Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide, and yet many smokers never attempt to quit. The weight gain that is associated with cessation of smoking is cited as a major reason why more people don’t try to stop. These effects are attributed to smoking-associated effects on energy intake, metabolic rate and physical […]
Cumulative stress can have different psychiatric and physical effects, increasing the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. Stress may reduce psychological resilience measures such as emotion regulation and self control that are known to protect against psychiatric and physical health outcomes. Notably, emotional stress exposure decreases cognitive and emotion regulation […]
Hair loss is treated with a wide range of clinical therapies including low-level laser light therapy as well as 2 medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): topical minoxidil and oral finasteride. Surgical options include follicular unit transplant (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE) techniques, which are outpatient procedures with excellent outcomes. In […]
More than four decades have elapsed since the onset of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and a protective vaccine has yet to be developed. There are different hurdles responsible for this lack of success, including the antigenic variability of the HIV-1 envelope (env), the protected configuration of the virus and the in vivo rarity of B cells […]
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a distressing condition that significantly compromises the quality of life of men worldwide. It is defined as the inability to attain and maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual intercourse. Worldwide it is estimated that there are approximately 26 new cases of ED per 1,000 men, and in the U.S., 1 […]
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is autologous blood plasma with a concentration of platelets well above baseline. The usual concentration of platelets in the blood is approximately 150,000 to 400,000 platelets per cubic microliter. PRP contains 4-7 times the physiologic concentration of platelets. PRP is prepared by centrifugation of blood drawn from the patient before any procedure […]
There is a system in our body, called Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system which is implicated in hypertension, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, where an enzyme, angiotensin II causes vasoconstriction and induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to vascular inflammation and injury. This system is a critical regulator of blood volume and systemic vascular resistance. The 3 components of […]
A migraine is a headache that can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It’s often accompanied by other symptoms, such as naura, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last for hours to days, and the pain can be so severe that […]
What is Vitamin C? Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. Humans, unlike most animals, are unable to synthesize vitamin C endogenously, so it is an essential dietary component. It is required for the synthesis […]
Dyslipidemias are a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular (CV) atherosclerotic diseases. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) is considered the major causative lipid fraction, and lowering it reduces the risk of CV events. LDL is therefore the preferred risk marker in the international guidelines. But with the newly updated guidelines, attention is also recommended […]