Nathan Seppa

Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)

All Stories by Nathan Seppa

  1. Health & Medicine

    Cardiac Connection: Lupus patients exhibit signs of heart disease

    Lupus patients have more signs of atherosclerosis than do healthy people, suggesting that the inflammation that causes many lupus symptoms also damages blood vessels.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Cardiac Connection: Lupus patients exhibit signs of heart disease

    Lupus patients have more signs of atherosclerosis than do healthy people, suggesting that the inflammation that causes many lupus symptoms also damages blood vessels.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Hard mattresses not best for back pain

    People sleeping on medium-firm mattresses report less pain than those sleeping on firm mattresses, contradicting a long-held belief that harder is better.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Hard mattresses not best for back pain

    People sleeping on medium-firm mattresses report less pain than those sleeping on firm mattresses, contradicting a long-held belief that harder is better.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Risk Profile: C-reactive protein may presage hypertension

    High concentrations of the inflammatory compound C-reactive protein may signal an elevated risk of high blood pressure.

  6. Health & Medicine

    No Scope: CT scan works as well as colonoscopy

    A computed tomography scan of the large intestine works as well as colonoscopy in detecting signs of colon cancer.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Two markers may predict heart risk

    Two proteins that play a role in inflammation may serve as indicators of a person's risk of heart disease and stroke.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Fetal Risk: Inflammation in womb tied to cerebral palsy

    For a pregnant woman carrying a baby to term, inflammation in the womb nearly quadruples the chance her baby will be born with cerebral palsy.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Drug cuts recurrence of breast cancer

    Letrozole, which blocks estrogen production, reduces recurrence of breast cancer in women who have exhausted the usefulness of tamoxifen, the frontline cancer drug for this disease.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Rebuilding the Heart: Marrow cells boost cardiac recovery

    Inserting a person's own bone marrow stem cells into an ailing heart via a catheter can improve heart and lung function in such patients.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Protein may predict heart problems

    Low blood concentrations of a protein called adiponectin may signal risk of heart disease.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Defibrillator access pays dividends

    Ready access to a heart defibrillator can boost the survival chances of someone who suffers a cardiac arrest.