The hottest Diseases Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Health & Wellness Topics

Our Brain—Immune Axis Gets A Jolt

Ground Truths • 12422 implied HN points • 03 Aug 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Diseases
  1. Seeing someone with an infection can kickstart our immune system. This was shown in a study where participants responded to animated characters showing signs of illness.
  2. A new device that stimulates the vagus nerve has been developed to help treat autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Early trial results are promising and show it can reduce pain and swelling.
  3. People carrying the APOE4 gene, linked to Alzheimer's, have immune system changes that raise their risk of disease. This insight gives new understanding into how genetics can affect brain health.

We're making diseases more dangerous and they're escaping from labs. But don't worry, it's all for your health & safety.

Break Free with Karen Hunt • 727 implied HN points • 28 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Diseases
  1. Mankind is making diseases more dangerous through gain-of-function research, which poses significant risks.
  2. Despite extensive history of studying viruses, humanity has a low success rate in eradicating diseases.
  3. The proliferation of Bio Security Level 4 labs globally and the risks associated with lab accidents highlight the dangers and lack of stringent safety protocols.

How to Calibrate Your Anxiety to the Degree of *Actual* Risk 🩺

Are You Okay? • 938 implied HN points • 13 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Diseases
  1. Working on anxiety alone cannot ensure good health, focus on understanding actual risks.
  2. Recognize risk factors for diseases like ovarian cancer and Alzheimer's to make informed decisions about screenings and lifestyle changes.
  3. Calibrating anxiety involves accepting factors out of control, focusing on facts, and working towards change in areas within your control.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

State of Affairs: Feb 22

Your Local Epidemiologist • 904 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Diseases
  1. Influenza-like illnesses are still prevalent, especially among children, and the season could continue until April or May.
  2. COVID-19 levels in wastewater are high nationally, with a strange pattern in the South, but hospitalizations remain lower than last year.
  3. Flu hospitalizations are stable, RSV cases are decreasing, and there is concern about a rising number of measles cases across several states.

State of Affairs: March 12

Your Local Epidemiologist • 768 implied HN points • 12 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Diseases
  1. Measles cases are increasing, with outbreaks across various regions, underscoring the importance of vaccination and public health measures.
  2. Norovirus is surging in the Northern Hemisphere, causing stomach cramping, vomiting, and diarrhea, emphasizing the need for preventive measures like handwashing and surface cleaning.
  3. The flu season, particularly driven by flu strain B, has been moderate this year, highlighting the potential impact of political influences on vaccine uptake and the importance of public health efforts.

Cochran's Great Insight

The Heart Attack Diet • 139 implied HN points • 08 Sep 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Diseases
  1. Common diseases that affect many people should be carefully examined for underlying causes, like pathogens or recent environmental changes.
  2. Pathogens play a significant role in causing diseases, such as the example of sickle-cell anaemia in Africa being a defense against malaria.
  3. The rise of 'diseases of modernity' like heart disease, cancer, and obesity may be linked to long-term exposure to environmental toxins in food and water.

Dispatches from the GWAS Era

Holodoxa • 79 implied HN points • 27 Jun 23
🔬 Science Diseases
  1. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) help understand how genes influence traits and diseases by identifying genetic variants associated with specific traits using large sample sizes and statistical tests.
  2. GWAS provide insights into biological mechanisms, heritability of traits, and can generate polygenic risk scores to predict disease risk based on genetic profiles.
  3. GWAS require large sample sizes and collaborative efforts, showcasing their ongoing utility in genetic research for discovering associations between genetic variants and complex traits.

Ancestral PUFAs?

The Heart Attack Diet • 39 implied HN points • 01 Jun 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Diseases
  1. Southern Europeans have traditionally consumed large quantities of olive oil, which is rich in polyunsaturated fats.
  2. Southern European cultures have potentially evolved over time to metabolize polyunsaturated fats better than other populations.
  3. Descendants of Southern Europeans in America may have inherited a resistance to the obesity epidemic due to a long history of consuming olive oil.

The Vector Zoo

Asimov Press • 96 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
🔬 Science Diseases
  1. The Vector Zoo showcases humanity's battle to eradicate zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, emphasizing the challenges faced in diseases like malaria due to shifting parasites and vectors.
  2. The Last Mile Labyrinth in the Vector Zoo symbolizes the choice between collaborative efforts towards disease eradication or reverting to isolated living, highlighting the complexities and costs involved in disease elimination.
  3. The Temple of Political Will in the Vector Zoo underscores the critical role of social and political commitment in disease eradication, demonstrating the impact of funding and investments in public health initiatives.

129 | The Mysterious Case of Bacon Brain | Chocolate Crisis |

The Rotten Apple • 21 implied HN points • 11 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Diseases
  1. Downloadable back issues are available for readers to catch up on past content.
  2. Improper handwashing and contaminated food led to a man in the US developing tapeworm larvae in his brain, highlighting the importance of food safety practices.
  3. The chocolate supply chain is facing a crisis due to rising cocoa prices caused by global supply pressures from climate change, impacting chocolate production and potentially leading to product frauds.

024: Why You Should Manage Your Glutathione Status and How to Do It

Harnessing the Power of Nutrients • 19 implied HN points • 13 Jan 17
🏥 Health & Wellness Diseases
  1. Glutathione is crucial for various aspects of health, including exercise recovery, immune support, and protection against diseases.
  2. There are practical strategies to improve glutathione levels, such as focusing on nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle factors like metabolic rate and phytonutrients.
  3. Monitoring and maintaining optimal glutathione redox status around -150 mV is linked to maintaining youthfulness and overall health.