Behavioral medicine (BM) is a newly developing field of study which integrates behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical concepts and practices to prevent, diagnose, and treat patients with psychosomatic disorders. The practice of BM targets the relation between how both thought and behavior can affect mental and physical health. Image Credit: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock Evolution of Behavioral Medicine BM emerged […]
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Since the common cold and walking pneumonia are both respiratory ailments, there are some similarities in their symptoms and causes. They are, however, both extremely different diseases which have different effects on the human body. The primary difference between them is that the Common Cold is usually caused by a viral infection while walking pneumonia is essentially a bacterial infection. […]
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The appearance of the human nail can be an indicator of one’s overall health status. Besides revealing a nail infection or injury, unusual characteristics of a fingernail or toenail can be indications of an underlying systemic condition. Nail irregularities can result from conditions involving single organs or several systems or organs. They can also be caused by drug intake. Spoon […]
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Also called weight loss surgery, bariatric surgery is a procedure used to treat people who have become dangerously obese. Life-threatening obesity is defined by the following: A body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more. A BMI of 35 or more and the presence of a serious metabolic risk factor that would benefit from weight loss such as type 2 […]
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Assisted reproductive techniques (ART) took a quantum leap in 1978 with the birth of the first ‘test-tube baby,’ Louise Brown, who was conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), crowning decades of work on fertility and its barriers. Research since then has led to greater ease of micromanipulation of both oocyte and zygote, making it possible to offer solutions to irreversible […]
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Contact lenses are explicitly designed optical devices that can be worn directly on the cornea of the eye. People with poor eyesight wear contact lenses, which helps to refocus oncoming light rays on the retina to achieve a clear vision. Contact lenses increase or decrease the focusing potential of the cornea, and thereby directly project light onto the retina and […]
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Personalized medicine is still in its infancy, however, the future of this approach holds great potential within the field of healthcare. Image Credit: science pics / Shutterstock Previous medical approaches have been based upon a policy of “one size fits all”, applying the same treatments to those with the same diseases. However, this has many limitations as there are a […]
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An epidermal nevus is an overgrowth of one of the cell species found in the epidermal layers and appendages. In many patients, an epidermal nevus syndrome (ENS) is present. This is marked by the presence of not only epidermal nevi but other defects of the brain, eye, and bones. However, the combination of hypophosphatemic rickets with epidermal nevi is very […]
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Gluten is a family of proteins that make up about 85% to 90% of the protein composition found in wheat, barley, rye and some other grains. It is made up of almost equal proportions of two types of proteins called gliadins and glutenins, of which each has many subtypes. Thus, the genetic diversity of gluten is staggering. However, gluten makes […]
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Colorectal surgery is a medical operation that is performed on the colon, rectum and anus. Colorectal surgeons, who are also referred to as proctologists, are responsible for carrying out this procedure, which may be necessary to treat a number of conditions. These problems can be acquired or congenital, and include, but are not limited to, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and […]
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