious issue. While everyone is in favor of cleaner air, there is less unanimity over which pollutants, in what concentrations, can harm our health. The linkage between air pollution and disease is beset with problems of accurately identifying a dose-response (a biologic gradient), a clear temporal connection, and, most importantly, biologic plausibility – how does a pollutant cause a disease.
For a first-year surgical resident, the appendix (specifically, it’s removal) represents a prized surgical operation. For trained surgeons, the appendectomy is usually an urgent affair that requires giving up sleep or angering patients who have their office care delayed. Understanding the “true” role of the appendix requires both the hygiene hypothesis and the microbiome.
A recent study shows that dramatic changes in income can increase (or decrease) the incidence of cardiovascular disease. And no, it's not about gaining or losing health insurance. Could there be something other than $$$ at play? Let's find out.
Can artificial intelligence improve discharge planning? Has AI finally found a role in day-to-day healthcare? The answer is a tentative maybe.
We are reposting a timely article from The Conversation about why telling people with diabetes to use Walmart insulin can be dangerous advice. While data provides facts, stories give them a more human context. Here's a little background to go with the story.
A new study suggests that there is no safe amount of alcohol that can be consumed. Do the flaws of the study mean we can ignore the findings? Pour yourself a glass and read on.
Aging, whether you consider it a “natural” biologic process or a disease, is increasingly the subject of scientific investigation that goes beyond epidemiologic studies. Or how diseases impact longevity. Some of the most exciting work comes from studying our metabolism and mapping those changes to specific diseases.
How can physicians, in the care of their patients, translate research findings into useful information? P-values suggest differences, not effects. But could there be a simple solution?
From 2000 to 2018, the global incidence of measles fell by two-thirds, and more than 23 million lives were saved by vaccines. This good news, however, is tempered by disturbing regional trends. Over the same time period, measles incidence doubled in Europe and increased 11X in the Americas.