Strep throat, caused by the bacteria Group A streptococcus, accounts for about 10 percent of sore throat cases in adults and about 30 percent of sore throat cases in children. It is most common in children between the ages of five and 15. Yet, there more than 12 million doctors visits

It would be almost impossible to find a better example of the difficulties that face the pharmaceutical industry than the campaign against hepatitis C.
Called The Silent Killer, the blood-borne disease infects the liver, gradually doing irreversible damage over a two- to three-decade period. Most people who are infected do not even know this until symptoms of liver failure show up, at which time the disease can be life threatening. The majority of liver transplants in the U.S. are due to liver failure caused by long-term hepatitis C infection.

Two pieces of good news regarding protecting from, and detecting early, cervical cancer caused by HPV: one dose of vaccine may work as well as the recommended three; and screening cervical cells for HPV may be more predictive of dangerous infection than the Pap smear.

Bariatric, or weight-loss surgery, has been instrumental in helping severely obese (those with a BMI over 40) patients and those with comorbid conditions, such as diabetes, attain a more normal body weight and metabolism. Even morbidly obese teens have benefitted

A new study, reported at a cancer research meeting, shows that the "problem" of teens becoming addicted to nicotine via e-cigarettes is another in a long line of hypothetical, or phony, scares promoted by our public health authorities afraid of anything that resembles a cigarette.

High blood cholesterol levels are known risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and heart disease is the number one killer of Americans. One might think that, given this widely-known information, people would be good about having their cholesterol levels checked regularly.

As overused as the expression you can t make this up is, sometimes there is simply no other phrase that can do the trick. You decide.
Yesterday, it was Chinese dietary supplements that were in the news. Today it s spices from India. And if there is a better way to illustrate how badly the FDA s hands are tied while trying to protect people from substances they should not be consuming, it isn t obvious.

The debate over the ballot measure I-522, which would require labeling of genetically engineered foods (GMOs) sold in the state of Washington, is getting heated as voting day gets closer. And ever-increasing amounts of money are being

One of the most debilitating ailments of our aging population is osteoarthritis, especially arthritis that affects the weight-bearing knee and hip joints. Knee arthritis can be extremely painful and extensively limit activity. ...a particular type of knee brace can be effective in decreasing pain and perhaps limiting the joint damage caused by the disease.

As we reported last month, there is significant progress being made in the treatments of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of debilitating diseases that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
There is now another drug nearing FDA approval, which will add to the choices of therapies for COPD sufferers, and it should help with patient compliance, since it is a once-a-day single drug. Previously, COPD patients had to deal with multiple drugs and a more complicated schedule.