Hormonal changes: Does menopause worsen rheumatoid arthritis symptoms?

Hormone changes caused by menopause make rheumatoid arthritis symptoms worse in women, according to a study. After studying 8189 women with rheumatoid arthritis, researchers found that pre-menopausal women experienced a slower physical decline than those that were post-menopausal. Physical function is an important aspect of study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis as it impacts their quality of life. Women experience rheumatoid arthritis at a rate three times greater than men, and also have more severe decline and increased disability, yet the sex-based differences in the condition remain poorly understood. Previous…

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Alcohol and Substance Abuse May Worsen PTSD Symptoms

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) refers to a disorder wherein a person may fail to recover after experiencing a terrifying event. It can trigger anxiety and dreadful memories of the incident. Veterans or people from the armed forces may be at a higher risk of developing PTSD as they are often exposed to life-threatening experiences and tough combat. Millitary services and many other local organisations offer help to veterans to overcome this disorder. However, sometimes they may turn to alcohol and substance abuse to numb distress and ease the anxiety. But…

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Beware: Not Monitoring Your Exercises Could Worsen Type 1 Diabetes

Diabetes is one the major diseases today, affecting the population worldwide. While Type 2 is the most kind which is a consequence of the unhealthy lifestyles led by many people among other factors, Type 1 is a condition that you can blame on your genes. Type 1 diabetes, which is also known as Juvenile Diabetes because it mostly affects children, is a condition when the beta cells in the pancreas that are responsible for producing insulin in the body are destroyed by our immune system. As a result, the breakdown…

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Sleep apnea may worsen liver disease for obese teens

Sleep apnea may worsen liver disease for obese teens (Courtney Keating/Getty Images) For teens with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), breathing disruptions during sleep may worsen scarring in the liver, according to a new study. Researchers found that among obese adolescents with NAFLD, those with the most severe liver disease also had the most severe sleep disordered breathing that caused them to experience periods of low oxygen at night. “This really focuses on the role of oxidative stress both systemically and specifically in the liver as a driving factor of…

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Sleep apnea may worsen liver disease in adults

Sleep apnea may worsen liver disease in adults (Getty Images) Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and low night-time oxygen are associated with the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adults, a new study conducted by an Indian-origin researcher has suggested. According to the study, published in the Journal of Hepatology, obstructive sleep apnea and low night-time oxygen may also be important triggers in the progression of paediatric NAFLD to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) — a type of fatty liver disease, characterised by inflammation of the liver with concurrent fat accumulation…

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