Common antibiotic found useful in accelerating recovery in tuberculosis patients
Globally, an estimated 10 million people develop tuberculosis (TB) each year and the disease remains a leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. Standard short-course anti-TB treatment still requires a regimen of at least six months of antimicrobial drugs, and drug-resistant TB is an increasing public health threat. Even after the traces of […]
Clinical Challenges: Managing Pediatric Crohn’s Disease
Pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD) is on the rise, with an estimated 40,000 U.S. children affected by this potentially growth-stunting condition. This increase is not an artifact of better detection. “Rather, it appears that Western diets, antibiotic exposure early in life, and dietary emulsifiers may contribute to disease pathogenesis,” said Jeffrey Hyams, MD, of Connecticut Children’s […]
Two probiotics identified as promising hypertension treatments
An estimated 40% of the global adult population have high blood pressure, or hypertension, which puts people at risk of cardiovascular disease and other dangerous health conditions. Recent studies suggest that probiotics may offer a protective effect, but researchers have a limited understanding of why shaping the gut microbiota can regulate blood pressure. A study […]
What Do We Know About the EU.1.1 COVID Variant?
The CDC is tracking a handful of new COVID variants, including the EU.1.1 variant, which now makes up an estimated 1.7% of U.S. COVID cases. EU.1.1 is an XBB sublineage related to the XBB.1.5 variant that currently accounts for an estimated 27% of COVID cases in the country. So how worrisome is this variant? Experts […]
Should You Still Get The Flu Shot Even If You’ve Already Had The Flu?
In the United States, an estimated 9 to 41 million people are infected each year with influenza, commonly known as the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, flu cases were low. Precautions like masking and social distancing were likely responsible for the decline in […]
Pollination loss removes healthy foods from global diets, increases chronic diseases causing excess deaths
Inadequate pollination has led to a 3-5% loss of fruit, vegetable, and nut production and an estimated 427,000 excess deaths annually from lost healthy food consumption and associated diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers, according to research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. It is the first study to […]
Women Describe The ‘Extreme’ Physical Pain Of Endometriosis
An estimated 6.5 million people in the United States have endometriosis, a painful condition in which the uterine lining spreads and grows outside of the uterus. But that statistic likely vastly underestimates the prevalence of endometriosis because it’s notoriously difficult to diagnose. Many of the symptoms ― which range from painful, heavy periods and painful […]
Aging U.S. Population a Challenge for Oncologists
SAN DIEGO — By 2030 the entire Baby Boomer generation — now estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to number over 73 million people — will be older than 65. “This is really important for us who care for individuals with cancer because the peak incidence of cancer diagnosis is in the eighth decade of […]
‘Better Off Hibernating’: What It’s Really Like To Live With SAD
While many of us may catch a case of the winter blues as the days get shorter, an estimated 10 million adults in the United States live with seasonal affective disorder. This mental health condition, also known as seasonal depression, lasts around four to five months on average. “The appropriately named SAD, or seasonal affective […]
A rhythmic small intestinal microbiome prevents obesity and type 2 diabetes
An estimated 500 to 1,000 bacterial species reside in each person’s gut, perhaps numbering 100,000 trillion microorganisms. In a new paper, published July 5, 2022 in Cell Reports, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine used mouse models to explore how diet and feeding patterns affect these intestinal microbes — and the […]