Nicotine is a powerful drug that is highly addictive. So, those who are trying to quit smoking must deal with changing old habits as well as withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine replacement therapy, like patches and gums, and stop smoking medications can only help with the physical addiction. Other plans are needed to adjust behavior, which is why so many people are unable to quit, even when using a stop smoking prescription medication.One of the famous...more
Identification of a viral agent such as HPV as a cause of diseases implies that successful prophylactic or therapeutic intervention against the viral agent should prevent the diseases it causes. A preexisting viral infection can theoretically be targeted by an antiviral or a therapeutic vaccine.Successful antivirals have been developed for the treatment of some viral infections, including diseases such as HIV and influenza, but not against...more
Doctors have noted several important unanswered questions that make it difficult to predict the actual impact of a vaccine on HPV infection and disease. However, it is possible to give some estimates if it is assumed that the vaccine will provide at least 90% type-specific efficacy, with boosters as necessary to ensure that this protection is of long duration.Under those circumstances, the greatest short-term impact in industrialized nations such as the United States would be a reduction in the overall number of CIN2 cases to about one-third to one-half as many such lesions in vaccinated women compared with nonvaccinated women, given that HPV16 and HPV18 together account for 60-70% of such lesions.This protection would translate to a substantial reduction in medical and psychological morbidity and treatment together with a reduction in the related costs. The anticipated eventual reduction in the incidence of cervical cancers and its consequences would be anticipated to be at least as great.If the vaccine were widely administered to populations that historically are less likely to be screened regularly, the vaccine could prevent most of those serious infections that currently are...more
Back pain is one of the most common ailments in the US. 80% of all Americans suffer from back pain. This amounts to about 20 million Americans getting chiropractic treatment a year. Surprisingly so, even 30% of our children under the age of 18 have also used chiropractic medicine for treatment. A number of places such as St. Paul, Minnesota, the...more
Hemorrhoids have plagued humankind since time immemorial, yet many misunderstandings regarding hemorrhoidal complaints and disease still exist. Many laypersons and clinicians do not understand the anorectal area and the common diseases associated with it. Up to one third of the 10 million people in the United States with hemorrhoids seek medical...more
Warts are caused by a highly contagious virus known as the human papilloma virus, or HPV. As warts are highly contagious they have become very prevalent in the general population. They can occur virtually anywhere on the body. If afflicted with warts, it becomes necessary to eradicate the HPV infection to eliminate them.Genital warts cures must be able to eliminate both the visible symptoms and the causative virus to be truly effective. Unfortunately, there are few successful medical options available. Surgically removing warts is the most common medical procedure. However, the patient is subject to a painful surgical intervention which results in skin damage/scarring along with the probability the warts will return.Most pharmacology efforts now focus on developing a vaccine to inoculate the population in order to stop the HPV virus from infecting the system. This is ideal for the pharmaceutical companies as it would of course reap a monetary windfall of epic proportions for the drug companies, but not useful at all for those already affected with warts.It would be desirable for an HPV vaccine to have the ability to prevent all cases of cervical cancer. It has therefore been...more
The term hemorrhoid is usually related to the symptoms caused by hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids are present in healthy individuals. In fact, hemorrhoidal columns exist in utero. When these vascular cushions produce symptoms, they are referred to as...more
Many patients attribute all perianal symptoms to hemorrhoids. The astute clinician can often listen to a patient's description of symptoms and ascertain the source of the problem or condition before confirmatory examination. Nonhemorrhoidal causes of...more
Several issues about the vaccine remain to be addressed. It will be important to confirm that the strong safety profile remains intact as more individuals receive the vaccine. It remains to be determined how long the high level of type-specific...more
Health is indeed wealth and having good health is one of the greatest blessings of life. A fact which we must bear in mind is that all of us are born to be healthy. But, the fast way of living has brought many illnesses including stress, worries and...more
Is stress disturbing your life and bringing you numerous health problems? Research shows that many Americans are becoming victims of stress due to various reasons. This stress usually leads to some major breakdown in their health. If the answer to...more
One might argue Massachusetts is the healthiest place in the country. More than 97 percent of its residents have health insurance. The others are covered under Medicare or are exempt from the states historic mandate. Physicians in Massachusetts, for...more