| Flu, or could it be meningitis? | | Posted Sunday, February 04, 2007 3:07:35 PM by Blog57 Team | | With the weather getting warmer, meningitis cases have started trickling in. So have people with the ubiquitous flu. The initial symptoms of both diseases are so similar that not just patients but doctors too are confusing one for the other. The textbook signs of meningitis include high fever and headache accompanied with a red rash combined with a stiff neck, sensitivity to light and impaired consciousness. Some people may also report symptoms of muscle aches and weakness, tingling or weakness all over the body, as well as dizziness. The trouble is that these develop in the later stage of illness. "These symptoms usually can take up to 24 hours to appear, which causes crucial delay in treatment. In several cases, the symptoms do not appear at all," says Dr Panna Chaudhury, senior paediatrician at Lok Nayak Hospital.... | |
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| | | When The Body Attacks Itself | | Posted Monday, January 29, 2007 1:11:53 PM by Blog57 Team | | IN 2003, Newsweek magazine declared autoimmune disease one of the top 10 health stories. There are actually more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases. According to the National Institutes of Health in the United States, approximately 23.5 million Americans have 24 of the 80 recognised autoimmune disorders, making the prevalence of autoimmune disease greater than cancer and roughly equal to heart disease. More than 75 per cent of those affected are women. The prevalence is rising. Our bodies have an immune system that protects us from disease and infection. The immune system is the body's means of protection against harmful substances such as microorganisms, toxins, cancer cells, and foreign blood or tissues from another person or species (antigens) The immune system is composed of two major parts.... | |
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| | | Mayo researchers offer evidence people with psoriasis greater risk for developing heart disease | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 7:37:08 AM by Blog57 Team | | ROCHESTER, Minn. -- People with the skin disorder psoriasis are at increased risk for developing heart disease, according to Mayo Clinic researchers presenting new study data at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting on Nov. 14. Although psoriasis is traditionally viewed as a skin disorder, recent research has led experts to categorize this disease as a systemic inflammatory or immune-mediated disorder. In these disorders, the immune cells attack healthy tissues and organs. Earlier research has shown that people with autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, are at increased risk for heart disease. To study whether a similar risk exists for people with psoriasis, Mayo researchers followed a group of 622 adults with psoriasis and a control group of 622 people, matched for age and gender, who did not have the disease.... | |
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| | | Ligand Files 12b-25 for Extension to File Third Quarter 10-Q | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 1:30:51 PM by Blog57 Team | | Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) (the "Company" or "Ligand") announced today that it would delay filing its quarterly report on Form 10-Q due November 9, 2006 and that it would delay the press release announcing the financial results of the third quarter of fiscal 2006 which ended September 30, 2006. The reason for the delay is to complete accounting adjustments and disclosures relating to the sale of its oncology product line which will be treated as discontinued operations. The sale was completed on October 25, 2006. The Company has filed a Form 12b-25 for an extension in connection with the delayed filing and expects to file its Form 10-Q by November 14, 2006. In conjunction with filing its Form 10-Q, the Company also intends to issue a third quarter financial results press release.... | |
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| | | Skin-sore sufferers cast off as delusional | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 11:31:46 AM by Blog57 Team | | MORGELLONS: Only now is the U.S. studying it. Inland patients say it's a real, unrelenting disease. 10:08 PM PST on Thursday, November 9, 2006 By JANET ZIMMERMAN The Press-Enterprise Federal investigators are launching research in Southern California following congressional inquiries and hundreds of frantic calls from people complaining of a mysterious skin ailment that leaves them with open sores oozing fibers and black flecks. Many believe they have Morgellons, an affliction that as yet lacks a scientific definition and is largely unrecognized by the medical community. .... | |
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| | | Parched skins and such... | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 7:31:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | DRY skin is a common condition affecting roughly 3% of the Malaysian population. It can be trig gered by environmental factors, but it can also indicate underlying skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis. The good news is that dry skin can usually be managed effectively and inexpensively. Whenever a dermatologist begins work ing with a new patient, he will take a comprehensive medical history, which includes, of course, the question: Do you have any skin problems? Dermatologists are particularly concerned about chronic skin diseases such as eczema, psoriasis, ichthyoses and other forms of dermatitis. Quite often, many patients will reply, I have dry skin. .... | |
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| | | Health Alert: Lupus can affect men, too | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 3:39:52 AM by Blog57 Team | | Achy joints, skin rashes, a fever and fatigue. Those are all symptoms that could be a simple virus, or suggest something more serious - an auto-immune disease called Lupus. It generally targets young women, but men are also vulnerable. Curt Nugent is a 21-year-old college junior studying to become a teacher. But in his freshman year, sickness nearly derailed his plans. Nugent says he "started getting joint pain in my elbows and hands, knees, bottom of my feet, and I really thought nothing of it 'cause I was active playing basketball a lot." Curt ignored his worsening symptoms for four months, until he was hospitalized and diagnosed with the mysterious auto-immune disease Lupus. "For reasons we don't fully understand in auto-immune diseases, the immune system begins to target itself and in lupus that attack can be on any or all of the internal organs," said Dr.... | |
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| | | Give a hand to proper hygiene | | Posted Thursday, October 26, 2006 3:07:52 AM by Blog57 Team | | Two years ago the "Clean Hands Report Card" gave Americans a grade of C in hand-washing habits. That's hardly a stellar performance considering the risks out there, such as pandemic flu, contagious skin diseases and the annual cold season. Unfortunately, the hand-washing situation seems to be getting slightly worse. A new report card is out, and our collective grade dropped to C-. .... | |
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| | | UK to provide Tk 3m for treatment of skin tumour | | Posted Sunday, October 22, 2006 3:11:17 PM by Blog57 Team | | The United Kingdom has undertaken a humanitarian project to extend free treatment facilities to the poor patients suffering from the deadly skin tumour and complicated skin problems. Initially, the British High Commission will provide Tk 3.0 million under a small project titled "Treatment of skin tumour and devastating skin problems and development of marginalised groups." Under the project, Prof Kabir Chowdhury, a noted dermato-surgeon, will carry out treatment of 18 selected patients suffering from various fatal skin diseases, including skin tumour. "It's a small start," British high commissioner Anwar Choudhury said about the project at a press briefing Wednesday in the city organised in connection with the signing ceremony between the High Commission and Prof Kabir Chowdhury.... | |
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| | | Namibia: Health System Struggles With Diseases | | Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006 1:08:55 PM by Blog57 Team | | The total burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases which plague the Namibian nation has increased over the past years and continues to be a huge challenge to the country's health system. So said Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Libertina Amathila, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of a campaign against skin cancer yesterday in the capital. The second campaign of its kind, Save Your Skin, is organized by the Cancer Association of Namibia, Standard Bank and Fabupharm. "While HIV/AIDS still enjoys the most attention and focus, as it remains the leading cause of death, I know that other illnesses such as skin cancer - the number one cancer in Namibia - is not ignored. The government is committed to the achievement of health for all Namibians by making health-care accessible, affordable and equitable.... | |
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