Have you ever felt better after simply placing a bandage on a wound? Have you felt more energized the moment after taking a bright red pill? If so, you’ve experienced a form of the placebo effect. A placebo is an inactive treatment that mimics an active therapy. The placebo effect happens when patients believe a … Read More
Do you wonder why some smokers develop heart disease, but others don’t? Or how someone who thrives on burgers and fries can live to be 90, when a vegetarian has a heart attack at 40? The answer may be in the genes. And the fact is, we are only beginning to understand how they affect … Read More
Medical researchers are trying a new strategy to combat Alzheimer’s disease. Instead of treating Alzheimer’s after it develops, scientists are exploring whether certain drugs can stop the deadly, debilitating disease before it starts, or slow its progress. Until now, the bulk of medical research focused on treating the disease once it took hold. But researchers now can identify … Read More
Few people know how closely heart health and kidney health are linked. Indeed, coronary artery disease is the Number One cause of death in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Even after starting dialysis or receiving a kidney transplant, their risk of heart attack remains sky-high. Gut bacteria may be a link Researchers at Cleveland … Read More
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
Have you ever heard of someone passing away from a “broken heart”? You may have thought it was a myth. But there actually is a medical condition called takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle brought on by extreme stress. Takotsubo often goes by the name “broken heart syndrome.” Cardiomyopathies (Greek for “affliction of … Read More
Medicine changes so fast that doctors are hard-pressed to stay on top of the latest developments. That’s why they attend national medical meetings. At these meetings, they learn the latest information in their specialty. The annual meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA) is one of the largest in the world. From the thousands of … Read More
The path from laboratory to bedside can take years — even decades. If you follow health and science news, it’s easy to get excited about the groundbreaking studies published on a regular basis. If you are a patient, it’s also easy to get discouraged when you realize those studies are just the start of a … Read More
Sellers of vitamin D claim the nutrient can lower your blood pressure. But don’t believe the hype.
If you read health sites or follow celebrity doctors, you’ve probably heard the buzzword “inflammation.” You may even have heard people touting miracle cures such as the “anti-inflammatory diet.” Are you confused? Many people think of inflammation in terms of external signs: swelling, bruising and so on. But in truth, uncontrolled inflammation plays a role … Read More
Claudio Fiocchi, MD, knows how much early detection matters for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. But he also knows today’s diagnostic tools generally detect the disease too late — after it has done extensive damage. When Dr. Fiocchi sought a new answer, he turned to the crowd. The idea: When trying to solve a problem, … Read More
