Metabolic syndrome may be the most common and serious condition you’ve never heard of. (At least that’s what I found out when I asked friends and relatives about it.) Worse, a study published recently in JAMA shows that it’s on the rise. Let’s start with the name, according to Merriam-Webster: Metabolic: Relating to the chemical… Read More »
The pandemic has revised the triple aim framework of health care. The simultaneous triple pursuit of improving the patient experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of health care is currently not possible. With widespread forced lockdowns, we are unable to provide the optimal patient care experience, the… Read More »
Irritable bowel syndrome affects between 10%-20% of the population. It’s a cause of great discomfort, even disability, and lost working days. Symptoms include bloating, constipation and diarrhoea. There’s no cure, and people with the condition often have recurrent flare-ups. Their lives can be ruled by IBS. Usual treatment includes maintaining a healthy lifestyle, attention to… Read More »
One of the most common causes of hereditary cancer, Lynch syndrome affects some 1.1 million Americans, who face a lifetime risk of colorectal cancer as high as 80 percent as well as elevated rates of many other cancers, including of the endometrium, kidneys, ovaries and prostate. Patients seldom learn they carry the mutations associated with… Read More »
iStock / Getty Images Plus By Clare Wilson A medicine that people hoped would treat chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has failed its first large placebo-controlled trial. The drug, called rituximab, is used to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases in which the immune system makes antibodies that turn against the body. The medicine works by killing the cells that… Read More »