Category: Health

Everything You Need to Know About Vitamin C, the Holy Grail of Skin-Care Ingredients

Tom Patriot

Vitamin C serums are legendary for a reason: They really work. Uneven skin tone, rough texture, fine lines, acne scars, general dullness — you can name just about any common complexion concern and there’s a good chance that vitamin C (and the skin-care products it’s featured in) is a recommended treatment. How does the ingredient work on the skin, though? Are the brighter, smoother results thanks to the same potent antioxidant found in the orange juice you drink when you have a cold? Given that interest about the ingredient is seemingly at an all-time…

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From the overuse of antibiotics to anti-vaxxers, why we need to work together to create a stronger culture of public health

Tom Patriot

Whenever I talk about my research on how parents come to decide to reject vaccines for their children, my explanations are met with a range of reactions, but I almost always hear the same questions. What is wrong with those parents? Are they anti-science? Are they anti-expert? Are they simply ignorant or selfish? Are they crazy? The year is not half over, and the number of measles cases has now exceeded highs not seen since the U.S. was declared measles-free in 2000. Given the indisputably large role unvaccinated individuals are playing in it, parents…

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Exercise may improve memory in heart failure patients

Tom Patriot

Two-thirds of patients with heart failure have cognitive problems, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Heart failure patients who walked further in a six-minute test, which shows better fitness, as well as those who were younger and more highly educated, were significantly less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results suggest that fitter patients have healthier brain function. Study author Professor Ercole Vellone, of the University of Rome “Tor Vergata,” Italy, said: “The message for patients with heart…

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People with benign skin condition willing to trade time, money to cure disorder

Tom Patriot

People with benign hyper-pigmentation (the darkening or increase in the natural color of the skin), are willing to pay (WTP) nearly 14 percent of their monthly income and approximately 90 minutes a day to cure their condition. The study involved 85 adults with skin hyper-pigmentation who were surveyed on the number of hours per day they would be willing to give up as well as how much money they were willing to spend to potentially be cured of a condition. “Our findings highlight the substantial effect that benign hyper-pigmentation has…

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Exposure to air pollution before and after birth may affect fundamental cognitive abilities

Tom Patriot

A growing body of research suggests that exposure to air pollution in the earliest stages of life is associated with negative effects on cognitive abilities. A new study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa”, has provided new data: exposure to particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) during pregnancy and the first years of life is associated with a reduction in fundamental cognitive abilities, such as working memory and executive attention. The study, carried out as part…

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