Pediatric HIV Infection
Since the first cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were identified, the number of children infected with HIV has risen dramatically in developing countries, the result of an increased number of HIV-infected women of childbearing age in these areas. HIV is a retrovirus and can be transmitted vertically, sexually, …
Treatment Recommendations for HIV-Infected Patients With Co-infections
Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can result in immunosuppression, allowing opportunistic pathogens to cause disease. Certain opportunistic infections are associated with increases in viral load, which may accelerate HIV progression or increase transmission of HIV. [1, 2, 3] Opportunistic infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in …
Hep C Treatment Increasingly Feasible in Primary Care
With highly effective treatments for hepatitis C becoming less expensive, it is no longer necessary for subspecialists to treat most patients with this condition, delegates heard here at the International Conference on Viral Hepatitis 2017. “Primary care providers, when given the resources, do just as amazing a job as subspecialists,” …
Intrauterine Devices Better Than “The Morning After Pill” As Emergency Contraception
A systematic review of 35 years of data published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction shows that intrauterine devices (IUDs), commonly known as a ‘coil’ should be routinely used as emergency contraception, given that their failure rate is less than one per thousand and because it has …
New drug target found for ‘most common cancer in infants’
Neuroblastoma accounts for approximately half of all cancers in infants, so it is the most common cancerous tumor found in children younger than 1 year old. And unfortunately, despite available therapy, the long-term survival rates for children with high-risk neuroblastoma are currently lower than 50 percent. Scientists led by Dr. John M. Maris, …
What to eat and what to avoid during Pregnancy
Pregnant women need to ensure that their diet provides enough nutrients and energy for the baby to develop and grow properly. They also need to make sure that her body is healthy enough to deal with the changes that are occurring. For a healthy pregnancy, the mother’s diet needs to …
Link between depression and gestational diabetes works two ways
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that affects pregnant women; it can occur in women who have never had diabetes previously and can cause problems for both mother and child. Gestational diabetes tends to occur around the 24th week of pregnancy and is estimated to affect 9.2 percent of …
All You Need to Know About the Glucose Tolerance Test
Most of the food people eat is turned directly into glucose when digested, and the body uses it as energy. The pancreas is responsible for making the hormone insulin which helps to get glucose into the cells of the body. Diabetes is a long-term disease that occurs due to the …
The differences between types 1 and 2
Diabetes, or diabetes mellitus (DM), is a metabolic disorder in which the body cannot properly store and use sugar. It affects the body’s ability to use glucose, a type of sugar found in the blood, as fuel. This happens because the body does not produce enough insulin, or the cells …
Can you live without a pancreas?
While it is possible to live without a pancreas, doctors only recommend removing a pancreas when a person has a serious medical condition such as severe recurrent pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer. In most cases, medical treatments can take the place of the pancreas, but people living without a pancreas require …
