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Medical Investigation on TV

As seen on "Medical Investigation"
November 5, 2004 | Archive

Influenza
Influenza, or the flu, is a respiratory infection caused by a variety of flu viruses. Common symptoms include a fever, headache, chills, body aches, a sore throat and a stuffy nose.

The flu spreads easily through a cough or a sneeze, or if one touches a contaminated surface.

Flu outbreaks tend to occur in the winter season—from November until around March—and can cause an epidemic since the infection spreads rapidly through communities. The flu can be potentially life threatening for young children, the sick and the elderly.

	Influenza – Latest News
	Focus on the Flu – flu facts, flu drugs, and flu research at NIH
	Influenza History – 1918 Spanish Flu

Brain Tumors
An adult brain tumor is a disease that arises when cancer cells begin to grow in the brain's tissue. Cancer in the brain often begins somewhere else in the body and spreads to the brain; this process is called brain metastasis. A CAT scan or an MRI is used to diagnose a brain tumor, and if not too far advanced, a tumor can often be removed successfully during surgery.

Your doctor may decide that a high dose of radiation given to a small area of your body is the best way to treat your cancer. Internal radiation therapy allows the doctor to give a higher total dose of radiation in a shorter time than is possible with external treatment.

	Adult Brain Tumors
	Internal and External Radiation Therapy

NIH Research and You
The NIH funds clinical studies that provide experimental treatment for influenza and brain tumors. To join a clinical trial, ask your doctor to help you choose the study that's right for you, or call the NIH at 1-800-411-1222.

Stay Tuned
Watch this page for information about aplastic anemia, bone marrow transplants, and other health topics featured in the next episode.

	CDC : Our Vital Partner
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the primary Federal agency that dispatches field investigators to resolve public health emergencies. CDC is NIH's sister agency under the Department of Health and Human Services.

	Meet a real NIH medical investigator Chemical Engineer Steve Marquis
"What I like best about my work is the opportunity to see the development of cutting-edge cancer treatments, whether they are coming out of the NCI laboratories, or developed through collaboration with an outside party. It is really fulfilling to see a technology or invention that I reviewed, such as a new drug, become a useful patented product for researchers or clinicians. "
> More research careers > Jobs at NIH

This page was last reviewed on November 8, 2004 .

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