Pneumococcal Pneumonia
• Public Health • • Disease Prevention through Vaccination • Sep 14 11
The Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium (often called pneumococcus) can cause a variety of diseases, from severe, potentially life-threatening pneumonia, meningitis, and bacteremia to common but…
Influenza
• Public Health • • Disease Prevention through Vaccination • Sep 14 11
Historically, influenza (the flu) epidemics have cased havoc. Charlemagne’s army may have been decimated by the flu during an epidemic in 876. The great…
Measles, Mumps and Rubella
• Public Health • • Disease Prevention through Vaccination • Sep 14 11
As late as the 1950s, and before a vaccine was developed, parents were encouraged to expose their children to diseases like measles, mumps, and…
Polio
• Public Health • • Disease Prevention through Vaccination • Sep 14 11
Probably no disease created as much fear as polio. Paralysis and death were the major hazards of- this disease. Probably the most famous polio…
Milestones in vaccine history
• Public Health • • Disease Prevention through Vaccination • Sep 14 11
It was almost 100 years after Jenner’s seminal work that vaccination moved beyond smallpox. The French chemist, Louis Pasteur, developed what he called a…
It all started with compox
• Public Health • • Disease Prevention through Vaccination • Sep 14 11
No discussion of vaccines can be considered complete without a discussion of smallpox and Edward Jenner, a country doctor in England who is credited…
What are vaccines and how do they work?
• Public Health • • Disease Prevention through Vaccination • Sep 14 11
The doctrine holding that infectious diseases are caused by the activity of microorganisms within the body is referred to as the germ theory of…
Disease Prevention through Vaccination: The Science and the Controversy
• Public Health • • Disease Prevention through Vaccination • Sep 14 11
Each one of us is constantly warding off the potential for infection or disease. After all, the world is filled with countless microbes, fortunately…
Aerobic Exercise May Reduce the Risk of Dementia, Researchers Say
• Brain • • Neurology • • Psychiatry / Psychology • Sep 13 11
Any exercise that gets the heart pumping may reduce the risk of dementia and slow the condition’s progression once it starts, reported a Mayo…
Gay men
• LGBT Health • Sep 13 11
Gay men’s health has for many years predominantly focused on HIV prevention and treatment. Despite being over two decades into the AIDS epidemic, it…
Transgender health
• LGBT Health • Sep 13 11
Few data are available on the number of transgender individuals in the United States; however, studies from the Netherlands estimate a prevalence of 1…
Tobacco use
• LGBT Health • Sep 13 11
Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Current estimates are that between 2000 and 2004,…
Health Issues Affecting LGBT Community
• LGBT Health • Sep 13 11
The Healthy People 2010 Companion Document for LGBT Health highlighted several areas of concern that affect all subpopulations within this community, including mental health,…
Barriers to access to care
• LGBT Health • Sep 13 11
The LGBT community faces several barriers to access to care that qualifies them as a special or vulnerable population. In particular, some barriers include…
Clinical research into LGBT populations
• Public Health • • LGBT Health • Sep 13 11
For public health departments and providers to plan appropriate services for a population, especially a vulnerable one, it is essential to have reliable data…
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health: A Neglected Issue
• Public Health • • LGBT Health • Sep 13 11
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) communities have existed in all cultures throughout recorded history; however, it is only in the last two decades…
Hold the pillow mint, send up the yoga mat
• Alternative Medicine • • Public Health • Sep 13 11
Hotel chains are delivering everything from yoga videos to recumbent bicycles to guests who prefer to work out their jet lag, or shape up…
Fatherhood lowers testosterone in men, study finds
• Endocrinology • • Sexual Health • Sep 13 11
Fatherhood lowers testosterone levels, U.S. researchers said they have confirmed, making it easier for men to be involved in raising children.
High levels of…
Researchers focus on secondary stroke prevention after study reveals room for improvement
• Stroke • Sep 13 11
A year after hospital discharge, the majority of stroke patients are listening to doctor’s orders when it comes to taking their prescribed secondary stroke…
Science finding is music to the ears
• Ear / Nose / Throat • • Aging and Gerontology • Sep 13 11
A study led by Canadian researchers has found the first evidence that lifelong musicians experience less age-related hearing problems than non-musicians.
While hearing studies…
Cardiotrophin 1 shows promising results for treatment of obesity and metabolic syndrome
• Obesity • Sep 13 11
Scientists from the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra (Spain) have discovered that cardiotrophin 1, a protein synthesized by…
Flu vaccines for nursing home workers effective in reducing outbreaks: study
• Flu • • Public Health • Sep 12 11
Higher flu vaccination rates for health care personnel can dramatically reduce the threat of flu outbreak among nursing home residents, according to a study…
High-fat diet and lack of enzyme can lead to heart disease in mice
• Dieting • • Heart • Sep 12 11
It’s no secret that a high-fat diet isn’t healthy. Now researchers have discovered a molecular clue as to precisely why that is.
Writing in…
Cognition research aims to reduce medical errors
• Public Health • Sep 12 11
How doctors, nurses and other health care professionals can be better prepared to reduce medical mistakes and improve patient care is the focus of…
Researchers find hormone that predicts premature death in kidney patients
• Urine Problems • Sep 10 11
Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that high levels of a specific hormone can predict which kidney patients will…