Articles related to Family Medicine/General Practice

This 33-year-old man reports no other symptoms, and he isn’t on any medication. Medical history is unremarkable. CBC and comprehensive profile are normal, as are serum alpha-fetoprotein and beta-HCG. CT scans reveal bulky diffuse adenopathy. A cervical node biopsy showed poorly differentiated carcinoma. What is the appropriate therapy?

This summary of a January 2023 JACC article highlights the study finding that rosuvastatin was “vastly superior to… any of the six supplements studied in the trial.” The study compared rosuvastatin to cinnamon, garlic, turmeric, red yeast rice, fish oil, and plant sterols. Rosuvastatin yielded a reduction in cholesterol of nearly 38 percent in just 28 days. The supplements had little to no effect but were significantly more costly than the statin.

A 12-month controlled trial randomized 189 individuals to spend 70–90 minutes performing 11 exercises or 20–30 minutes performing 5 exercises for 3 months. Outcomes were measured biweekly for the intervention period and again at 6 and 12 months. The two approaches were similar, except for one outcome. In the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for function in sports and recreation, high-dose therapy was superior.

Although children are more likely than adults to have SPD, adults can have symptoms. In adults, it’s likely the symptoms have existed since childhood, but the adult has developed management tools that hide the disorder from others. Learn more and share it with your patients.

This woman’s headache started suddenly three months ago. It begins as a dull, localized pain at the top of the head, starting within 30 minutes of rising, and increases in intensity, becoming a global headache as the day progresses. Bedrest alleviates the symptoms. Review the MRI and choose an appropriate therapy.

Shift work has previously been linked to an increased risk of developing MS, presumably due to the resulting sleep deprivation and circadian desynchrony. The current study compared sleeping 7–9 hours/night during adolescence, with less than 7 hours/night and found a 40% increase in risk for developing MS in the short-sleep cohort. The authors conclude that “insufficient sleep and low sleep quality during adolescence seem to increase the risk of subsequently developing MS.”