Category Archives: General Health

New medical evidence suggests that women with the autoimmune diseases lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) may be at risk of reduced fertility and pregnancy complications. Many people are familiar with lupus, the chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks normal, healthy tissues. Antiphospholipid syndrome or APS is not as recognized among the ...click here to read more

Kidney stones in childhood raise the risk of atherosclerosis – hardening of the arteries – as shown in a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics. A more profound understanding of the link between kidney stones and atherosclerosis in children can offer better prevention methods to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack, and other ...click here to read more

Giant cell arteritis in elderly is linked to the herpes virus causing chicken pox and shingles. Giant cell arteritis is a condition in which the blood vessels in the temples and scalp become inflamed, which can lead to sudden blindness or stroke. Study author Don Gilden said, “Our analysis, which is the largest to-date, provides ...click here to read more

Oral bacteria have been found to increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Within a single hospital, the researchers studied the patients admitted for stroke to uncover an association between oral bacteria and hemorrhagic stroke. In patients who experienced intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), 26 percent were found to have a specific bacterium in their saliva known as ...click here to read more

Norovirus 2016 (stomach flu) outbreak has caused more than 200 illnesses at a Pennsylvania college. Ursinus College in Pennsylvania completely shut down following the norovirus outbreak. The on-campus cafeteria is being blamed for the cause of the outbreak and is the center of the investigation. Montgomery County Health Department investigators found numerous health infractions including ...click here to read more

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is linked to metabolic dysfunction in non-obese adults. Although the link wasn’t found to be strong, researchers do suggest that it is significant. The researchers wrote, “In contrast, [cytomegalovirus] was not associated with metabolic health in obese participants, and there was no association between obesity and [cytomegalovirus].” The study looked at 9,517 ...click here to read more

When you enter a restaurant, movie theatre, even someone’s home, is “where are the bathrooms?” the first thing you think of? For many of us, finding out the location of the closest restroom is an everyday reality, as leaky bladder, urinary urgency and frequency plague us. In fact, this constant thinking about the bladder has ...click here to read more

Salmonella Poona infection outbreak is linked to imported cucumbers and has already spread to 39 states across the U.S. The Salmonella Poona outbreak began in 2015, and since then 50 additional persons have become infected by it in 16 states. The peak of the outbreak was August and September of 2015, and although it has ...click here to read more

The norovirus infection is still affecting food outlets, so here is your norovirus 2016 outbreak update. It all began with Chipotle food chains back in 2015, but has persisted to affect other food establishments in 2016. The Chipotle norovirus outbreak began with improperly stored chicken and sick employees attending work. Nearly 120 persons became sick ...click here to read more

Diagnosis accuracy of Cushing’s syndrome is highest with urinary cortisol test. A study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found a 24-hour urinary free cortisol test can most accurately diagnose Cushing’s syndrome. The researchers analyzed data from 137 adults, all with hypercortisolism, between 2012 and 2014. Thirty-eight of the participants had a ...click here to read more

In dysphagia patients and the elderly who have difficulties swallowing, eating has now been made easier through 3D-printed food. The EU-funded PERFORMANCE project has found a new way for seniors who have difficulty swallowing and patients with dysphagia to easily swallow food that has been 3D-printed. Dysphagia or difficulties swallowing may occur due to stroke ...click here to read more

Systemic sclerosis – scleroderma – is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, which is hardening of the arteries. The findings come from researchers in Hong Kong who uncovered that scleroderma can contribute to atherosclerosis. Among the known risk factors for atherosclerosis are age and hypertension. Scleroderma is a connective tissue disorder in which the tissue ...click here to read more

Risk of type 2 diabetes is linked to Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria. The research comes from Patrick Schlievert from UI Carver College of Medicine, where he and his team found that a toxin produced by staph bacteria caused rabbits to develop symptoms commonly found in type 2 diabetes, including insulin resistance and systemic inflammation. Schlievert ...click here to read more

Vitiligo, an autoimmune skin condition, is linked to simultaneously existing autoimmune diseases. Researchers from St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center created a questionnaire to be answered by children and adults who had vitiligo to determine other coexisting autoimmune diseases, which may appear along vitiligo. Based on the survey results, the most common vitiligo-associated autoimmune diseases (VAAD) were ...click here to read more