For quite some time it's been known in the medical community that a link exists between depression and heart disease. For example, large epidemiological surveys typically find that 1.5 to 3 percent of the population is depressed at any given time. Among patients with heart disease, however, the rate of depression is closer to 18 percent. Similarly, about 1 in 6 people in the general population has an episode of major depression during their lifetimes, compared to about 50 percent of people with heart disease. Finally, a Canadian study revealed that of 222 patients who had suffered heart attacks, those who were depressed were four times as likely to die within the next 6 months.

Amassing this evidence is one thing, but explaining it is quite ...

Asthma is one of those illnesses that is so common that we never stop to question what causes it and how it could be treated. Affecting more than 25 million people, asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory conditions in the United States. It is caused by the increased reactivity of the tracheobronchial tree to various stimuli, including exercise, allergies, or infections of the respiratory tract. Symptoms include, but are not limited to breathlessness, cough, wheezing, and chest tightness.


The most commonly used medications for asthma are: bronchodilators, xanthine derivatives, leukotriene inhibitors, corticosteroids, and mast cell stabilizers (see full list below). Xanthine derivatives treat asthma by re ...

Nearly one-third of women experience heavy periods each month. This means that unlike normal periods where women lose up to 40 mL of blood per cycle, some women lose as much as 80 mL (more than a quarter of a cup) in at least one cycle throughout their life. Scientists think they might have found the answer as to why this happens, and they are blaming it on a non-hormonal protein. A new small study suggests that low levels of a specific protein known as hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1, right) might be to blame.

HIF1 is a pretty handy healing molecule. When oxygen levels drop in parts of the body, a condition known as hypoxia, HIF1 activates more than 60 genes linked to tissue regeneration, and has already been shown to play a role in repai ...

For the first time, scientists have discovered a link between heavy marijuana use and reduced dopamine production. Just so you know, dopamine is the hormone/neurotransmitter that is released during any kind of satisfaction - it's the same hormone that is released in your brain when you eat chocolate. In a recent study, lower dopamine release was found in the striatum - a region of the brain that is involved in working memory, impulsive behavior, and attention, in addition to subregions involved in associative and sensorimotor learning, and in the globus pallidus. Previous studies have shown that addiction to other drugs of abuse, such as cocaine and heroin, have similar effects on dopamine release, but such evidence for cannabis was mis ...

A medical doctor claims he has the cure for HIV, a cure so simple it's laughable. According to Dr. Samir Chachoua, the Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus (CAEV) in goats milk "destroys HIV and protects people who drink it for life". The so-called researched voluntarily infected himself with Charlie Sheen's HIV-infected blood, and cured himself shortly after with this cocktail. The moral of the story is, if you are traveling across the countryside and see a goat limping, please stop and milk it for Charlie. It's the least you can do.

Joking aside, here's the interview with Bill Maher.

...

Known an fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive, or FOB for short, this disease can suddenly turn a person’s tissues and muscles into bone, thereby permanently immobilizing parts of the bodies. Joints such as elbows or ankles may become frozen in place; jaw motion can be impeded and the rib cage fixed, making eating or even breathing difficult. Currently, no cure exists to combat this rare condition.

A possible vaccine for lung cancer! In a country known for cigars, lung cancer is one of the major killers in Cuba. So for the past 25 years, they’ve been developing Cimamax, which is now available freely to Cubans. According to a Phase II trial conducted in Cuba in 2008, lung cancer patients who received the vaccine lived an average of four to six months longer than those who didn’t. This led Japan and some European countries to trial the drug as well.

The drug itself is far from flawless and, by attacking a cell’s protein rather than the tumour directly, can have severe side effects, including – of all things - causing a higher risk of cancer. It might not be a "cure" in the traditional sense, but it's a way of managing the disease. What t ...

An injectable drug, called ATX-101, currently being tested melts away "submental fat", better known as the double chin. According to its makers, ATX-101 can be injected in a clinic and takes just five minutes. It consists of deoxycholic acid, a naturally-occurring molecule that helps us break down fat, which effectively destroys the membranes of fat cells, causing them to burst and then be metabolised by the body. ...

A simplified illustration of the various brain functions...

In a paper this week in Science, two scientists at John Hopkins have united biology and mathematics to propose a mathematical formula to explain the genesis of cancer.


Take the number of cells in an organ, identify what percentage of them are long-lived stem cells, and determine how many times the stem cells divide. With every division, there’s a risk of a cancer-causing mutation in a daughter cell. Thus, Tomasetti and Vogelstein reasoned, the tissues that host the greatest number of stem cell divisions are those most vulnerable to cancer. When Tomasetti crunched the numbers and compared them with actual cancer statistics, he concluded that this theory explained two-thirds of all cancers.

“Using the mathematics of evolution, you can really ...

I've been advocating this for years. Just because you're a doctor and you're on TV, doesn't make you a know-it-all. Researchers from the University of Alberta have found that half the advice on Dr. Oz is wrong or has no evidence to back it up. In fact, on average, the shows give their viewers around 12 different recommendations per episode. But only half of them are supported by research. Just comes to show that people will believe anything they see on TV. When there is money to be made and an agenda to be pushed, lies will follow. ...

So, how come being cold doesn't actually give you a cold? Check out our video on the topic for answers!

An antioxidant derived from grapes, known as resveratrol, could work as an acne treatment by inhibiting bacteria growth. Researchers have found that combining acne medication with the antioxidant makes the drug more effective. Now you may apply grapes on your face ...

New research from the University of Chicago in the US shows that a class of bacteria known as Clostridia can block peanut allergies in mice, and suggests it could be used to treat similar conditions in humans.

Clostridia is one of the types of bacteria killed off by antibiotic use in early childhood, and this research supports the emerging theory that increased antibiotic use is one of the factors that has caused food allergies in kids to rise by 50% since 1997.

Source: http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20142708-26075.html ...

A doctor chronicles the signatures of his patient as the disease took hold of her. Our love goes out to anyone who's dealt with this awful disease in some way.

New research has shown that children with autism have a very high number of synapses - connections between neurons in the brain. So, researchers have developed a new drug that promotes synaptic pruning, and reverses autistic-like behaviour in mice.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/08/22/4072456.htm ...

Say hello to the Blackberry Passport. This killer phone sports a huge 4.5 inch 1440x1440 LCD display, massive 3450 mAH battery, and a capacitive touch keyboard. According to its makers, the phone's resolution is perfect for seeing images accurately, and any doctor who wants to look at detailed x-rays on their smartphone couldn’t do any better than the device’s 4.5-inch screen.

Great news! ReWalk, a motorised exoskeleton suit that helps people who are paralysed from the waist down to stand up and walk again, has been approved for personal use.

In a 12-week trial, a new drug for hepatitis C has reportedly cured 191 out of 208 patients.

For more information on viruses, visit: http://www.ppdictionary.com/viruses.htm

A new study has found that oxytocin alters anorexic patients' tendencies to fixate on images of high calorie foods and larger body shapes. The research presents a possible pathway for future treatments of anorexia nervosa, which has one of the highest mortality rates of all mental illnesses.

Reference: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0090721 ...

This tiny camera invented by scientists F. Levent Degertekin can provide high-definition 3D images of your arteries. The camera, which is the size of an uncooked quinoa grain, uses ultrasound imaging techniques to capture what going on inside the body. The images produced can be used in the surgical theatre, giving doctors a direct view of obstructions in a blood vessel.

A panel of respected physicians has written a major paper advising the public against 'wasting money' on multivitamins. Their report analysed 27 clinical studies: "We believe that the case is closed — supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults with (most) mineral or vitamin supplements has no clear benefit and might even be harmful. These vitamins should not be used for chronic disease prevention. Enough is enough."

Source:

https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/1789253/enough-enough-stop-wasting-money-vitamin-mineral-supplements ...

Uncombable hair syndrome, also known as Pili trianguli et canaliculi, is a rare structural anomaly of the hair with a variable degree of effect. It was first reported in the early 20th century and was described in the 1970s. It becomes apparent from as little as 3 months to up to 12 years.

The hair is normal in quantity and is usually silvery-blond or straw-colored. It is disorderly, it stands out from the scalp, and cannot be combed flat. The underlying structural anomaly is longitudinal grooving of the hair shaft, which appears triangular in cross section. There usually is no family history, though the characteristic hair shaft anomaly can be demonstrated in asymptomatic family members by scanning electron microscopy. To be noticeable, 50% ...

This 22-year-old man had a car accident last year and as a result his nose became infected and deformed. Doctors weren’t able to repair it, but decided to take cartilage from one of the young man’s ribs to grown a new nose. The nose, which is temporarily attached to his forehead, has been developing for 9 months and is ready to be transplanted.

Parasitologist espouses using parasitic worms for treatment of autoimmune diseases – Dr. Joel Weinstock, at Tufts Medical Center in a commentary piece published in the journal Nature, describes work that he and colleagues have been involved in that focuses on studying the possibility of introducing parasitic worms into the guts of patients suffering from autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease. The thinking he says, is that modern hygienic lifestyles may be contributing to such diseases and that reintroducing parasitic worms and perhaps certain bacteria into the gut may restore a natural balance in the gut and relieve patients of such symptoms as chronic diarrhea, bleeding and infections.

Source: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-p ...

Waardenburg Syndrome is a rare autosomal genetic disorder that has possible bright blue eyes as one of its qualifying criteria, along with possible deafness (common). Actually, the cause of the blue eyes is a form of albinism that may include patches of non-pigmented skin or forehead hair, regardless of ethnicity.

There are four types of Waardenburg Syndrome, with a mix of possible characteristics as the determinant. Medical challenges increase with type. The boy in the picture is displaying two major symptoms of type 1; bright blue eyes and dystopia canthorum, a condition where the inner corners of the eyes are set more widely apart, but with normally distanced eyes. ...