Health Articles

RSS

Cataplexy mechanism

Cataplexy is a sudden episode of muscle weakness that occurs while fully aware and conscious. It can be triggered by emotional events, such as laughing, crying or fear, and is usually transient in nature.

15 Dec 2015

Narcolepsy and swine flu vaccine

There have been several reports suggesting that the swine flu vaccine may cause narcolepsy in rare cases.

15 Dec 2015

Insulin's Role in the Human Body

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that has a number of important functions in the human body.

14 Dec 2015

Preventing leg cramps

It may not be necessary to prevent leg cramps if they are relatively mild and do not often occur, such that they have an insignificant impact on the quality of life.

13 Dec 2015

Cramp Causes

Cramp involves the involuntary spasm of muscles, usually in the legs, that is transient in nature.

13 Dec 2015

Diabetic eye disease / diabetic retinopathy stages

Diabetic eye, also known as diabetic retinopathy, is a complication of diabetes that involves damage to the blood vessels in the eye, as a result of high blood sugar levels.

13 Dec 2015

Polypharmacology: The Future of Drug Discovery?

Polypharmacology involves the pharmaceutical compounds that exert an effect on multiple targets in the body.

13 Dec 2015

Pharmacogenetics: past, present and future

Pharmacogenetics, also now known as pharmacogenomics, is the study of genetic variability in the response to drug treatment.

10 Dec 2015

Alzheimer’s tangles and plaques: what’s the difference?

Dr. Alois Alzheimer first described both amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles early in the twentieth century, who noticed the unique structure were evident in patients with certain symptoms, now known as Alzheimer’s disease.

10 Dec 2015

Stem cell research for spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) involves damage to an area of the spinal cord that might result in a loss of muscle control, movement, and sensation.

10 Dec 2015

Living with Tourette Syndrome

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological condition characterized by involuntary movements or sounds, known as tics, which usually begin in childhood.

9 Dec 2015

How does Gestational Diabetes Affect the Baby?

Gestational diabetes is a health condition that involves high levels of glucose in the blood while a woman in pregnant.

9 Dec 2015

What Does Deep Brain Stimulation Involve?

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure that may be used in the treatment and management of some health conditions.

9 Dec 2015

Neuronopathy and neuropathy: What's the difference?

This article will describe the distinctive characteristics of both neuronopathy and neuropathy and explain their differentiation during the diagnostic process.

9 Dec 2015

Sensory Neuronopathy - Sensory Ganglionopathy

Sensory neuronopathy, also known as sensory ganglionopathy, is a rare subgroup of peripheral nervous system diseases with specific characteristics, such as the primary and selective destruction of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neuron in the spinal cord and the trigeminal ganglia neuron in the skull.

29 Nov 2015

Does cigarette smoking damage the skin?

Smoking damages nearly every organ in the body. Whilst most people are familiar of its association with lung cancer, stroke and heart disease, it also has profound effects on the body’s largest organ – skin.

8 Oct 2015

How safe are ‘black henna’ tattoos?

While on holiday, many people opt to have a ‘fun’ temporary henna tattoo applied when they’re on the beach, by the pool or when at a festival. These are often advertised as ‘black henna’ temporary tattoos (BHTT), but there is no such thing as ‘black henna’: true henna extract is orange-red in colour.

23 Sep 2015

Nitrous Oxide for Labor: Choose Wisely

Nitrous oxide has been used for over 100 years to manage pain during medical procedures. In numerous countries in Europe as well as Australia and New Zealand, it is common to use nitrous oxide as an option in laboring women, in order to help them cope with pain. But although nitrous oxide was once available for labor in the United States, its popularity diminished in the 1970s with the advent of the epidural.

14 Sep 2015

Occupational Therapy: Your Life by Design

The role of an occupational therapist is often not fully understood, or is confused with the role of a physical therapist. What’s the differentiator? Cue the “your life by design” approach.

19 May 2015

Treacher-Collins Syndrome - Mandibulofacial Dysostosis (MFD1)

Treacher-Collins syndrome, also called mandibulofacial dysostosis (MFD1), is a genetic disorder causing the abnormal development of the bones that make up the lower part of the face.

16 Apr 2015