Tag: Medicine
-
Homeostatic Impacts of PTSD at the Cellular Level
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after a traumatic event, with its impacts originating at the subcellular level (Girgenti, et al., 2017; Yehuda and Seckl, 2011). The pathophysiology of PTSD at this scale is characterized by a disruption of glucocorticoid (GC) hormone signaling which has implications on other cellular processes related to stress regulation. Cortisol,…
-
PARP Inhibitors – Friend or Foe?
Breast cancer is the leading form of cancer in women, with 2.26 million new cases diagnosed in women in 2020 (IARC, 2023). Certain factors increase one’s risk for breast cancer, such as obesity and smoking. Another prominent risk factor is hereditary mutations (Cohen, et al., 2023), including within the BReast CAncer (BRCA) genes. BRCA genes…
-
The Future of Infection Detection
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a very common infection that affects 40% of women in their lifetimes (Bono, et al., 2023). UTIs are much less common in males due to biological differences in the urinary system, but they are still a relevant issue. The male urethra is roughly 5 times longer than the female, which…
-
Your Ears Are Whispering
Your eyes do not produce light, nor does your tongue have a flavour, but your ears do make sounds! In 1978, acoustician David Kemp inserted a miniature microphone into a human ear canal and, for the first time, recorded nearly inaudible sounds originating from the inner ear (Kemp, 1978). These sounds have since been called…
-
Squirmy Brains
There are many layers within the skull that protect the brain from injuries, but is there an organism that can worm its way into the brain. Neurocysticercosis (NC) is caused by an infection of the larval cystic form of Taenia solium in the central nervous system (CNS) (Gripper and Welburn, 2017). It is one of…
-
Antivirals from yours truly: Another virus
Viruses have taken the spotlight in recent years, no matter how much we want them gone. We normally think of these agents as something dangerous and harmful, which is not always true. There are many many viruses that have benefitted humanity, such as ancient retroviral DNA integrated into our genome that helps us get rid…
-
Next Time You Have an Infection, Think of the Earth
The discovery of antibiotics is one of the most important medical discoveries in history (Hutchings, Truman and Wilkinson, 2019). Over the last century, we have seen drastic development of new antibiotics, which are used in a number of cases, such as treatment of infections, treatment of cancer, and in aquaculture (Hutchings, Truman and Wilkinson, 2019).…
-
Phantom Sounds in the Pandemic
Do you ever hear a sudden ringing in your ears that no one else does? You are not alone. In fact, roughly 10% of American adults experience this chronic condition called tinnitus (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 2017). Tinnitus is often distressing as it disrupts focus and relaxation. To make matters…
-
A Silenced Disease
Chagas disease is referred to as a silenced disease as it typically affects low-income communities, leading to a lack of motivation to find effective treatments (Alonso-Vega, et al., 2019). As a result, many people suffering with Chagas disease are driven into the cycle of poverty. This condition affects approximately 7 million people, mainly in Latin…
-
Tree Man Illness
The name ‘tree man illness’ is a reference to the yellow-brown growths, as seen in Figure 1, which resemble tree bark that develop as a symptom of Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) (Swati, et al., 2017). EV is a disease that results from a mutation on the EVER genes (McDermott, et al., 2009). Mutations that occur in…