Herpes gladiatorum: Facts, Symptoms, Causes, Risk Factors, Diagnosis, Treatments, Prevention and Outlook.

Clinical Issues

Herpes gladiatorum is an infection caused by herpes simplex virus type 1, a virus similar to that which causes cold sores. It is common among those who engage in high-contact sports, such as wrestling, and is also known as mat herpes. Those infected with herpes will carry the virus with them for life as there is no cure.

There will be periods where the virus is inactive and no symptoms are present, and times where it is active and causes various symptoms and flare-ups.

When the virus is active, the person carrying it is infectious and can spread herpes gladiatorum to others. The virus can be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact and is easily passed from one person to the next.

In this article, we examine the symptoms of herpes gladiatorum and the parts of the body that can be affected. We also take a look at diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the condition.

Read More »

Pneumonitis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments.

Pneumonitis is a disorder where a person has an allergic reaction in their lungs caused by certain inhaled substances. The condition is also referred to as hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

The reaction they have to these substances can cause air sacs in one or both lungs to become inflamed. If untreated, the condition can cause long-term damage to the lungs. However, pneumonitis can be completely reversed if action is taken quickly. 

In this article, we take a look at the symptoms, causes, and treatments of pneumonitis. We also examine the differences between the condition and the more familiar pneumonia.

Symptoms of pneumonitis include shortness of breath, rattling sounds
in the lungs, and coughing.

Read more: Pneumonitis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

How to Get Rid of a Stuffy Nose: Eight Possible Treatments

Nasal congestion is a very common condition. In fact, most people get a stuffy nose from time to time.

Nasal congestion can develop when the blood vessels inside the nose become inflamed and the nasal tissues swell. Excess mucus drainage may also occur with a stuffy nose.

This article will look at eight possible treatments for a stuffy nose.

Read more: How to Get Rid of a Stuffy Nose: Eight Possible Treatments

Nasal congestion is very common and can be treated in a variety of ways. A neti pot is of Indian origin
and is used to flush the sinuses. A stuffy nose should clear after 10 days. If symptoms persist, a doctor
should be consulted.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

Cancer: Shutting Down Fat Synthesis In Cancer Cells Stunts Tumor Growth

Tumors have a voracious appetite for fat and rely on hastened fat synthesis in cancer cells to satisfy their need. Now, a new study shows it is possible to use drugs to shut down fat synthesis in cancer cells to stunt tumor growth without harming healthy cells.

A report on the study is published in the journal Nature Medicine.

The discovery - by researchers at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, and collaborators - represents a new frontier in the search for targeted treatments against cancer, a leading cause of disease and premature death worldwide.

Read more: Cancer: Shutting Down Fat Synthesis In Cancer Cells Stunts Tumor Growth

The researchers found cells treated with a placebo produced more fat (red, on left) than cells treated

with the enzyme inhibitor (right). Image credit: Salk Institute

Source: medicalnewstoday

Cancer: Four-Stranded DNA Could Help Develop Targeted Treatments

By taking a closer look at four-stranded versions of DNA inside the genome of human cells, scientists have discovered some potential new avenues for targeted cancer treatments. They found that the quadruple helix structures occur in DNA regions that control genes, especially cancer genes.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, report their findings in the journal Nature Genetics.

Targeted cancer therapies are currently the focus of much research and development into new anticancer treatments.

They are an important area of precision medicine - where information about an individual patient's genes and proteins are used to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease.

Read more: Cancer: Four-Stranded DNA Could Help Develop Targeted Treatments

The aim of targeted therapy is to attack cancer cells without affecting healthy cells.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

Study Finds Potential New Biomarker For Cancer Patient Prognosis

To treat or not to treat? That is the question researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) hope to answer with a new advance that could help doctors and their cancer patients decide if a particular therapy would be worth pursuing.

Berkeley Lab researchers identified 14 genes regulating genome integrity that were consistently overexpressed in a wide variety of cancers. They then created a scoring system based upon the degree of gene overexpression. For several major types of cancer, including breast and lung cancers, the higher the score, the worse the prognosis. Perhaps more importantly, scores could accurately predict patient response to specific cancer treatments.

The researchers said the findings, to be published Wednesday, Aug. 31, in the journal Nature Communications, could lead to a new biomarker for the early stages of tumor development. The information obtained could help reduce the use of cancer treatments that have a low probability of helping.

Read more: Study Finds Potential New Biomarker For Cancer Patient Prognosis

The centromeres and kinetochores of a chromosome play critical roles during cell division. In mitosis,
microtubule spindle fibers attach to the kinetochores, pulling the chromatids apart. A breakdown in this
process causes chromosome …more

Source: medicalxpress

Migraines 101: Causes, Symptoms, And Treatment

What is a migraine headache? Brush up on the causes, symptoms, and treatments.

Migraine is the third most common disease in the world. It costs American employers $20 billion each year, and considering how widespread and the suffering it causes are, it’s safe to say research funding is meager at best. The National Institutes of Health provides the mainstay of medical funding in the United States, about $20 million annually — but funding should be 12-fold higher if it will be comparable to research dollars allotted for other brain diseases such as schizophrenia.

A ‘typical’ migraine headache is severe: One-sided, pulsing or throbbing, accompanied by severe pain and discomfort to normal lights, sounds, or smells, not to mention nausea and vomiting. It typically lasts four to 72 hours, during which the scalp can be extremely sensitive to the touch. So it’s not unusual for migraine sufferers — also known as migraineurs — to withdraw from the outside world to lie down without moving in a dark, quiet room. But the truth is, the realities of life often prevent this form of relief.

Read more: Migraines 101: Causes, Symptoms, And Treatment

Source: msn.com/en-us/health/medical

Watch: What is a migraine?

Overcoming the Fear of Injections for Diabetes

Do you have an objection to injections? If you have type 2 diabetes, you may be afraid you’ll eventually need to give yourself insulin injections, or maybe your doctor has mentioned non-insulin injections might be in your future.

Treating diabetes with injections does not mean you have failed or did not follow your doctor’s instructions. Many diabetics will need insulin shots over time, and non-insulin injections are just a newer form of diabetes medication. However, you do need to overcome your fear and resistance if you want to get your diabetes under control. In order to do this, it’s important to determine the root of your anxiety, and identifying the problem can help you find solutions.

Get the Facts

While there have been attempts at developing an inhaled insulin, injections are currently the most common form of delivery with the technology available today.

Read more: Overcoming the Fear of Injections for Diabetes

Source: msn/health/medical

Dopamine Neuron Discovery Might Revolutionize Parkinson’s Treatments

Northwestern University researchers say they have identified the neurochemical signal likely missing in Parkinson’s disease. They reportedly discovered two distinctly different kinds of neurons that deliver dopamine to an important brain region responsible for both movement and learning/reward behavior.

“It has been dogma for decades that all dopamine neurons are somehow involved in both movement and reward, but this didn’t really make sense,” said Daniel A. Dombeck, Ph.D., the study’s senior author. “Now, it is so obvious in our recordings that there are different kinds of neurons. We can literally see this in behaving animals. Our findings will likely help answer many questions about Parkinson’s disease and other neurological mysteries.”

Read more: Dopamine Neuron Discovery Might Revolutionize Parkinson’s Treatments

Source: genengnews

Identifying and Treating Inflammation

There are three types of inflammation: acute, chronic and life-threatening.

When basketball star Steph Curry slipped and injured his knee in late April, he reacted by tearing up on the sideline, while fans and media reacted by wondering how many games he would miss. His body? It reacted by inflaming around the outside of the knee, protecting the area as it recovered from a medial collateral ligament sprain.

The word inflammation can conjure up visuals of a swollen, red and throbbing knee or, thanks to some TV ads, a lit match doused by a medicated pad. Conventional public wisdom frames inflammation as being adverse, painful and harmful – something most people want to resolve quickly with medication.

Read more: Identifying and Treating Inflammation

Treat acute inflammation by managing it, not trying to cure it.

Source: Getty Images