Medicinal marijuana is finding its way into many areas of medicine. It’s a big help for some people with AIDS, providing them with a much-needed appetite. Marijuana is helpful for some people with cancer, helping them manage their side effects, and it’s also been found to help people with glaucoma, just to name a few.
There was hope that medicinal marijuana would provide help for people with Alzheimers because earlier animal studies had shown that marijuana could reduce the plaques in the brain that are the hallmark of Alzheimers.
Although this new study, from the University of British Columbia, is also an …read more

Pancreatic cancer is a serious, often rapidly fatal cancer that isn’t usually detected early enough for effective treatment. Although doctors don’t know how to prevent it, they do know that certain lifestyle issues contribute to the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, namely smoking and obesity. Now, we can add “soft drink consumption” to that list.
Your pancreas is a small organ that provides your body with insulin that helps you regulate the amount of sugar enters your blood stream. The more sugar you consume, the harder the pancreas has to work to release enough insulin. Of course, as with many things …read more

People who live with diabetes know how frustrating it can be to try to maintain a healthy and balanced level of sugar in the blood, particularly if they take insulin. Much progress has been made in terms of developing technology to help manage insulin doses, especially in children, but as good as they can be, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Type 1 diabetes, what used to be called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes, cannot be cured. Insulin isn’t a cure, but rather, a way to manage it. The insulin must be given in specific doses and adjusted according …read more

African Americans who develop multiple sclerosis deteriorate more quickly than their white counterparts and don’t respond as well to the currently available treatments, say researchers.
It’s not unusual for different races to respond in different ways to various illnesses or treatments. The best known illness where this occurs is hypertension (high blood pressure), but we don’t always know which diseases or disorders will fall into this category.
Multiple sclerosis is much more common among whites than African Americans, so not much research had been done regarding any differences in progression and treatment. Researchers from the University of Buffalo began looking into this …read more

Celiac disease is becoming more known as more people are being diagnosed with it. Although it’s not entirely clear if the disease is becoming more common or people are just finally being diagnosed properly, the numbers of affected people are rising and this is presenting problems with some life-long rituals.
Celiac disease is a silent disease at first. It is the inability of the body to digest gluten, which is a found protein in wheat, rye, and barley. People with celiac disease should not eat any gluten at all, not even small amounts, as gluten damages the villi, the tiny hair-like …read more

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“It’s harder than quitting drugs.”
“I’ve tried and tried and I just can’t stop.”
“I feel like a loser because I can’t quit.”
As a smoker, have you ever said anything like that? As someone who loves a smoker, have you ever heard someone say anything like that?
Quitting smoking is one of the most difficult things many people ever do. Sure, we all hear of people who quit cold turkey on Monday and by Wednesday, they know they’ll never touch another cigarette again, but that’s not the norm. The tobacco companies have the smokers so hooked that …read more

Herbal remedies are increasingly common as some people try to limit their consumption of prescription medications and turn to more natural options. The problem is, natural doesn’t necessarily mean safe or safe for you, particularly if you have other issues, such as heart disease.
Statistics show that more than 15 million Americans reportedly use herbal remedies or high-dose vitamins. Of course, the number could be higher because not everyone reports what they take. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic decided to review the use of natural supplements and their interaction with heart disease medications to see what types of concerns, if any, …read more

We’re starting to see more people wearing helmets while they’re cycling, rollerblading or skateboarding, but getting people to wear helmets while skiing or snowboarding seems to be a rougher ride. However, it’s been proven that helmets do reduce the risk of head injuries among people who participate in these winter sports.
According to a study published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the use of helmets reduces the risk of head injuries among skiers and snowboarders by 35%. This is a significant number because, statistics show that
head injuries account for up to 19% and neck injuries up to 4% of …read more

How could February *not* be heart month? It’s a month with hearts and roses all over the media, so it’s a great time to also remind people to take care of their real heart, one that doesn’t look anything like a valentine.
Heart disease is a scary topic. It can hit anyone at any time, but there are people who are at higher risk of developing heart disease than are others. Some of the risk factrs include:

having a family history of heart disease
being male – although women do develop heart disease in large numbers, it is still more prevalent among men
being …read more

The warnings have been out for years now: heavy backpacks are NOT good for your child’s back. And, while parents may be concerned about it, not much seems to be happening in lessening the overall load that’s being carried around.
Yet another study has come out that has found that heavy backpacks compress the spinal discs and increase spinal curvature – even if the backpacks are worn properly. And when they’re worn only on one shoulder, as most kids tend to do, the damage is even worse.
The results of this study were published in a recent issue of the journal Spine.
The …read more