Dementia is a term describing a variety of diseases that develop when nerve cells in the brain die or become impaired. The death of neurons causes changes in memory, behavior, physical capabilities and personality. In many of these diseases, such as Alzheimers, the associated changes often prove to be fatal. (more…)

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 8.8 million deaths in 2015.  Cancer arises from the transformation of normal cells into tumor cells in a multistage process that generally progresses from a pre-cancerous lesion to a malignant tumor.  With so many patients and families affected by cancer, research in this area is a constant source of interest. (more…)

One of the key strategies for enhancing access to affordable medicines posed by the Trump administration involved establishing the pathway for the development and approval of high-quality biosimilar therapies.  Yet, out of 11 approved products, only three biosimilars are on the market eight years after the enactment of legislation streamlining the process.  If current trends continue, it may be months or years before Americans gain access to these medications. (more…)

The spinal cord is very sensitive to injury, and unlike other parts of your body, lacks the ability to self repair when damaged, making spinal injuries potentially devastating. A spinal cord injury — damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal (cauda equina) — often causes permanent changes in strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury.  An injury can occur when there is damage to the spinal cord from trauma, restriction of blood supply, or compression from a tumor or infection. There are approximately 12,000 new cases of spinal cord injury each year in the United States, most frequently in males. (more…)

Schizophrenia, Latin for "split mind," is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder, affecting an estimated 2.4 million American adults and their families.  The hallmark of schizophrenia is disorganized thinking, which can manifest as positive symptoms (hallucinations and delusions) and negative symptoms (depression, blunted emotions and social withdrawal).  Although schizophrenia is not as common as other mental disorders, the symptoms can be very disabling. In the past, there were different classes of schizophrenia, also known as 'subtypes'. Disorganized schizophrenia, catatonic schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder have since been absorbed into the larger diagnosis of schizophrenia, but are still used to describe the widely varied ways schizophrenia can manifest from person to person.  (more…)