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Tendons connect muscles to bones. Without them, your muscles couldn’t move your body. When you injure a tendon, it can affect your everyday activities. “No matter how strong your muscle is, you’re not going to be able to have the functionality and the stability that you need if a tendon is impaired,” says Dr. Nelly Andarawis-Puri, a bioengineering researcher at Cornell University. Tendon troubles…, Breaking the Cycle, “The most common type of tendon injury is an overuse, or wear-and-tear, injury,” explains Andarawis-Puri. “It’s not necessarily painful once it starts and can be silent for a long time. Essentially, you predispose yourself to more and more accumulation of damage. Then, eventually you have degeneration.” Getting treatment early can help keep tendon problems from getting worse. Your doctor may…, Reversing Chronic Conditions, The highly organized nature of tendons is key for them to work properly. “But tendons are a rather lazy organ,” Abraham explains. “They are slow to adapt, if they adapt at all.” Abraham’s team is trying to understand the changes tendons undergo from chronic injuries. They’ve developed a system that allows them to grow 3D tendon-like structures using cells from patients’ tendons. “We’re developing…, Coaxing Repair, Unlike people, some animals can fully repair tendon tissue as adults. For instance, zebrafish completely regenerate tendons throughout their lives. Galloway hopes to learn from them. Her group has shown that tenocytes can repair fully torn tendon tissue in zebrafish. Her recent study showed that the cells bridge fully severed tissue back together. People and other mammals have tenocytes, too. But…

After you eat, your stomach breaks down the food before pushing it along. How long it takes for your stomach to empty depends on many factors. Meals that are big, fatty, or high in calories will empty more slowly, but it also depends on your health. Some people have a condition that makes food empty slower than it should. It’s called gastroparesis. Gastroparesis isn’t common. But about 1 in 4…

For over 30 years, doctors have recommended the DASH diet to help people reduce high blood pressure. Studies have repeatedly shown that the DASH eating plan can improve heart health. The DASH diet seems to have other health benefits. But its effects on blood glucose, also called blood sugar, in people with type 2 diabetes were unclear. The DASH diet encourages eating fruits, vegetables, whole…

Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, causes swelling and redness inside your eyelid and the white part of your eye. Your eye may also feel itchy and painful. The condition is common and can sometimes spread very easily. Anyone can get pink eye. It’s usually caused by a virus or bacteria. You can also get it from allergies irritating your eyes. Symptoms include pain in your eye, a very red eye, and a lot…

Developmental language disorder, or DLD, affects about 1 in 14 children who are in kindergarten. DLD is a communication disorder. It can cause problems with learning, understanding, and language. Early treatment during preschool years can improve the skills of many kids with language delays. Visit the website to learn more.

Many kids start talking later than expected. Most eventually catch up with other kids their age. But some kids have language difficulties that persist. This can be a sign of a condition called developmental language disorder, or DLD. DLD is a communication disorder that persists into adulthood. It can interfere with learning, understanding, and using language. “DLD is incredibly prevalent, but…, Noticing Signs, Late talking can be one of the earliest signs of DLD. Young kids with DLD may struggle learning words. They might have difficulty talking. “If you have a young child who isn’t using a language to communicate, but is more using body language and gestures, that’s a sign that they’re having difficulty with learning language,” says Dr. Jim Montgomery, a professor of communication sciences at Ohio…, Screening for Differences, DLD can be difficult to recognize, as the signs aren’t the same for every child. “A very mild case of DLD might be something that may not affect a child that much in their everyday conversation or in everyday functioning,” Alt explains. But it may become apparent as reading and writing get more complex in school. “More severe DLD could mean having difficulty getting your basic needs met because…, Personalizing Progress, Certain specialists can help kids with DLD improve their language skills. Speech-language pathologists are experts in communication. They can test for DLD and provide treatment. Interventions are tailored to support a child’s individual challenges. “The nature of the treatment is going to change as kids get older because their language changes and their deficits change,” Montgomery says.…

You can’t see most air pollution. You can’t smell much of it, either. But polluted air—both outdoors and indoors—can still affect your health. “Nearly everyone on the planet is exposed to unhealthy air at least some of the time,” says Dr. Stavros Garantziotis, a lung doctor and researcher at NIH. Breathing polluted air doesn’t just affect the lungs. Because the lungs connect directly to the…

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer. Part of why it’s so deadly is that doctors usually don’t find it until it has spread to other parts of the body. After cancer has spread, treatment is less likely to work. Currently, there are no screening tests to find pancreatic cancer at its early stages. A recent study tested new ways to detect early-stage pancreatic cancer.…

Some medications affect your brain and nervous system. Side effects can include an increased risk of confusion, falls, and hospitalization. This risk is higher for people with dementia—a brain disorder that causes memory loss and difficulty thinking clearly. A new study showed that many people with dementia are taking medicines that may not be safe for them. Researchers studied medical records of…

Find clinical research studies taking place at NIH’s Clinical Center. The Clinical Center hosts a wide range of studies from rare diseases to chronic health conditions. Volunteers are needed for conditions being studied and healthy volunteers. Search by diagnosis, sign, or symptom.