This Pathological Life

One of the important jobs of a doctor is to prescribe medications. Unfortunately, it also happens to be one of the most challenging. Pharmacokinetics, physiology, and drug-to-drug interactions are just some of the challenges that doctors deal with every day.

In the 1920’s, Pearl Buck searched for an answer to her 3 year old daughters intellectually disability. Unfortunately, no-one could help her because her daughter’s condition was not yet known. From the mid 1930s to the 1960s, a remarkable sequence

The computing world has come a long way in less than 100 years. Since Alan Turing introduced his paper ‘Computing Machinery and Intelligence’ in 1950, we have not only achieved the ‘Turing Test’ of Artificial Intelligence, but exceeded it. This

Cholesterol is an essential component of our cells. It is synthesized by our cells and affected by dietary, lifestyle, and genetic factors. Unfortunately, cholesterol for doctors can feel like a moving target as different guidelines have different recommendations, new measurements

“I die before my time, killed by the English oligarchy and its hired assassins.” These are the words of Napoleon Bonaparte dictated in his last will and testament on his death bed. Napoleon is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest Generals. During

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia is a difficult diagnosis for patients, families, and clinicians. The vast array of symptoms, affected organs, and complex genetics often mean that it can take years (if not longer) for it to be diagnosed. In addition, the

Coeliac disease has been recognised since the times of Ancient Greece. This is a malabsorption disease that causes abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhoea, and leaves sufferers starved of nutrients. The offending protein is Gluten which is found in wheat,

Leprosy the disease, is rife with myths and false beliefs. In 1863, Hawaii recognised leprosy an official public health threat. In 1865, a law of segregation was enacted forcing sufferers to Kalaupapa on Molokai island. As fate would have it,

Lead has been used for thousands of years. And why not? This is a metal that is abundant, pliable, has a low melting point, and does not easily corrode. However, even our ancestors knew that those who worked closely with

In June 1981, the CDC reported an article of 5 men who presented with Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). PCP is an opportunistic infection more commonly found immunosuppressed patients (ie. patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer). The 5 men were young and otherwise

The rise of the tobacco industry and prevalence of smoking has significantly shaped the health (or lack of) in the last century. In 1900s, lung cancer was rare. 60 years later, it was the top cause of cancer deaths in

Hodgkin Lymphoma, formerly known as Hodgkin disease, is a cancer of the lymph node(s). First described by Thomas Hodgkin (1832) where he wrote a paper titled ‘On Some Morbid Appearances of the Absorbent (now Lymphatic) Glands and Spleen’. However, the