Primary Care

Ahmed Kandiel, MD, MPH, kicked off the 47th Annual Gastroenterology Update with a thorough review of the current treatment landscape for moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease, including the potential risks for side effects for each biologic agent.

Bret Lashner, MD, MPH, FACG, shares his thoughts about the first day of the 47th Annual Gastroenterology Update at the Cleveland Clinic, including the recent developments with inflammatory bowel disease and hepatitis C therapy.

In honor of the Great American Smokeout, the White House released a video of President Obama urging smokers to put down cigarettes for good.

According to a recent study, type 1 diabetes sufferers who receive early and intensive diabetes management may be able to cut their risk of impaired glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a kidney complication common to diabetics, by 50%.

“Near real-time” data on whether people are having any side effects from vaccinations is now available, thanks to new technology and a study performed in Scotland. The researchers, who focused on recipients of the 2009/2010 swine flu vaccination in Scotland, reported that using this technology can aid future vaccination campaigns by increasing consumer and patient safety.

According to 28-year old German biochemist/fashion designer Anke Domaske, the latest fad that is friendly to allergy-prone skin is milk-made clothing. Known as "Qmilch," which combines the German word for milk and a sense of ‘quality,’ the fabric’s texture is most similar to silk but is washable much the same as cotton.

Dr. Robert Hunt, president and CEO of Hunt Psychiatric Innovations LLC, talks about his recently released mobile app designed to help ADD patients determine what treatments are right for them.

With the US elderly population set to double over the next few decades, primary care physicians will play an important role in detecting and treating Alzheimer's disease. Charles A. Cefalu, MD, discusses how PCPs can detect the disease early, distinguish it from other forms of dementia, and treat it effectively.

According to a report issued by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), diabetes is predicted to rise substantially by the year 2030, to the point where one in 10 adults will suffer from the condition. Should this prediction come to pass, roughly 552 million people will have diabetes within twenty years.

A recent study has found that elementary schools which exercised a hand and respiratory hygiene program—including routine use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer—experienced a reduction in illness caused by influenza A, which resulted in a decline in missed school days for students.

According to a group of neuroscientists, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex—a region of the brain designed to orchestrate mental activity—works much harder but potentially less efficiently in children with ADHD.

The first in a series of articles on employee embezzlement in the medical practice setting from Physician’s Money Digest discusses how to recover if you are an embezzlement victim.

"The small number of patients that go on to develop chronic rhinosinusitis accumulates to about 15% of the population, making it an important disease," said Dr. Michael A. Kaliner during his lecture on chronic rhinosinusitis.

Although categorizing chronic rhinosinusitis is complex, CRS with or without nasal polyps is one way to initially begin classification. Prolonged duration of RS symptoms (>8-12 weeks) is the primary reason to evaluate patients for CRS. Dr. Meltzer emphasized the need to differentiate CRS from recurrent episodes of ARS.

During his lecture, Dr. Eli O. Meltzer walked his audience through diagnosis and management guidelines of sinusitis/ rhinosinusitis at the ACAAI annual meeting.

In an effort to hurry along the FDA approval process for the artificial pancreas, members of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, government officials, health care professionals, and a large number of type 1 diabetics congregated in Washington, DC.

There are conflicting data regarding whether vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for asthma. Observational studies have linked low vit D status with impaired lung capacity, increased airway hyperresponsiveness, corticosteroid unresponsiveness, relatively poor asthma control, and higher rates of asthma-related hospitalization.

Dr. Michael B. Foggs's lecture, "Here Comes the Sun: Vitamin D and Asthma," described the complex metabolic relationships and current knowledge gaps regarding vitamin D and its relationship to asthma.

One of the more exciting parts of the conference has been the ability to sit in and listen to highlighted studies that are selected by the ACR. This press conference features Carol Wallace, MD, Seattle Children's Hospital and Research Institute, Seattle, WA, speaking about her study and answering questions from the audience.

During his presentation, Dr. Carlos Camargo reviewed recent studies on the effects of menarche, menopause, and pregnancy on asthma, and described the implications for patients with asthma.