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What Is A Virus? What Is A Viral Infection?
A virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a microscopic organism consisting of genetic material (RNA or DNA) surrounded by a protein, lipid (fat), or glycoprotein coat. Viruses are unique organisms because they cannot reproduce without a host cell. After contacting a host cell, a virus will insert genetic material into the host and take over the host"s functions. The cell, now infected, continues to reproduce, but it reproduces more viral protein and genetic material instead of its usual products. It is this process that earns viruses the classification of "parasite".
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A 'Heart Healthy' Diet And Ongoing, Moderate Physical Activity May Protect Against Cognitive Decline
Eating a "heart healthy" diet and maintaining or increasing participation in moderate physical activity may help preserve our memory and thinking abilities as we age, according to new research reported today at the Alzheimer"s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer"s Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.
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Computerized Tomography Magnified Bone Windows Are Superior To Standard Soft Tissue Windows For Accurate Measurement Of Stone Size

UroToday.com - Stone size is of key importance in making treatment decisions, especially for ureteral calculi. Earlier studies revealed that stone size on CT could at times be underestimated by as much as 1-2 mm; for ureteral calculi this could be the difference between initiating medical expulsive therapy versus an invasive ureteroscopic procedure. However, there are many ways to "view" a CT scan and by moving from the standard soft tissue view to a "bone" window view, different characteristics of tissue or foreign bodies can be appreciated. Such was first brought to the attention of many urologists when Dr. Stephen Dretler and colleagues reported the use of bone windows to distinguish ureteral stents from denser stone fragments. In this study, both in vitro and in vivo analyses of stones using 5.13x and 4x bone windows, respectively provided more accurate stone measurements than the use of regular or magnified soft tissue windows. From a clinical standpoint, the take home message is that the use of standard soft tissue window can underestimate stone size by upwards of 2 mm, whereas the 4.0 magnified bone window view, underestimates stone size by only 0.3mm. This is highly useful clinical information and allows one to rely on the plain CT scan findings for developing an effective treatment plan. Eisner BH, Kambadakone A, Monga M, Anderson JK, Thoreson AA, Lee H, Dretler SP, Sahani DV J Urol. 2009 Apr;181(4):1710-5. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2008.11.116 Written by UroToday.com Medical Editor Ralph V. Clayman, MD UroToday - the only urology website with original content written by global urology key opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical practice. To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to: www.urotoday.com Copyright © 2009 - UroToday


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