About half of all children in the United States with an autistic spectrum disorder are diagnosed at age five or older according to a May 2012, NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics) data brief. However, many parents are suspicious much sooner. As part of autism awareness month, we bring you clues in toddler development that can alert you to a potential issue.
Pediatricians often use a questionnaire called the M-CHAT (Modified ...
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Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 27-year-old woman is evaluated during the fourth week of an uneventful pregnancy. She has a 3-year history of primary hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto thyroiditis that is treated with levothyroxine, 125 µg/d. She also takes prenatal vitamins and iron sulfate.
On physical examination, temperature is 37.1 °C (98.8 °F), blood pressure is 128/80 mm Hg, ...
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I was a junior doctor when I experienced my first episode. The strange thing is, that despite my medical training (I may have bunked off a few of the relevant lectures in medical school), I didn’t recognize the symptoms.
I had lost my appetite and had lost weight. I wasn’t sleeping and was irritable, angry and tired most of the time. Most disturbing to me was a feeling (despite being surrounded by work ...
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As chairman of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) Work Group on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Disruptive Behavior Disorders, I read the article on ADHD that appeared on the front page of The New York Times on April 1, 2013, with interest and also dismay, which was shared by my colleagues in the work group. We recognize the effort involved ...
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Lung cancer causes more deaths in the United States, 160,000 estimated in 2012, than the next three most common cancers, colon, breast, and prostate, combined.
More than 1.6 million people worldwide were newly diagnosed with lung cancer, comprising 13% of all new cancer diagnoses, and 1.4 million died of lung cancer, which was 18% of all cancer deaths ...
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In recent times, it seems as though every newspaper or magazine with a dedicated health section has a focus on the perils of gluten and the benefits that come along with adhering to a gluten-free diet. Or better yet, each week brings a new celebrity touting the dangers of gluten, and how it is an unhealthy ingredient that should be avoided religiously. Is this truly sound advice?
As a practicing academic ...
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Wemberly worried about everything. Big things. Little things. And things in between.
–Wemberly Worried, Kevin Kenkes
The bottom line: you can add arsenic in rice to your long list of health risks you don’t need to worry about. And you can add Consumer Reports to your long list of media outlets that you can’t depend on for reliable health advice. Inaccuracy and breathless scaremongering ...
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One of the things about which I'm asked most commonly is calcium. Some of the confusion comes from the fact that our knowledge about calcium and health is evolving. A recent study showing that men who take calcium supplements have an increased risk of heart attacks is just the latest in an avalanche of sometimes conflicting information.
Here are a few of the questions I am most often asked ...
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Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 52-year-old man is evaluated for a 5-year history of gradually progressive left knee pain. He has 20 minutes of morning stiffness, which returns after prolonged inactivity. He has minimal to no pain at rest. He reports no clicking or locking of the knee. Over the past several months, the pain has limited his ...
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When should drivers retire from driving? This question is always difficult to answer. In our suburban car culture driving allows seniors to maintain their independence and prevents social isolation. However, at what point does it become unsafe for the elderly to drive and what are the risks?
One month ago my fit and about 80-year-old in-laws were involved in a serious car accident. A young ...
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"A comprehensive and extremely useful roadmap for doctors."
-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
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