Universal Medicine

Shreya Gupta Eczema, also known as Atopic Dermatitis (AD), is a skin condition characterized by dry, red and flaky skin which is often itchy. Eczema is usually caused by allergens or excess toxin buildup, and although uncomfortable it can be managed in a number of ways. However, no drug or therapy has yet been discovered to fully eradicate the disease, although extensive research is being carried out. Introduction  Eczema is a skin condition brought on by IgE (immunoglobulin E), a protein that is produced when you have an allergic reaction. Your immune system responds by producing IgE, which travels to cells and releases chemicals that cause an allergic reaction, seen on the nose, lungs, throat or the skin. The allergic reaction is usually red, bumpy, itchy, skin (if external). If it is an internal reaction, your airways can get obstructed, so breathing is difficult. Obstructive breathing is due to the IgE’s effect on the lungs. This is why eczema and asthma are often linked. In as...

Gemisha Cheemungtoo  Disneyworld. It is often referred to as the happiest place on Earth. According to a few American researchers, it could be of particular enjoyment for patients with kidney stones, too.    For most people, renal calculi, also known colloquially as kidney stones, may not be an obvious condition. The majority of stones are too small to cause symptoms so if a diagnosis is made, it is likely to be an incidental finding on a CT scan. Although a common urological problem, only 1 in 11 people will experience symptoms associated with renal stones in their lifetimes, such as flank pain, nausea, vomiting or blood in the urine. These symptoms usually arise if a large enough stone causes a blockage within the urinary tract.    The treatment for kidney stones depends on the severity of presentation. A small painless stone could pass out naturally with the urine, but larger stones might need to be split into smaller fragments first. Outside of the known and...

Trisha Banerjee Virtual reality (VR) is a cutting-edge technology that has been implemented in the healthcare industry in recent years. It has proven to be beneficial for uses such as medical training, patient treatment and surgery. VR is the computer-generated simulation of a 3D image or environment that can be interacted with using special electronic equipment.  Dr. Shafi Ahmed conducted the first VR surgery in 2016 and since then VR has been increasingly used in this field. VR is used in robotic surgery as it enables the surgeon to control the delicate robotic arm movements which would be difficult to perform by a human surgeon. Robotic surgery combined with VR improves accuracy, reduces blood loss and leads to a faster recovery. Medical professionals have more recently been using VR to plan heart surgeries as the technology helps them to understand the patient’s complex anatomy in greater detail before making an incision. Moreover, in neurosurgery surgeons use VR to practice th...

Gemisha Cheemungtoo For most of us, September brings about one major event: going back to school. It marks the end of the summer holidays, the beginning of autumn and for me specifically, a school supply haul. Some of you might be preparing to return to a socially distanced classroom, whilst others are welcomed back via online classes. So as we get ready to learn again this academic year, how much of last year's content can we actually recall?    We've all heard of a learning curve, that can be particularly steep if you are new to a subject or topic. How familiar are you with the forgetting curve, however?   The forgetting curve is a mathematical model that demonstrates how our memory of learned knowledge degrades over time. Published by a key German psychologist by the name of Herman Ebbinghaus in 1885, he conducted an experiment on himself to test learning retention. The graph produced has been well known to the field of psychology and has stood the test of time when re...

Maliha Shakir Medicine. The profession that has triumphed in historic times, in modern times revolutionizing the dangers of childbirth, injury and disease from afflicting to manageable. My experiences in healthcare have shown this to be true and is further evidenced by details embedded throughout Gawande's book. Despite this, an element of conflict zooms in on the unavoidable reality of physiological decline; aging and death. Through eye-opening truths and realities of Gawande’s patients and family, Gawande unveiled the suffering this turbulence has produced. The hardship in discussing patients’ worries about death, doctors often find themselves falling back on false hopes and beliefs that shorten lives instead of improving them. Gawande has bravely showed us the exerting struggles of his profession, representing the similar struggles of many other doctors. Woven throughout this book is his examination of the profession’s restrictions and cruel failures. Many of us, doctors or not...

Neriah Clarke This piece is the first in a series of posts about scientific racism. It may be an uncomfortable read. Introduction Scientific racism is the use of pseudoscience (flawed science) to perpetuate racist ideas and practices. Race itself is also a product of pseudoscience and was first documented in Carl Linnaeus’ book “ systema naturae” (systems of nature), published in 1735 (Linnaeus, 1735). Much scientific focus of the 18 th century was on taxonomy, so it is unsurprising that this system extended to the classification of humans. By suggesting a natural order among mankind damaging consequences ensued and such patterns are seen to this day. Skulls Craniometry is a branch of physical anthropology (study of humans) and focuses on the measurement of skull size. Such pseudoscience was used by Morton in the 19 th century to categorise the intellect of the races (Morton, 2018 (1839)). Morton had an extensive collection of skulls from individuals of varying races and upon measur...

Akhil Hanmantgad [1] [2] According to a census taken in 2011, it was estimated that Black, Asian and other Minor Ethnicities (BAME) accounted for roughly 14.5% of the UK’s population, which at the time would equate to around just over 9 million people. Since then, the UK’s BAME population has grown, whilst our understanding of their medical needs has not.  [1] During the COVID-19 pandemic alone, it was found that Persons of Colour (POC) were 1.5 - 2 times more likely to die compared to their white counterparts. Epidemiologists attribute this difference to social inequalities such as predisposed health issues, crowded living situations and occupation. Whilst the above factors would contribute to an increased incidence of COVID-19 amongst BAME communities, it does not explain why POC were at a much greater risk of dying from the virus in the UK compared to their countries of origin. [3] [4] For example, in India, the number of cases have overtaken the UK, however, their death rat...

Matthew Downes Following the gradual decline of the number of new Covid-19 cases, economists and epidemiologists have been engaged in a tense debate regarding the appropriate time to remove lockdown. Finding a compromise between public health and financial wellbeing has been a topic of much consideration. Given the gradual phasing out of the lockdown over recent weeks and the continued efforts to return societal function to normal, it is the perfect time to explore the factors driving these decisions from both a medical and an economic standpoint. When the lockdown was first implemented, an anticipated recession occurred due to the trading activity of many businesses ceasing, from local stores to national conglomerates. As expected, containment policies put in place by the government helped flatten the medical curve while simultaneously steepening the recession curve. While the UK’s response to the virus was lacklustre when compared to other European countries (every European country ...

Gemisha Cheemungtoo Upon the wake of Britain lifting its lockdown, the idea of introducing an immunity certification scheme is under consideration by our government. Discussion with digital tech companies is underway about potentially issuing digital certificates based on antibody test results. These 'immunity passports' would help verify your movement across different social groups, from meeting co-workers to caring for vulnerable family members at home.    The impact of COVID-19 is still fresh on our minds as the search for a vaccine continues, however the concept of health-based categorisation in society is not new. Examples in history have been highlighted by Virginia Berridge, Professor of History and Health Policy at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine during a virtual talk about a public health identity emerging from COVID-19 antibody test results. These include the Yellow Fever outbreak in 19th-century New Orleans, premarital certification to confirm a syphi...

Shilpi Awasthi Postpartum depression (PPD) is a clinical condition that has a severe impact on mood and lasts for more than 10 days after delivery. Symptoms include feelings of worthlessness, shame, lack of motivation and thoughts of hurting oneself or the baby. It is diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5). In comparison to postpartum blues, PPD lasts longer and has a more severe impact on the mother. Worldwide, PPD affects up to 15% of mothers and  87% of these women do not seek or attain support. Barriers to this may be due to a lack of education and social stigma. Some of the pathological theories for PPD correlate to those explaining psychiatric illnesses. This may not be justified as there are many biological and social events that occur exclusively to women during pregnancy and postpartum. Given the lack of current biological understanding, this article aims to explore the hypothesis of Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HP...