Family Medicine

Study results presented at CHEST 2014 show that patients with stage I to stage III non-small cell lung cancer have different metabolite profiles in their blood than those of patients who are at risk but do not have lung cancer.

The largest study performed to date of mortality trends in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) shows that the rate of mortality dropped significantly over a 16-year period.

A recent study looked at the relationship between obesity and a child's risk of developing allergies or an asthmatic condition. Looking at what the authors perceived to be a growing trend of not only an increase in the number obese children but those suffering from new or worsening allergies the authors said they were looking for a link which could help treat the pediatric patients.

Severely mentally ill patients often lack access to primary medical care compared with the general population, leading to increased risk of health care complications and emergency room visits.

More than one in three adults with a mental illness smoke cigarettes, compared with about one in five adults with no mental illness, according to the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Twenty percent of Americans smoke and one in five has a mental illness.

Addiction is a chronic and progressive brain disease of the reward, motivation, and memory pathway that moves from an impulse or positive reinforcement to compulsive and negative reinforcement.

The 2013 revision of guidelines on managing overweight and obesity in adults suggests that providers and patients set a goal of a sustained weight loss of 3-5% of baseline body weight to obtain improvements in triglycerides, blood glucose, HbA1c, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Individuals who engage in physical activity on a regular basis have improved cardiovascular fitness, improved insulin sensitivity, and improved glucose tolerance.

Patients who are overweight or obese have several medication options as an adjunct to lifestyle modification for weight loss.

Treatment failure can be caused by a variety of factors, including misdiagnosis of the primary psychiatric complaint, the presence of one or more comorbid conditions, and nonadherence to medication plans.

When treating patients who have been diagnosed with cancer, you should consult with their oncologist to brainstorm interventions that can help your patient have the best possible quality of life.

Prolonged exposure therapy can help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder overcome the fear, anxiety, and depression that can lead to avoidance behaviors and other responses that negatively impact quality of life.

App will help patients with diabetes log their hypoglycemic events and achieve better control of these events by becoming more aware of preceding signs and symptoms.

Provocative research raises the question of whether we should we look at Alzheimer's disease as "type 3 diabetes."

Presentation at CMHC 2014 provides updates on emerging classes of diabetes treatment, including preliminary data from current clinical trials.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) have become significant and costly problems-so significant, in fact, that many patients have a basic knowledge of MRSA just from news reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer a large selection of free tools to educate the public about MRSA and VRE.

Patients' body weight (BW) is the accepted way to calculate the starting dose of levothyroxine (LT4) after total thyroidectomy. However, Italian researchers sought to find a new way to improve the accuracy of the LT4 starting dose following total thyroidectomy by identifying other major predictive factors of LT4 requirement.

In remarks delivered at the American Academy of Family Physicians 2014 Assembly, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell spoke about the ongoing response to the Ebola outbreak, improving health care delivery, the Affordable Care Act, and the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative.

A pattern of sleep disturbance is a risk factor for depression and suicide and also increases the risk of cancer, infection, hypertension, weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, inflammation, osteoporosis, chronic pain, and arrhythmias. It can also have a significant negative impact on cognition and creativity.

How can clinicians help veterans with PTSD deal with depression and anxiety symptoms, and process intense feelings of shame and guilt stemming from actions and situations they experienced while serving?

Adolescent depression is a serious mental illness that results in negative health consequences and frequently recurs later in life. Although the prevalence rate of depression is around 20 percent among African American and European-American adolescents, the associated risks and utilization rates vary greatly.

Recent studies of targeted anti-inflammatory therapy show promise for helping patients with high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels.

Advances in treatment could provide much needed help for patients with obesity, diabetes, and hypertension

Silent coronary artery disease is often diagnosed too late to prevent a cardiac event. But in a case history involving twin brothers, a team from Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Liverpool, UK shows that investigative imaging of an otherwise healthy man paid off.

For patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis, daily activities that many people take for granted, including sleep, can be interrupted or difficult, often causing psychological challenges as well.

A non-inferiority study published in the October 6, 2014 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine looks at these drugs. The researchers report that prescribing β-lactam monotherapy may be as effective as the combination of a macrolide with a β-lactam in certain patients.

A literature review published in Trends in Molecular Medicine suggests inflammatory bowel disease can be controlled by levels of inhibitors of apoptosis.

In diarrhea patients, a frozen capsule fetal microbiota transplantation treatment can be effective to eliminate symptoms.

The fact that cigarette smoking is dangerous to a person's health is not a new concept, but a recent study took a more direct view of just how much damage smokers in the United States do to themselves through what was described as "major medical conditions."

Heart patients who have bouts of hypotension while hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) have an increased risk of an adverse outcome within 30 days, a multi-institutional study found. Priyesh Patel, MD, and colleagues, writing in Circulation reported on their analysis of results of the ASCEND-HF study.