Internal Medicine

Primary MS is characterized by neurodegeneration with neuroaxonal injury and diffuse inflammation; disease progression is linked with age. Effective management calls for symptom-specific medical management combined with wellness and health maintenance measures.

Although there are more treatment options than ever before available to patients and clinicians, new approaches are needed to treat acute exacerbations, as well as new options that can help meet the long-term goals of symptomatic management and rehabilitation.

Coping strategies based on enhanced mindfulness and a greater sense of agency can help patients improve their quality of life.

Medication selection should be driven by rational polypharmacy and take into account such factors as pain type, underlying symptoms, comorbidities, patient preference, and medication side effects.

Some studies have shown benefit in reducing pain and spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis, but the data is mixed and can be highly subjective.

Research from the Mayo Clinic suggests that an order set designed to standardize the treatment of anaphylaxis in emergency departments may lead to improved guideline adherence and better treatment outcomes.

Although it is believed to help counteract joint and cartilage deterioration in osteoarthritis (OA), glucosamine supplementation is no more effective than placebo in preventing knee degeneration in patients with chronic knee pain.

Barrett's esophagus is frequently overdiagnosed in clinical settings, which has broad implications for patient health, medical costs, and psychological stress due to perceived cancer risk.

When it comes to hospital admissions, hip fractures outnumber all other orthopedic injuries, with more than 300,000 Americans breaking a hip annually and requiring 24-hour care post-surgery.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, so physicians must carefully weigh the pros and cons of treatment with corticosteroids and other proatherogenic drugs.

Noting that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the discovery of hepatitis C, health officials ramped up a public awareness campaign during the month of May to encourage more testing for hepatitis among at-risk populations.

To screen or not to screen for breast cancer with mammograms: that is the question faced by thousands of physicians confronting a disease that accounts for more than 230,000 cases and 40,000 deaths each year in the United States.

Total number of hospitalizations increased by more than 23%, while associated treatment costs rose but mortality declined.

An oral, interferon-free regimen comprised of several agents cured hepatitis C in more than 90% of patients who also had liver cirrhosis, according to the results of an international study.

In an effort to identify when and where to target interventions for reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing and related bacterial resistance, a new study has described the trends and seasonal variations in antibiotic prescription rates throughout primary care settings.

Study results announced at the 11th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Spring Symposium show tofacitinib met its two primary efficacy endpoints.

A population-based, prospective study found faster cognitive decline was associated with a decreased risk of cancer mortality in elderly patients without dementia.

New research may help doctors predict when patients who have suffered one attack of anaphylaxis will undergo a second attack without any additional exposure to the original trigger.

Although the primary outcomes of the US National Institutes of Health Women's Health Initiative trial suggested daily calcium plus vitamin D supplementation significantly reduced hip fracture in postmenopausal women, a follow-up investigation found no difference in hip fracture incidence between the study's supplement and placebo groups nearly 5 years after the intervention phase ended.

A Swedish pharmaceutical company has been granted approval by the European Commission to market the drug simeprevir for the treatment of genotype 1 and 4 chronic hepatitis C infection.

Study results showed treatment with N-acetylcysteine did not slow the decline in lung function, reduce acute exacerbations, or improve survival compared with placebo in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Results from two studies show that treatment with the novel kinase inhibitor nintedanib significantly slowed disease progression in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). However, only one study showed nintedanib had any effect on slowing deterioration in quality of life or reducing the risk of a first acute exacerbation compared with placebo.

Recently published study results, when combined with results from previous clinical trials, show treatment with the antifibrotic drug pirfenidone slows disease progression and improves survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). These findings, if they lead the FDA to reevaluate and approve this drug, could be a game changer for patients with IPF, a disease marked by a high mortality rate and few treatment options.