Adam Hochron

In just over a year, Praluent has shown benefits in helping patients lower their cholesterol level. Despite the progress, there have also been some challenges.

Nearly one-third of patients with plaque psoriasis will also be diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. While somewhat common, this diagnosis requires a different approach to care in order to help patients better manage their symptoms.

With plaque psoriasis becoming an increasingly common condition providers are able to more easily identify the condition than they had in the past. Looking for red scaling plaques, and thickened skin, as well as asking questions can get doctors the answers they need. In rare cases skin biopsies are also performed.

The days of patients with plaque psoriasis being treated with tar and special lights are fading as new agents, especially oral agents, are being developed.

For many years, there were no good treatments for patients with pulmonary hypertension. That has changed recently, but there is still much more work to be done.

Unlike other conditions, pulmonary hypertension has symptoms that can be hard to identify in order to give the patients the right diagnosis. Misdiagnosis can not only worsen the symptoms, but also make treatment that much harder in the long run.

For cardiologists, treating a patient with hypertension is becoming a more common and less complicated effort. However, a similar condition, called pulmonary hypertension, is not nearly as well understood, managed, or treated.

There is no shortage of caregivers facing the challenge of helping their loved ones on a daily basis for any number of reasons. Getting them help can be done through telemedicine in an effort to reach as many people as possible in an efficient method.

For people who spend their days taking care of loved ones suffering from traumatic brain injuries or other health issues, it can be easy to lose themselves in the situation and not take care of their own needs.

When veterans come home after experiencing traumatic brain injuries, it can be difficult for them to adjust to their lives. It can also present a variety of challenges for their loved ones who take on the task of helping them in their daily lives.

For many patients, chronic idiopathic urticaria can be a debilitating condition affecting them at all hours of the day and making living with the condition very difficult. Because of this, the need for newer, more effective treatments is driving the field forward at a rapid pace.

When a patient is diagnosed with chronic idiopathic urticaria, there are several things doctors can do to help them. The process to get the proper diagnosis can take several weeks, which can complicate the situation for patients.

People can experience bouts of urticaria over the course of their lives, but usually they only last for a matter of days. When the symptoms last six weeks or more, it can be classified as chronic idiopathic urticaria.

While technology has come a long way in the treatment of pediatric diabetes, there are still many issues that providers and patients face on a daily basis.

Whether it is a child born with type 1 diabetes or one who develops type 2 diabetes later in life, there is much more that can be done to catch the conditions early and start treatment sooner rather than later.

For conditions like diabetic retinopathy, the earlier the condition diagnosis can be made, the better the odds are of reducing the damage done.

Whatever it is called there is mounting evidence that staying active, whether through exercise or other means, is an important part of preventing the development of diabetes as well as overall health in general.

As the population gets older, there is more work being done to determine the cause of dementia and Alzheimer's disease and find treatments as well. A new protein could be a solid step in that direction.

For patients living a sedentary lifestyle, adding a little extra physical activity can go a long way in improving their overall health.

There have been many times where exercise has been shown to be important in a person's life. This is especially true for people with diabetes in order to best manage their symptoms.

Telemedicine is an expanding field across many areas of the medical community. Finding the best ways to use it and expand its growth are also becoming focal points as the idea gains popularity in helping treat patients.

As part of their overall health management, patients with diabetes are encouraged to undergo annual eye exams. While not all patients follow this direction, research is being done to better improve their eye health by working with their general practitioners.

One of the biggest safety risks for diabetes patients on insulin is hypoglycemia. As new treatments are developed there is a concerted effort to minimize the risk of this as part of their overall treatment picture.

There are many parts of everyday life that can be affected by a patient adjusting their diet. Providers suggesting these changes and patients making the changes over the long term are proving to be harder to accomplish in most cases.

With an aging population dementia and Alzheimer's Disease are becoming growing problems in the medical community. Recent research has shown benefits of diet slowing the progression of these conditions.

In many, if not most cases, there can be a break in the chain between researchers and the doctors they are developing treatments for. When that divide does not exist it can mean more direct access for doctors and patients to the latest treatments even in the development stages.

There is significant competition among companies developing treatments for diabetes. In spite of that, the common goal for all treatments is to help the growing number of patients developing the condition to better control their symptoms and overall health.

As the diabetes epidemic continues there are always new treatments being developed. For doctors treating the condition there are many questions to be answered including which therapies work best for their individual patients

There are hundreds of thousands of people in the United States with medication-resistant epilepsy. For many, their condition could be better managed by learning more about it and finding the right specialist who can help.

There are currently close to three million people in the United States with epilepsy. Of that total, close 500,000 are classified as medication resistant. Work is underway to help bring that number down and help more people with the condition.