Family Medicine

For psoriatic arthritis patients, foot pain and inflammation are tied to foot structure, according to research published in the April 2014 issue of Rheumatology.

Study results show testosterone therapy reduces total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides while boosting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

A tool for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Nuts should be given their own small space on the "MyPlate" in light of their solid evidence-based recommendation for daily consumption.

Although they offer an alternative to warfarin for preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, effective use of the new anticoagulants requires careful patient selection.

Results from the phase III ION-2 study show a 24-week regimen of sofosbuvir/ledipasvir does not produce significantly better cure rates than a 12-week regimen in treatment-experienced patients.

Results from the NEED study show combination treatment with peginterferon alpha-2a and either adefovir or entecavir does not increase HBeAg seroconversion rate compared to monotherapy alone in patients with hepatitis B.

The ACC/AHA cholesterol guideline can be a powerful tool for making multifactorial measures of cardiovascular disease risk assessment, particularly in African American populations, but clinicians should be aware of its limitations.

Results from the SAPPHIRE-I trial show that Abbvie's 3D therapy produced 96% sustained viral response rates at 12 weeks in treatment-naive patient with genotype 1 hepatitis C.

Data from the PEARL-I trial of patients with hepatitis C genotype 4 show high rates of sustained virologic response at 12 weeks associated with combination treatment with ABT-450 (a protease inhibitor boosted by ritonavir) and ombitasvir.

An 8-week course of treatment with a fixed dose combination of ledipasvir plus sofosbuvir produced sustained virologic response in more than 90 percent of treatment-naïve patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C.

Clinicians should consider a patient's risk of hypoglycemia, the duration of time with the disease, age, comorbidities, vascular complications, and other factors when setting treatment goals.

With state-of-the-art treatment regimens for hepatitis C becoming more effective and easier to administer and monitor, care delivery will shift away from specialists to include more involvement by primary care physicians.

Several studies have shown good results with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic gastric banding when combined with lifestyle modifications in severely overweight patients with type 2 diabetes.

Once confirmation of an asthma diagnosis is made, most primary care physicians can manage the condition and need refer only challenging cases to a pulmonologist.

According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, patients who are sensitive to d-amphetamine have a decreased likelihood of developing ADHD or schizophrenia.

A 57-year-old man presented to clinic with this persistent skin lesion on his thumb. Three months ago, he lanced the lesion, producing some purulence and blood. Since then, it has bled almost daily and has not healed. He was treated with silver nitrate by another clinician after one month, but the lesion persists. His past medical history is significant for diabetes and his family history is significant for 2 cousins with melanoma.

Ultrasound can lessen the need for head scans in children and reduce the impact of radiation on the developing brains of those who are particularly sensitive to ionizing radiation.

IBS symptoms play a minor role, according to a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, which asked patients to rate their overall health.

Study results show older patients who use ibuprofen and other prescription and over-the-counter NSAIDs are at increased risk for atrial fibrillation.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients have a 1-in-4 chance of developing chronic kidney disease, according to research published in the American Journal of Kidney Disease.

A recently-discovered subclass of HIV antibodies responds to a combination of vaccines, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine.

Isotretinoin, a treatment for severe acne, has been linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in some case reports and 1 study. To investigate whether isotretinoin can induce IBD, French researchers conducted a 2-year nationwide registry study.

It is worrisome that "high-impact" data read by most healthcare providers and then further interpreted and distributed by lay news organizations may have funder bias.

Obese women who smoke may not be able to fully perceive creaminess and sweetness, according to a study published in Obesity.

When a patient's presenting complaint is chest pain, consider plain radiographs directed to the area of pain and do not forget to look at the bones.

Patients who also responded positively to preoperative non-invasive transcranial stimulation analgesic effect were more likely to experience long-term benefit from MCS.

Study results show that more than one-third of men with diabetes have low serum testosterone levels, and that risk of low testosterone increases with age.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is currently the leading cause of blindness in working-age populations and among the most serious complications of chronic diabetes.

Men who began smoking before age 11 are more likely to have sons with higher BMIs than sons of men who never smoke, according to research in the European Journal of Human Genetics.