More than half of all women experience at least one episode of urinary tract infection (UTI) in their lifetime, with men also facing increasing risks of infection as they age. Current detection of UTIs rely on patients reporting symptoms followed by a lab culture of the urine for known bacterial culprits, which typically takes a few days. However, doctors tend to prescribe antibiotics to suppress any suspect cases of UTI before they get the test results, contributing to the increasing…
Researchers from Penn State and Stanford University have developed a 30-minute urine test to measure levels of substances that can contribute to kidney stone formation. The test could help patients to find out if they are prone to developing kidney stones or to monitor their progress in avoiding kidney stone formation through treatment or dietary changes. Kidney stones are accumulations of crystallized substances such as minerals and salts, and the stones can cause pain and blockages in the urinary system.…
Iceland has a universal healthcare. The healthcare system is largely paid for by taxes (85%) and to some extent by service fees (15%) and is administrated by the Ministry of Welfare. A considerable portion of government spending is assigned to health care. There is almost no private health insurance in Iceland and no private hospitals Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic, with a population of 364,134 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq. mi), making…
