Communication is critical, not only in the pharmacy environment but in any environment where there are people present. The clinical role of the pharmacist means that there are plenty of opportunities to communicate with the patient and with other health professionals. Pharmacists are the triage between the patients and the medical practitioners and after all […]
Health
Liver Transplants & Patients with Alcoholism
Liver transplant recipients with a history of alcoholism are much less likely to start drinking again if they undergo substance-abuse treatment before and after their transplant, new research finds. And a second study shows that continued alcohol abuse after a liver transplant raises the risk of transplant failure. Both studies were published in the October […]
Alternative Therapies and Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is now the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Breast cancer is a condition in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the tissues of the breast. No alternative medicine treatments have been found to cure breast cancer. But complementary and alternative medicine therapies may help you cope with side effects […]
Schizophrenia & Primary Care
Schizophrenia affects 1 percent of the general population in the United States. Unfortunately, this common illness is often poorly understood and feared by many health care professionals. Whether nurse practitioners who work in primary care are aware of it or not, they inevitably come into daily or weekly contact with schizophrenics. Patients with schizophrenia represent […]
Do You Want to Know What’s in Your Genes?
Are you better off knowing or not knowing? For healthy people, is there a compelling reason to know if your genes make you susceptible to a specific disease or condition? Or are there some things you’re better off not knowing? As the cost of sequencing a person’s genome plunges, these are no longer hypothetical questions. […]
Parkinson Disease and Its Effects on Muscle Control
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic progressive neurological disease that affects nerve cells (neurons) in an area of the brain near the neck, known as the substantia nigra. These cells normally produce dopamine, a chemical (neurotransmitter) that transmits signals between areas in the brain. These signals, when working normally, coordinate smooth and balanced muscle movement. Parkinson’s […]
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria and its Dangers
Antibiotic resistance occurs when antibiotics no longer work against disease-causing bacteria. These infections are difficult to treat and can mean longer lasting illnesses, more doctor visits or extended hospital stays, and the need for more expensive and toxic medications. Some resistant infections can even cause death. Although experts are working to develop new antibiotics and […]
Melanoma: How to Spot It Early & Get Treatment
In 2010, there were 68,130 new cases of melanoma in the U.S.. according to the National Cancer Institute, and 8,700 people died from the disease. We worship the sun, slathering tanning lotion all over our bodies and basking in it. When we can’t do that, we crawl into a tanning bed and get bronze artificially. […]
Are Vitamins Really Good For You?
Google “vitamins” and you get 50 million results and the wildest claims you can imagine. That’s almost six times more than what you get for “Brad Pitt,” but the descriptions are just as breathless. As you navigate the maze of sites, you see phrases claiming vitamin supplements can “increase energy,” “stimulate brain function” and “improve […]
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis makes your bones weak and more likely to break. Anyone can develop osteoporosis, but it is common in older woman. As many as half of all woman and a quarter of men older than 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a silent disease. You might not know you have it […]