Category: Conditions

3 things about psychiatry that don’t focus on pathology

I was asked to present information about mental health to a lay audience. This is both an exciting and daunting task. I imagine it’s like asking someone to talk about fish. There are so many kinds of fish! They live in many habitats! Some of them look …

Sex in the elderly is not a need. It’s a privilege.

If you’re sexy, fit and nimble, if you can part your thighs and bend your knees, if you can see your private parts without a mirror, ignore this. Move on. This is not for you. This is for those with flailing sex-drive and failing abilities whose sex li…

Mild memory loss: Is it Alzheimer’s disease?

As my patients aged along with me, I noticed both the expected increased numbers of people with some form of dementia and even more patients who were worried about this topic. Unless you have been away on a ten-year safari, you are very aware that deme…

MKSAP: 44-year-old man with HIV, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 44-year-old man is evaluated in the office during a routine visit. Medical history is significant for HIV diagnosed at age 25 years, hypert…

Woman physicians: Make informed decisions early on planning a future family

As women in medicine, we are always focused on the next goal we need to achieve to advance our career. Though undergraduate education, medical school, residency, and fellowship, we are constantly striving to get the highest score, to maintain a high GP…

The simplest and most important question to ask in the exam room

It was the first time the young woman had come to the health center in a suburb just north of Chicago. When the 26 year old walked into the exam room back in 2008. There was no paper chart or electronic health record (EHR) accompanying her, no backgrou…

MKSAP: 53-year-old man with recurrent gout attacks

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 53-year-old man is evaluated for a 5-year history of recurrent gout attacks involving the base of the great toes, mid feet, and ankles. Epi…

It’s time we approach heart failure like cancer

“I’m sorry, Mr. Smith. Your heart is very sick, and your body has irreversible damage. It’s too dangerous to attempt a transplant or implant a heart pump. There’s nothing more we can do.” I’ve encountered this scenario more often than I care to admit a…

Communities can help women cope with maternal depression

When a baby is born, people stop acting like themselves. Gruff grown-ups make goofy faces at infants. Nostalgic moms share their birthing experiences with pregnant strangers. Shy kids clamber onto strollers of babies they don’t know, just to coo at new…

Our terrifying chickenpox problem

A Kentucky judge rejected the claims made by a teenager who sued his local health department for temporarily barring students at his school who aren’t immune against chickenpox from attending classes and participating in extracurricular activitie…