Universal Medicine

Nope its a runner! Unfortunately the Olympics are coming to a close and there truly was some incredible displays of athleticism shown including Mo Farah's defense of both 10,000m and 5,000m Olympic titles to secure his place in the history books. In this article I'm going to look at one of the training methods many top long-distance athletes employ to maximise performance- Altitude training. To many of us altitude training is just running around on top of mountains and jobs a good'un but in reality it is not so simple as that. So before I explain to you the effects of altitude training, I will first go over the how athletes use altitude to maximise their training. Traditionally athletes adopted the live high, train high approach to altitude training as the idea of as you train at high altitude (under hypoxic conditions) your body adapts to the conditions and your performance increases however studies have shown that this performance is not transferred when back at sea lev...

For those of you who have been following our blogs for a long time, you may recall that back in February, Adil Rahman insightfully explored the origin, causes and symptoms of the Zika virus. Just as a recall, the Zika virus is an infection transmitted by mosquitos – which act as vectors. Although this disease originated in 1947, it has only become widespread recently in areas of Africa, Asia and more recently, the Western Hemisphere. This week on Universal Medicine, we return to the virus due to recent news exposing the contraction of the virus by the US military forces. A spokesman for Pentagon, the headquarters for the United States department of defence, reported that 30 active members of the US army have the Zika virus. In total, the US has 41 people with the virus, including one pregnant woman. Even though some of the information has been revealed, we are still not told the countries from which the virus has been contracted. Further to providing some form of treatment to the se...

Okay, so many of us use coffee as a method to ignite our day to give the sensation of being active and ready for the upcoming task ahead. However, what affect is coffee having on an individual? Is caffeine causing negative health issues? Well this week on Universal medicine we will be exploring a majorly discussed topic in the effects of having coffee. Firstly, we can establish that the main ingredient in coffee is caffeine which is natural compound obtain from 60 different plant sources which include coffee beans and cacao seeds. We acknowledge that coffee is a go to drink for individuals wanting to increase their alertness but, how does this occur? Well, caffeine can be seen as a stimulant as it can activate the central nervous system thus preventing tiredness and lack of concentration. A positive point about the intake of caffeine is that it could potentially reduce the chance of obtaining Parkinson's disease as studies have indicated that a high intake of coffee could b...

This week on Universal Medicine, we return to the brain to discuss a potential discovery which could allow for early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s. Affecting an estimated 850,000 people in the UK, Alzheimer’s is a neurological disease impacting numerous brain functions – including the storage and retrieval of memory. Evidence suggests that the allele of the disease could be inherited from the parental genome upon meiosis. It has been discovered that the expression of one gene variant in children called APOE4 is associated with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Upon identification of this gene in children, it could allow for steps to be undertaken to delay the start of the disease – if not prevent it. Evidence from memory tests and brain scans on approximately 1200 children, aged 3-20 years, is what forms the foundation of this discovery. Research has found that the presence of APOE4 affects brain development often in regions were Alzheimer’s is common. Following...

A sore throat...everyone has had it. Everyone has gone through the struggle of trying to eat as well as speak without hurting their throat. Of course, with a sore throat the symptoms will have less of an impact overtime however there are ways in which these symptoms can be reduced at speed. This week, Universal Medicine will be exploring the causes of a sore throat, symptoms as well home remedies which you, readers, can use to get rid of the uncomfortable sensation within the throat. The troublesome sore throat, known as pharyngitis can be caused by a virus or bacteria; a sore throat is commonly caused due to obtaining a cold or flu. Also, other causes of a sore throat could be due to allergies as well as irritations caused by pollutants or chemicals. Moreover, it is evident that children are more likely to suffer from a sore throat than adults. This is because children obtain more colds/flu than adults which makes them more vulnerable to sore throats. Also, around 20-30 children ...

Some of you may remember, back in may, a blog post written by Gagandeep that so wonderfully outlined the NHS junior doctor contract crisis. If not, then definitely go and read it, but to summarise- there was uproar around an contract that tried to impose unsafe hours and unfair pay, which led to numerous strikes and general upheaval, after negotiations a fairer agreement was formed which was set to be voted on amongst junior doctors in June with the results announced in early July. Well, ladies and gentleman, today the results were announced, and the result (at a 58% to 42% split) was a NO to the new agreement. The vote was open to all junior doctors in the final two years of their degree and the reasoning generally seems to be down to level of uncertainty over whether the new agreement still properly gives them safe working hours and just reward for the strenuous and demanding work. The outcome of this vote has caused discord within the BMA ( British medical association) with the c...

... the last time you did exercise? According to Dutch researchers, intensive physical exercise increases the memory. But how does this actually work? Universal Medicine is going to look into how an organ smaller than a football is able to hold onto information for exams and tests as well as memories to last a lifetime. Exercise is essential in maintaining a healthy body, but research also suggests that it is key to a healthy mind. With a recent study being carried out with 72 volunteers, it proved that exercise a few hours after learning was very effective in memorizing the information 2 days later. When exercising, many endorphin's are released such as Dopamine, Norepinephrine and Cathepsin B. These are all heavily related to increasing memory when exercising several hours after learning. Dopamine is an organic compound and plays a huge role in the brain and the body as it acts as a neurotransmitter. A neurotransmitter is a chemical released by neurons to send signals to other n...

This week on Universal Medicine, we return to the ‘control centre’ of the body to discuss a potential breakthrough in chemotherapy. Chemotherapy: the type of treatment used to kill cancer cells by damaging their ultrastructure. Thus, preventing their reproduction and spread. Traditionally, tumours (abnormal cell growth) is treated by exposing the area to radiation. What is important to consider is that, unsurprisingly, this vital organ is protected by a barrier of cells. Primarily, these prevent the entrance of chemicals and bacterial toxins, however in turn also stop the penetration of medicine into this organ, enhancing the difficulty of neurological treatments with drugs. This barrier has sparked much research and for the first time, this protective barrier has been temporarily opened and it has been shown that this has boosted the delivery of medication to the brain tumour. For this technique, microbubbles – tiny bubbles of harmless gas – are injected into the blood stream....

As many would already know, the month of Ramadan has come and many Muslims around the world will be fasting- this includes not eating or drinking for approximately 20 hours for one whole month. Of course, this isn't the whole idea behind Ramadan but plays a major role in what occurs within the month. But what are the effects of restraining from food and water? This week Universal Medicine will be exploring the potential benefits from fasting. Within the past few years it's not only Muslims who have been fasting but many individuals have taken it upon themselves to undergo a diet which involves fasting. Hence, a catalogue of studies have suggested that fasting is good for the health which is why fasting is one of the most popular diets that people try. An extravagantly popular fasting diet goes by the name of the "5:2 diet" which involves 5 days of consuming food with a usual plan but 2 days which incorporate a calorie restriction of 25% of the calorie requirem...

This post will hopefully shed a little light on the enigma that is mental health, more specifically anxiety. In today's society mental health disorders are often overlooked or dismissed simply as a case of the blues. The term anxiety can have such a broad definition and the majority of people feel anxious at some point in their lives yet these feelings are generally managed and the anxiety soon subsides. So whats the problem? Well for a few anxiety manifests itself in a more serious form often showing physical symptoms including nausea, dizziness and sometimes even panic attacks. Severe anxiety can be extremely detrimental to a healthy lifestyle. Sufferers can find it difficult to maintain relationships or even just enjoy themselves during day-to-day life.  A recent study conducted by the university of Cambridge found that it is actually more common than you thought with an estimated four out of  every 100 people suffer from anxiety and also young people under 35, women...