Health

Drinking coffee may have many immediate benefits, such as feeling more alert and less drowsy. The beverage may also have a mildly positive (or neutral at least) effect on the risks of heart disease.

Many women swear by the effectiveness of “the pill.” These hormonal drugs can prevent unwanted pregnancies by stopping ovulation, and thus, fertilization of egg and sperm. This, in turn, could help couples make informed decisions in practicing safe sex and family planning. But in matters such as these, why should girls (or should we say boys) have all the fun?

A range of conditions affects the ability to move or control movement. They may have their origin in either the central nervous system or in more removed locations closer to where nerves end and muscles begin.

The trend of eschewing recommended vaccinations in children is a worrying one. Despite the evidence that suggests many diseases are or have been prevented from becoming endemic due to the use of these measures, an increasing number of parents are refusing to allow their children to be included in the programs involved. This may be due to the popular perception that vaccines may affect the risk of some conditions that manifest in childhood.

Acne is a condition in which small, red, pink or purplish lesions appear on the skin of patients. It can be restricted to the face, or appear elsewhere on the body. This condition may be chronic (or a long-term, persistent problem) in some individuals. However, in other cases, it is thought to be related to other variables, which can range from hormonal imbalances to emotional stress.

The vast majority of cases in which twin births among humans occur involve either the simultaneous fertilization of two oocytes (or human egg cells), or when the cells from a single fertilized egg split to form two fetuses. These events determine how identical the resulting twin babies could be. In the latter case, they will be 100% genetically similar, and in the former, this similarity will fall to about 50%.

The term ‘life-threatening disease’ may raise responses such as, could it be cancer, Ebola, or possibly diabetes? Strangely though, other conditions do not elicit quite such an immediate recall in the public consciousness.

Anti-tumor immunotherapy is rapidly taking center stage in cancer treatment. This innovative strategy addresses tumor size and progression by preventing such masses from ‘hijacking’ the body’s own immune system, as they normally do. Currently, researchers are working on ways to refine the compounds that achieve this goal, and also the methods by which they are delivered to tumors.

Conditions such as depression can have a severe effect on an individual’s life and life quality in the long term. If this was not bad enough, they are also associated with cognitive defects in later life.

Diabetes is a particularly difficult condition to handle on a day-to-day basis. This is particularly the case if the patient needs regular insulin therapy in order to correct the chronic resistance to this peptide that can cause glucose toxicity. This form of treatment involves a consistent schedule of insulin injections.

Albuminuria is a condition characterized by excessive protein concentrations in the urine. It can indicate the presence of a more serious condition such as end-stage renal failure (ESRF). Research has found that albuminuria is regulated in, and can even be controlled by, specific cells in the kidney. These cells, known as glomerular podocytes, have accordingly been the focus of many studies searching for robust clinical indicators, and maybe even new therapies, for kidney disease.

Messenger RNA (mRNA), a type of RNA, can trigger cells to produce proteins that can, in turn, be used for the treatment of certain diseases.