Advances in Health and Disease

This volume comprises 9 chapters, each concerning a recent advancement in health and disease. Chapter 1 critically appraises the current literature related to paediatric obesity and asthma, summarises the evidence on the impact of excess body fat on the pulmonary system in paediatric asthma patients, and discusses possible mechanisms as well as effective public health strategies for reducing the increasing obesity trend and mitigating asthma risk. Chapter 2 details the nutritional and bioactive composition of lactuca sativa, commonly called lettuce, including its antioxidant, cholesterol-lowering, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and anti-cancer properties. Chapter 3 attempts to shed light into the pathogenetic mechanisms connecting metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to the emergence and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma, emphasizing the evolving epidemiological profile of this type of cancer. Chapter 4 is also about lettuce and provides another perspective on the nutritional composition and health benefits among different varieties of the vegetable. Chapter 5 deals with the health promoting effects of onions (allium cepa l.), including their insulin secretagogue effect, hypoglycaemic influence, hypolipidemic action, antioxidant effect, cardioprotective effect, gallstone prevention, cancer preventive potential, and digestive stimulant action, all of which are scientifically validated. Chapter 6 remarks on the difficulties associated with diagnosing rare diseases and describes several systems-level interventions that can be expected to limit the diagnostic delays experienced by patients with rare diseases and the frustration associated with years or decades of untreated symptoms. Chapter 7 describes the prevalence and effects of iron deficiency and anaemia as well as treatment options for these conditions. Chapter 8 once again focuses on lettuce, this time exploring the nutritional and anti-cancer effects of carotenoids from different varieties of lettuce. Finally, Chapter 9 describes an application for the diagnosis of hypothermia in forensic practice wherein the colour difference between blood in the left cardiac chamber and blood in the right cardiac chamber can be examined using a CO-oximeter.