Health

What is Pharmacology? Pharmacology is the study of how substances interact with living organisms to produce a change in function. If substances have medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals. The field encompasses drug composition and properties, interactions, toxicology, therapy, and medical applications and antipathogenic capabilities. Development of medication is a vital concern to medicine, but also has strong economical and political implications. To protect the consumer and prevent abuse, many governments regulate the manufacture, sale, and administration of medication. In the United States, the main body that regulates pharmaceuticals is the Food and Drug Administration. (FDA) For more information about the topic Pharmacology, read the full article at Wikipedia.org.

If anyone suffers from a chronic illness they know that in order to help achieve better treatment options for patients and a cure for the disease it needs to achieve publicity. The following are some ways to help better make others know about certain illnesses and conditions so that additional research and knowledge can be attained. 1) Post links as soon as anything is published and share these links with others. I recommended looking at the “Share This” link on the bottom of this post to see some ideas of social networks to share with. 2) Write to doctors with columns in the papers. If you don’t hear back, write another letter. The practice is to write a 150-word ‘synopsis’ of the article you want to write – a bit about the condition, and with experiences you’ve (ie. doctors who … Read more

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who eat a gluten-free vegan diet could be better protected against heart attacks and stroke.  A gluten-free vegan diet was shown to lower cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and oxidizedLDL (OxLDL), as well as raising the levels of natural antibodies against the damaging compounds in the body that cause symptoms of the chronic inflammatory disease.The idea that we can influence our health by changing our eating habits has become a fashionable idea among lifestyle and consumer magazines. There is evidence that dietary changes can bring about health benefits. Recently researchers found that the gluten-free vegan diet not only reduced LDL and oxLDL levels and raised antiPC antibodies but lowered the body-mass index (BMI) of the volunteers in that group. Levels of other fatty molecules, including triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) stayed the same. In contrast, none of … Read more

Stephanie Kuleba is an 18-year-old high school senior, who was headed to college and then medical school, but felt she needed to be even more perfect Her breasts were asymmetrical and she had an inverted areola, so she went to have cosmetic surgery clinic in Boca Raton, Florida. But now she is dead. She died 24 hours after undergoing surgery, the victim of a rare reaction to anesthesia called malignant hyperthermia. Malignant hyperthermia is a rare life-threatening condition that is triggered by exposure to certain drugs used for general anaesthesia. In susceptible individuals, these drugs can induce a drastic and uncontrolled increase in skeletal muscle oxidative metabolism which overwhelms the body’s capacity to supply oxygen, remove carbon dioxide, and regulate body temperature, eventually leading to circulatory collapse and death if untreated. “This young lady’s death is a tragedy. Our hearts … Read more

Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. The number of bacteria resistant to antibiotics has increased in the last decade. Nearly all significant bacterial infections in the world are becoming resistant to the most commonly prescribed antibiotic treatments. Every time a person takes antibiotics, sensitive bacteria are killed, but resistant germs may be left to grow and multiply. Repeated and improper uses of antibiotics are primary causes of the increase in drug-resistant bacteria. Misuse of antibiotics jeopardizes the usefulness of essential drugs. Decreasing inappropriate antibiotic use is the best way to control resistance. Children are of particular concern because they have the highest rates of antibiotic use. They also have the highest rate of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Parent pressure makes a difference. For pediatric care, a recent study showed that doctors … Read more