Imagine you’re a firefighter trying to prevent a house from burning to the ground. After many hours of hard work you’ve rescued the family, saved their pet chinchilla and extinguished every visible ember — a job well done. Wouldn’t it be strange if the blaze came roaring back the following day?
Disease
Disease X -- a yet unseen deadly infectious disease with an epidemic potential for which no countermeasures exist -- has recently been added to WHO's Blueprint list of priority diseases of concern to public health. While we don’t know what Disease X might be, it reflects the fact that a future pandemic threat may be unexpected.
Should we think of obesity as a disease or lifestyle choice? While it seems it's a matter of splitting hairs, it really is another skirmish in an age-old debate: fate versus free will.
In the human body, there are roughly two trillion cell divisions every day. Molecular mechanisms to ensure that DNA is replicated properly are very accurate, but mistakes are inevitable. Most of the mistakes don't change anything but some cut the brake lines that control cell division -- and these can lead to the development of cancer cells. Dr. Chris Gerry explains, in Part 2 of his series on the complexities of cancer.
A Virginia news report states that two people died and 18 are hospitalized following an outbreak of an unknown respiratory infection at a retirement community. It's probably not influenza, but answers as to the cause are elusive.
In 2017, the CDC recorded 2,813,503 deaths in the United States. That's an average of 7,708 per day. But averages can be misleading. While that's the average, there is wide variability depending on the time of year. Specifically, people are far likelier to die during one extreme temperature season than the other.
Curing cancer is a misleading term. Cancer is far too complex to be treated as a single disease. Doing so would be akin to coming up with a pill that cures all viral infections -- something that's all but impossible. In his second of a multi-part series on the issues and obstacles facing cancer researchers, our new Senior Fellow Dr. Chris Gerry discusses the multiple challenges that must be overcome, and a new paradigm for treating the disease at the genetic level.
A new study shows that after two weeks of intense training and practice a medical doctor can surgically repair a hernia just as well as a surgeon. Will this bring cost savings?
Controversy abounds in prostate cancer. It can involve who and when to screen, and which treatment is the best. A recent study looks at what's been less controversial: the adjunctive use of androgen deprivation therapy. It appears to increase the risk of dementia.
We can reduce the cost of surgical care for some, but that might place new costs on others, as knee and hip replacements demonstrate.
Although no politician has ever been "pro-cancer" several have adopted staunchly anti-cancer positions -- as safe a policy promise as you'll ever find. Richard Nixon waged a war against cancer almost 50 years ago. More recently, both President Trump and presidential candidate Joe Biden have promised to cure it. But is this a realistic goal or just political pandering? Here is the first article in Dr. Chris Gerry's series about the scientific realities that stand in the way of a universal cure. Don't miss it.
Patient portals are meant to improve a user's "health journey" but the results are mixed. More physician appointments, fewer emergency department visits ... but no information on improving health.