Month: February 2019

  • What is the most effective intervention for ensuring weight recording in pregnancy?

    What is the most effective intervention for ensuring weight recording in pregnancy?

    Feet on scale [credit: Mater Mothers’ Hospitals] Why focus on healthy weight gain in pregnancy? Gestational weight gain (GWG) outside of guidelines is linked with negative health consequences for both the mother and her baby. Pregnant women who gain weight in accordance with the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines, also adopted for use in…

  • The obesity-paradox: impact of body composition on cancer survival

    The obesity-paradox: impact of body composition on cancer survival

    BMI (body mass index) is used to determine whether a person is a healthy body weight. But it has flaws. © Sherry Young / Fotolia As long as I remember, people told me to always exercise and eat well to stay fit and healthy. Despite recent efforts in both the public and private sector to…

  • Can mathematics inform elimination efforts?

    Can mathematics inform elimination efforts?

    Many parasitic worms, including those that cause onchocerciasis, yaws, trachoma, and schistosomiasis, are the target of mass drug campaigns to control or even eliminate disease in endemic communities. As we have talked about before on this blog, mass drug administration requires herculean efforts by local health workers, national control programmes and the NGOs to provide…

  • World Cancer Day: We Are And We Will

    World Cancer Day: We Are And We Will

    World Cancer Day 2019 / Custom Poster As Editors, we are committed to innovative research that positively transforms our communities. We unite with authors, editors, researchers, and readers around the world to make cancer a global health priority. One of the ways in which we do this is by continually participating in a broader initiative,…

  • BMC Nutrition: Editor picks of 2018

    BMC Nutrition: Editor picks of 2018

    Take a break to avoid a snack Excessive sedentary time has been identified as a contributing factor to cardiovascular disease, but sedentary behavior is nevertheless becoming more common in the workplace. Alongside the adverse health effects associated with sedentary behavior, prolonged sitting also provides opportunity to snack, and subsequently the consumption of junk food is…

  • Seeking and sourcing safe, fast acting macrofilaricides

    Seeking and sourcing safe, fast acting macrofilaricides

    Onchocerca volvulus (female and smaller male), boy with a nodule caused by onchocerciasis, second lymphatic filariasis causing gross swelling of the leg, an insect cell (red spheres are the cell nucleus) infected with Wolbachia (green spheres). Sources, Mark Taylor, Mark Taylor, Ted Bianco, Mark Taylor respectively. The filarial diseases, onchocerciasis (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis…

  • BMC ‘Cancer Awareness’ poetry competition 2019 now open for submissions

    BMC ‘Cancer Awareness’ poetry competition 2019 now open for submissions

    © parinyabinsuk / iStock How has cancer affected you? Has your experience led you to find a creative outlet as a method of support and strength? We are looking for poets, whether first-time or experienced, to submit their work. This competition is driven by the efforts to join in awareness about how cancer affects a survivor,…

  • Albendazole for lymphatic filariasis… direct hit or misfire?

    Albendazole for lymphatic filariasis… direct hit or misfire?

    Albendazole tablets used in lymphatic filariasis treatment programs. https://www.flickr.com/photos/prefeituradeitapevi/33462574864 Lymphatic filariasis Lymphatic filariasis, a disease common in tropical and subtropical areas, is spread by mosquitoes and caused by infection with parasitic filarial worms. Once infected, larval worms grow into adult worms and mate to produce microfilariae (mf). The mf are then collected by mosquitoes during…

  • Has the power of the Internet been a factor in crime reduction?

    Has the power of the Internet been a factor in crime reduction?

    Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash Using Google Search Data and Uniform Crime Report Data on property crime, we set out to answer three questions. First, is higher property crime associated with increased searches for crime prevention? And, if so, are increased searches for crime prevention associated with a reduction in property crime? Finally, if…