Chronic Diseases

Expert warning: Resistance to antibiotics to be apocalyptic

(Medical Xpress)—The chief medical officer for Britain's Department of Health has issued a warning that resistance to bacteria is a more urgent threat to humanity than global warming, with bacteria becoming ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jan 25, 2013 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (36) | comments 40 | with audio podcast report

'Light' sodas may hike diabetes risk: study (Update)

Artificially sweetened sodas have been linked to a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes for women than sodas sweetened with ordinary sugar, a French study unveiled on Thursday found.

Health created Feb 07, 2013 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (10) | comments 9

What really makes us fat? Article questions our understanding of the cause of obesity

If we are to make any progress in tackling the obesity crisis, we have to look again at what really makes us fat, claims an article published in this week's BMJ.

Overweight and Obesity created Apr 16, 2013 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 1

Hypertension traced to source in brain

(Medical Xpress)—When the heart works too hard, the brain may be to blame, says new Cornell research that is changing how scientists look at high blood pressure (hypertension). The study, published in the ...

Medical research created Dec 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Second to US in obesity, Mexico wants kids to slim down

Mexico, second in obesity in the world after the United States, wants its children to cut down on the soft drinks and fatty foods that have made them the chubbiest kids in Latin America.

Overweight and Obesity created Oct 20, 2012 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

New study finds plant proteins control chronic disease in Toxoplasma infections

A new discovery about the malaria-related parasite Toxoplasma gondii—which can threaten babies, AIDS patients, the elderly and others with weakened immune function—may help solve the mystery of how th ...

Medical research created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Portable metabolism tracker launched

Breezing, a new startup based on technology developed by researchers at Arizona State University, is offering the world's first portable device that can track an individual's metabolism and use that information t ...

Medical research created Jan 25, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Weight and mortality: Researchers challenge results of obesity analysis

(Medical Xpress)—In January, when the Journal of the American Medical Association published a meta-analysis of 100 studies that probed the relationship between body mass index and mortality—studies that found slightl ...

Overweight and Obesity created Feb 25, 2013 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Explainer: What is cancer?

Few things strike fear into people more than the word cancer, and with good reason. While improvements in cancer therapy and advances in palliative care mean that the illness does not always lead to inevitable ...

Cancer created Mar 15, 2013 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Protein tug of war points toward better therapies for cardiovascular disease

Two proteins are in a tug of war that determines how much the body makes of superoxide, a highly reactive and potentially destructive product of oxygen that's dramatically elevated in cardiovascular disease, ...

Cardiology created Nov 15, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Multiple sclerosis 'immune exchange' between brain and blood is uncovered

DNA sequences obtained from a handful of patients with multiple sclerosis at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center have revealed the existence of an "immune exchange" that allows the disease-causing ...

Medical research created Nov 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Healthy neurotic? Being conscientious may help

(HealthDay)—Being both neurotic and conscientious may be good for your health.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Nov 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study finds high fructose corn syrup-global prevalence of diabetes link

A new study by University of Southern California (USC) and University of Oxford researchers indicates that large amounts of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) found in national food supplies across the world may be one explanation ...

Diabetes created Nov 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study finds ways to prevent muscle loss, obesity and diabetes

A research study from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has yielded important breakthroughs on how the body loses muscle, paving the way for new treatments for aging, obesity and diabetes.

Medical research created Dec 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Viagra converts fat cells

Researchers from the University of Bonn treated mice with Viagra and made an amazing discovery: The drug converts undesirable white fat cells and could thus potentially melt the unwelcome "spare tire" around the midriff. ...

Medical research created Jan 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0


A chronic disease is a disease or other human health condition that is persistent or long-lasting in nature. The term chronic is usually applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include asthma, cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.

In medicine, the opposite of chronic is acute. A chronic course is further distinguished from a recurrent course; recurrent diseases relapse repeatedly, with periods of remission in between.

While often referred to as "non-communicable diseases", also usually lasting medical conditions, the latter are distinguished by their non-infectious cause. In contrast, some chronic diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, are caused by transmissible infections.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Latest Spotlight News

Study says empathy plays a key role in moral judgments

Is it permissible to harm one to save many? Those who tend to say "yes" when faced with this classic dilemma are likely to be deficient in a specific kind of empathy, according to a report published in the scientific journal ...

Phthalates: Study links chemicals widely found in plastics, processed food to elevated blood pressure in children, teens

Plastic additives known as phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates) are odorless, colorless and just about everywhere: They turn up in flooring, plastic cups, beach balls, plastic wrap, intravenous tubing and—according to the ...

If you can remember it, you can remember it wrong

(Medical Xpress)—Native peoples in regions where cameras are uncommon sometimes react with caution when their picture is taken. The fear that something must have been stolen from them to create the photo ...

B vitamins could delay dementia

(Medical Xpress)—Despite spending billions of dollars on research and development, drug companies have been unable to come up with effective treatments for dementia and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Now, A. ...

Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells

Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes.

New sleeping pill poised to hit US markets

An experimental sleeping pill from US drug company Merck is effective at helping people fall and stay asleep, according to reviewers at the US Food and Drug Administration, which could soon approve the new drug.

Reducing caloric intake delays nerve cell loss

Activating an enzyme known to play a role in the anti-aging benefits of calorie restriction delays the loss of brain cells and preserves cognitive function in mice, according to a study published in the May ...

Antidepressant reduces stress-induced heart condition

A drug commonly used to treat depression and anxiety may improve a stress-related heart condition in people with stable coronary heart disease, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

Drugs found to both prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease in mice

Researchers at USC have found that a class of pharmaceuticals can both prevent and treat Alzheimer's Disease in mice.

Study finds vitamin C can kill drug-resistant TB (w/ video)

In a striking, unexpected discovery, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have determined that vitamin C kills drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria in laboratory culture. The finding ...