General Health (Page 60)

USA Today has dubbed Entamoeba histolytica the "werewolf amoeba." [caption id="attachment_8148" align="alignright" width="250"] Entamoeba histolytica parasites ingesting bites of intestinal cells in a mouse. Credit: Katherine Ralston and David Zemo[/caption] And Christopher Huston of the University of Vermont College of Medicine is calling the discovery a "technical tour de force." As published…

UVA has a new way to help people who need a kidney transplant find an organ donor. UVA has started participating in "paired donor exchanges," where a friend or family member who wants to donate a kidney to a loved one but isn't a match for the recipient can instead…

Celebrate National Poetry Month with us! You might be wondering… why would a hospital blog hold a poetry contest? As we learned from a past interview with UVA’s own Daniel Becker, MD, doctor and editor of the journal “Hospital Drive,” research shows that creative writing is healthy for both patients…

More and more, advertisements for brain games, brain puzzles and even brain training programs are popping up. Slogans seem to promise the ultimate mind makeover, with claims like, “improve your memory in minutes a day,” “train your brain with simple games” and “exercise your mind and increase brainpower.” How realistic…

People often forget about the hidden calories in beverages. Drinks often can be loaded with sugar, and studies have shown that increased consumption of these sugary drinks is associated with the rise in obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Behind-the-wheel driving tests can be an important prerequisite for getting or renewing a driver’s license. These tests are notoriously subjective. The weather and traffic volumes, for instance, can affect the outcomes. A rainy day in bumper-to-bumper traffic can test one’s driving skill in ways different than a sunny morning with…

Cathy Rogers didn’t know her son was making flamethrowers in the woods with his friends until he got burned. [caption id="attachment_6030" align="alignright" width="300"] Courtesy Central Virginia Burn Camp[/caption] Nothing had gone wrong the first couple of times they tried it but one afternoon, Jacob was trying to poke a hole…

Sleep. We all do it — but how much do we truly know about it? Like other things that we tend to learn about through family, community and popular culture, we may have ideas that are correct according to conventional wisdom but aren’t quite scientifically accurate. Take this pop-culture-inspired quiz to…

You probably know someone living with sleep apnea. It could be your mom or dad, your brother or sister. You might even have this extremely common sleep disorder. According to Paul Suratt, MD, a UVA sleep specialist, about 20 to 25 percent of men and 10 percent of women have…

“Sleep is for the weak!” That was what we said in college. For some, that meant holding down a job while taking 20 credits of advanced physics and engineering was more important. Others felt sleep cut the party short. [caption id="attachment_5551" align="alignright" width="300"] Insomnia? Avoid caffeine after mid-afternoon and keep…