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.

Obese people often have weak knees because squatting exerts of a force of up to 10 times one's body mass. This computer animation of an obese man makes the problem quite transparent.

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 ...

Patients with urinary tract infections can drink cranberry juice to make their urine more acidic.

Bacteria that cause a urinary tract infection multiply rapidly in alkaline urine, but not in acidic urine. Some types of kidney stones form in alkaline urine, but not in acidic urine.  

In the early 1900s, the disease pellagra was widespread in the United States, especially in southern states. Individuals with pellagra were weak, and they developed diarrhea, a skin rash, and mental confusion. Each year, thousands of Americans died from this dreaded illness. In 1914 the U.S. surgeon general assigned Joseph Goldberger, a physician who worked in a federal government laboratory, to study pellagra. Most medical experts thought pellagra was an infectious disease because it often occurred where people lived in close quarters, such as prisons, orphanages, and mental health institutions. Goldberger knew from his previous research that infectious diseases usually spread through a population by close physical contact. While investiga ...