Oct 12 2009
Doctors routinely order the complete blood count (CBC) for their patients because they can learn a lot about a person’s health by measuring the numbers of different types of blood cells in the circulation, their sizes and the ratios between them.
One component of the CBC is usually a measure of the total amount of hemoglobin, [...]
Mar 02 2009
Our bodies need iron: to form the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin for our red blood cells, maintain our immune systems and keep our muscles and brains functioning properly.
But not too much. Excess iron can build up in tissues like the liver, heart and pancreas, causing damage and possibly organ failure.
Other than blood loss, there’s no way for [...]
Jul 22 2008
Last week in the Spittoon we reported on a new study that identified an interesting genetic trade-off — a genetic variant known that has one effect on a person’s vulnerability to malaria, and the opposite on susceptibility to HIV infection. The “Duffy negative” version of the gene, which is common among Africans and African Americans, [...]
