What is Post Polio Syndrome? by Kristen Coleman
Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is an illness that causes symptoms to reappear in individuals who had recovered from polio decades earlier. After recovering from polio, some survivors find themselves afflicted again, facing a serious condition called post-polio syndrome. PPS is a condition in the nervous system that affects muscles and nerves. What are the symptoms of […]
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy by Emily Greer
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is the third most common human myopathy affecting approximately 1 in every 20,000 people. Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is in most cases an inherited autosomal dominant pattern disease characterized by muscle weakness and wasting (atrophy). Generally, an affected person inherits the deletion from one affected parent, although there are cases where there is […]
Scleroderma & Stem Cells by Alex Carmody
Scleroderma is referred to as the “stone man’s disease”. An excessive amount of collagen production leads patients to become stiff. Due to the stiffness, they essentially become rendered of mobility, hence the phrase “stone man”. However, stone “man” is not necessarily accurate. Although, scleroderma can affect men, it predominately manifests in women, usually women in […]
Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) by Kimberly Murphy
Overview and Effects of Pink Eye Pinkeye, or conjunctivitis, is the swelling and redness of the conjunctiva, which is the mucous membrane that lines the eyelid and the eye surface. When present, the eye lining becomes red and swollen, whereas the normal eye lining is clear. Pinkeye is very common, not too serious, and the […]
Chickenpox by Matt Peifer
Take a second and remember back to when you were a child. Go ahead close your eyes. There was more than likely a time when your entire body was covered with red or pink little spots and dots, which made you itch all over. Known to most people as Chickenpox, I would like to take […]
What is Crohn’s Disease by Aisha Colclasure
Crohn’s Disease is often silent. The people it occupies often are too embarrassed of its symptoms to tell their peers about it because it is not considered socially acceptable to discuss your bowel habits in public or with people other than our doctors. Sadly, sometimes even people affected by this disease are too embarrassed to […]
Type II Diabetes Mellitus by Lacey Stewart
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2010 fact sheet, 8.3 % of Americans have diabetes, and an alarming 1.9 million were diagnosed in 2010 alone. Close to 18.8 million people have been diagnosed and 7 million have gone undiagnosed in the United States (“U.S. Department” 2011). The prevalence of the disease is […]
What is Immunization by Lareina Hembrock
Immunization has come such a long way over the years. The development of the vaccine kicked off a new era in health that the world had never seen. Vaccination discovery was a miracle to the world; and it is still practiced today. It is due to immunization that we have been able to eliminate certain […]
Colon Cancer by Mary Jo Ahr
Colon cancer is cancer that has developed in the tissues of the longest section of the large intestine, the colon. The large intestine is the lower part of your digestive tract. Colon cancer most often starts in the mucus lining within the bowel. Historically, this cancer begins as small “bumps” that have grown along the […]
Common Cold verses the Flu by Megan Karr
The differences between a cold and the flu are not many and can be complicated to sort out. A cold is less severe than the flu. The flu can lead to other illnesses. While both are respiratory illnesses a cold is much milder than the flu, and usually does not consist of a fever. A […]