Author: Adaora Belonwu
-
Total Eclipse of the Heart: Can You be Diagnosed with a Broken Heart?
Literature is full of stories of people dying of broken hearts with some of the oldest and most famous being found in several works of Shakespeare. The concept of a broken heart appears to be universal, lacking any sort of cultural specificity. This article will take a closer look at how such feelings can manifest…
-
Pirfenidone: Using Lung Medicine to Treat Heart Failure
Recent research on the use of pirfenidone suggests it may be suitable for treatment in patients with heart failure. The drug is already approved for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and has shown some promising results in the reduction of myocardial fibrosis in patients with a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction, potentially providing a new approach…
-
Why Is the Discovery of New Antibiotics So Difficult?
In 2018 Isabelle Carnell-Holdaway a cystic fibrosis sufferer was put in ICU after an aggressive infection of Mycobacterium abscessus, a relative of tuberculosis, spread to her liver putting it at risk of failure. With no new classes of antibiotics discovered and available for routine treatment since the 1980s, she was left with a 1% chance…
-
How Have Viruses Contributed to Human Evolution?
Evolution can be defined as the biological process by which the physical characteristics of creatures change over time, new types of creatures develop, and others disappear. With the recent coronavirus pandemic it’s very easy to regard viruses as the enemy of evolution: an arm’s race between a host and a pathogen. This article will explore…
-
COX Fight: A Closer Look at NSAIDs
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are members of some of the most widely prescribed analgesics in the world. This article takes a look at NSAIDs’ mechanism of action and how this is linked to their side effects.
