Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered the pain caused by sickle cell disease may not occur solely from damaged tissues, but also from injured nerves. The research is published in the Journal of the National Medical Association. Sickle cell disease is a hereditary disorder where red blood cells change from round to a sickle shape...

Alley Cat Allies, the national advocate for stray and feral cats, today called on supporters in Illinois to voice opposition to a pending bill in the state House of Representatives that would cut funding for successful spay/neuter programs...

Pyrethroids, among the most widely-used home pesticides, are winding up in California rivers at levels toxic to some stream-dwellers, possibly endangering the food supply of fish and other aquatic animals, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Southern Illinois University (SIU)...

Some Illinois hospitals have begun to use a video system -- the Illinois Video Interpreter Network -- that can provide interpretation services for 150 languages, the Chicago Tribune reports. Interpreters trained in health care terminology and jargon are available by video or telephone 24 hours a day. Patients and doctors can see the interpreter through a portable monitor.

John Belz -- the County Circuit Judge in Sangamon, Ill. -- on Friday issued a temporary restraining order against a state rule that requires pharmacies to dispense emergency contraception, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) will host a town hall meeting tonight to address a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study that found African-American teenage girls were most severely affected by sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Held at the Carver Community Center in Peoria, the meeting included a discussion led by a panel of health and local officials followed by an audience question and answer period.

Although perhaps the greatest public health achievement of the 20th century was the disinfection of water, a recent study now shows that the chemicals used to purify the water we drink and use in swimming pools react with organic material in the water yielding toxic consequences. University of Illinois geneticist Michael Plewa said that disinfection by-products (DBPs) in water are the unintended consequence of water purification.

Stopping to smell the coffee - and enjoy a cup of it - before your morning workout might do more than just get your juices flowing. It might keep you going for reasons you haven't even considered. As a former competitive cyclist, University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Robert Motl routinely met his teammates at a coffee shop to fuel up on caffeine prior to hitting the pavement on long-distance training rides.