Doctor Column

Tumor Biomarkers and Angellina Jolie

“I choose not to keep my story private, because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options,” said Jolie.

Biomarkers Are Essential Medical Tools

A biomarker, in medicine, is anything that can be used to measure the health status of a person. A wide range of biomarkers is available to determine whether a person is healthy or sick. For instance, some are as simple as taking your pulse, body temperature, or measuring your blood pressure. Other biomarkers can be more complex, such as biological molecules used to identify genetic changes in cancer cells.

Norovirus The Viral Invader of the Gut

Dana is a 29 y/o marketing executive who woke up one winter morning “feeling sick.” She told her husband, “I feel tired, nauseated, and have mild stomach cramps.” It wasn’t long afterwards, she suddenly experienced the onset of vomiting, and diarrhea. Her husband encouraged her to drink liquids, but it only caused her to vomit more. The miserable morning led to dehydration, and by early afternoon she was receiving intravenous fluids in the Emergency Department of her local hospital.

FDA Puts on Hold All Infant RSV Trials Due to Safety Concerns

On December 12, 2024, the FDA in a briefing document “put on hold” all clinical trials of vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants. The FDA said it was notified by Moderna, in July 2024 that their findings from a clinical trial signaled safety concerns in infants. The two vaccine candidates were being evaluated during Phase 1 trial which primarily evaluates the drug’s, or vaccine’s safety and dose range.

Bird Flu H5N1, Asian Influenza: Wings of Worry — The Pandemic Threat of Bird Flu

Does Bird Flu have the potential to mutate into a more contagious and deadly version of itself just as SARS mutated into COVID19? Back in 2007, Gary Wong, and T Leung wrote, “Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and Avian influenza (bird flu) are the two newly emerged infections with pandemic potential that have arisen from Asia in the new millennium.” In 2020, COVID-19 fulfilled its pandemic potential, became a household word, and a deadly virus causing millions of deaths.

Untangling the “4 A’s” of Alzheimer’s Disease: What Are They?

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the neurons, the nerve cells in the brain. It’s a chronic, progressive disease that causes the loss of function, and structure of the nerve cells in the brain, resulting in the shrinkage of brain tissue with adverse emotional, mental, and physical effects. After the age of 60 years, the incidence of AD approximately doubles every five years.