Bloodletting on prescription Yfke Prins, BSc Medicine Much to my surprise, an internist mentioned that the treatment of choice for a patient with polycythemia vera (PV) was bloodletting. I thought I had misunderstood her for a second, but then she repeated her sentence, probably after seeing my puzzled face. She was serious, and, as I discovered that day, bloodletting (also known as phlebotomy) is still applied in the clinic; although, much less frequent than, e.g. during the Middle Ages. … [Lees meer...]
Archief voor 2021
The power of plants: a cure for COVID-19?
Minke Holwerda, BSc Biomedical Sciences Unless you have been living under a rock, it has probably not escaped you that we are currently in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, caused by severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). While vaccines are being developed, produced, and injected in a (more or less) high tempo, a cure for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not yet been found. In the race for the COVID-19 cure, some countries have turned to exploring the … [Lees meer...]
Get rid of that late night snack! – The relation between timing of food intake and weight gain
Quentin Marsman, BSc Medicine Late-night eating is an activity we all participate in once in a while. We all enjoy that snack right before bed after an evening with intense exercise or a hamburger after going to the bar. Nevertheless, these snacks could be more detrimental to our health than we might think. Studies show that the timing of food intake has a relation to weight gain. Experimental studies in animals show that unusual feeding time leads to obesity, even in the absence of changes … [Lees meer...]
The use of long-acting antivirals in HIV treatment
Thomas Nieuwenstein, BSc Biomedical Sciences Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treatment has come a long way since the introduction of the first anti-HIV treatment – azidothymidine, or better known as zidovudine, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor – in 1987 [1]. While the drug proved to be effective at reducing opportunistic infections and AIDS-related deaths, it caused severe adverse effects in the patient population [1]. Since then, new drugs have been developed which have turned … [Lees meer...]
Pharmacogenetics: Are your genes to blame for your side effects?
Aster Witvliet, BSc Liberal Arts and Sciences, Science major Have you ever taken a medication that had a nasty side effect? Or have you taken a medication that appeared to do absolutely nothing to alleviate your health complaint? Not all people respond the same to taking a specific drug; for some people, it might work well, while it might not work at all for others or come with troubling side effects. Your genes might be to blame for the side effects and reduced effectiveness of your … [Lees meer...]