At the moment there is a lot of speculation about the possibility of an avian flu pandemic. There is so much focus on this topic that it is very easy to forget about the regular flu. Every year at least a quarter of a million Americans contract the flu which can result in as many as 40,000 deaths from complications arising from the illness.

Recently, the effort to help prevent colon cancer has suffered a multitude of setbacks. Experts have long promoted a diet high in fiber to help prevent the disease but although it is still recommended for a healthy lifestyle recent studies have shown it does little to ward off cancer.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men today. In fact, other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common type of male cancer. Prostate cancer occurs in the prostate gland, which contains the cells that help in creating seminal fluid. Prostate cancer develops when the gland cells in the prostate begin to mutate and grow abnormally.

These days, a lot of food items you can buy in stores carry a series of warnings that they might accidently contain some ingredients that could seriously harm people with food allergies.

Scientists have linked certain genes to restless legs syndrome, suggesting that the twitching condition that was described as "jimmy legs" in an episode of "Seinfeld" is biologically based and not an imaginary disorder.

New studies published this week in two top medical journals are being called the first to identify specific genes responsible for the irritating symptoms of restless legs syndrome.

It is well known that being fat increases your chances of a heart attack, but now a new study suggests a puzzling paradox: Obese people seem to have a better chance of surviving one. Scientists are posing several theories why.

A coalition being led by the British Lung Foundation has launched a campaign to inform the British public about the dangers of asbestos in their homes and how exposure to the deadly substance can lead to an aggressive form of lung cancer called mesothelioma.

Research by the British Lung Foundation found that only 6% of people in the UK have heard of the disease yet the deadly cancer kills one person every five hours in the UK and this figure is set to peak over the next decade.

You may have heard about black mold on the news, a passing story about a baby who got sick or a family that discovered their house was overrun with the stuff.

Strep throat is an ailment which affects the pharynx. It is a condition where the mucous membranes located in your pharynx are infected.

Lung cancer is statistically the main reason for cancer related deaths. It takes more lives in both men and women than any other cancer aliments.

Genital warts are a sexually transmitted infection that look like a series of lesions which are either raised or flat growths, usually found in the genital region of a person's body.

Infectious Mononucleosis is more commonly known as glandular fever, and as the kissing disease. It is called as such because the disease is transmitted mainly by the saliva of the infected person.

Influenza or more commonly known as the flu is a contagious viral disease, and is recorded as one of the deadliest pathogens in human history.

Diabetes is a growing problem in the United States. Around 17 million Americans are diabetic, which is approximately six per cent of the population.

These are variations from normal in the number or structure of chromosomes contained in a person's cells. In most cases, the chromosomal abnormality is present in all of the body's cells.

Hypertension is persistently raised blood pressure. Blood pressure goes up temporarily as a normal response to stress and physical activity, and it rises naturally with increasing age and weight.

Chronic inflammation and ulceration of the lining of the colon and rectum, or, especially at the start of the disease, of the rectum alone.

Diabetes mellitus is a disorder that develops when the cells of the body do not receive enough insulin.

A chronic inflammatory disease that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus. Crohn’s disease can occur at any age, but people in their mid-twenties are most likely to be affected.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in non-smoking women and the second most common type, after lung cancer, in women who smoke. One woman in every 12 who live to old age will develop breast cancer at some point in her life.

Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of interest in life, combined with a sense of reduced emotional well being. Most people experience these feelings occasionally, usually as a normal response to an upsetting event.

Inflammation of the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to be excreted) due to a cause other than gonorrhea. Nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) was previously known as non-specific urethritis (NSU).

There are many symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis that affect all aspects of those afflicted. Some of the more noticeable symptoms affect the cognitive, visual, and motor skills. Unfortunately nearly all of the symptoms associated with Multiple Sclerosis are also associated with other diseases making a diagnosis difficult.

A rare form of genetic disorder due to the breakdown or loss of myelin sheath (which is normally surrounding the nerve cells in the brain) and growing dysfunction of the adrenal gland is termed as Adrenoleukodystrophy or ALD.

This syndrome is down to inflamed cartilage and bones. Known as well as tietze’s it causes chest wall pain happening because of an inflamed area at the rib and breastbone.

The most common kind of diabetes found in more than 90 percent of diabetes cases. It’s usually caused by a person’s own diet. The majority of patients do not notice symptoms until later on in life causing a lot of people to realize they’ve had the disease for a longer period before actually being diagnosed. Onset happens when the body creates insulin rejection and thus causes weight gain.

There are many options when considering klinefelter's syndrome treatments that are available to those with the disorder. One of the most widely used is a replacement campaign of the hormone that is testosterone.

Heartburn is the burning feeling that begins in the chest (near the vicinity of the heart), it may travel to the throat, and is usually accompanied by a sour taste in the mouth. Heartburn is the main symptom of GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease). What is happening is that a bit of stomach acid and stomach contents escaped the stomach.

If you have a painful area that spreads quickly, peeling skin without blisters, scalded-looking raw areas of flesh, discomfort, fever, and symptoms spread to mucus membranes (eyes, mouth, and genitals) you could have symptoms of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TENS).

Acid reflux is a condition that the esophagus has stomach acids backs up (refluxes) into it. GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease), is chronic acid reflux and is often a lifelong condition. 

Fibromyalgia is categorized as a syndrome instead of a disease. There are overlapping symptoms from associated conditions.

Arthritis is a term that is used for a group of over 100 conditions. Both children and adults are afflicted with arthritis. 

Steven Johnson syndrome (SJS) affects all mucus membranes on the body. SJS is a rare and serious condition that is often related to allergic reactions and hypersensitivity.

One of the oldest known birth defects is achondroplasia syndrome. It is depicted in art as far back as Egyptian times.