When I served as president of the New Jersey Neurosurgical Society, I met a lot of people from around our great state. One question that I heard from many parents and coaches was, “After a concussion, when is it safe to let a student-athlete return to…
Would you take an exam without studying? Would you run a marathon without training? If not, why would you show up for surgery without physical preparation for a life-changing event? Few patients capitalize on the opportunity to improve the odds of a su…
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 48-year-old woman is evaluated at a follow-up appointment for elevated liver chemistry tests over the preceding 6 months. She reports no sy…
Coming in to meet the students, house staff, and patients for the first day on service always excites me. This Monday was no exception. What awaited me? How many patients would I need to see? What lessons could I impart? When I arrived, we had 11 patie…
A seizure in response to a fever, called a febrile seizure, is an extremely common event in childhood. They affect 2 to 5 percent of children between 6 months and five years of age and have a peak incidence between 12 and 18 months of age. They general…
Ten years ago it would not have been worth my time to write about measles nor yours to read about it. In the year 2000, thanks to a very effective 2-shot childhood vaccination program using a combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, the U.S. was d…
Samuel was an English gentleman hailing from London. Close to 10 percent of the U.S. population, over 30 million people, lives with diabetes. Five years ago, Samuel was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Taking lisinopril and glipizide, he also goes on ho…
A recent New York Times article described a 77-year-old retired gardener in England who had not spoken with another human being in more than six weeks. He told the reporter through tears that he felt “very lonely, and bored.” Recent budget …
The trend of increasing specialization in medicine may lead to unintended adverse consequences. There is an old saying, “We see what we recognize and we recognize what we know.” My wife’s recent adventures in ophthalmic care is such an example. I offer…
The numbers are scary: The average woman has a 12 percent risk of developing breast cancer at some point in her life. For women with certain genetic mutations or risk factors, lifetime risk can climb to 85 percent. Even more terrifying than the numbers…
