Obesity Medicine

An 84-year-old woman presents with a 3-year history of slowly progressivememory impairment accompanied by functional decline. Thepatient lives alone but has been receiving an increasing amount of support from her 2 daughters,who accompany her to the appointment. The daughters first noticed that their mother was havingtrouble driving. About a year ago, she started forgetting family recipes. She also left food cookingon the stove unattended and burned several pans. Currently, the daughters are providing mealsand transportation, assisting with housework, and doing their mother’s laundry. They have becomeincreasingly alarmed because she takes her medications only sporadically, despite the factthat they fill her pillboxes and call her regularly with reminders. Their chief concern is whether itis safe for their mother to continue to live alone.

For 3 months, a 57-year-old woman has had a persistent green nail that is occasionallyslightly sore; the nail plate has lifted. Another physician prescribed a7-day course of levofloxacin for a suspected Pseudomonas infection; the treatmenthad no effect on the nail. A subsequent 7-day course of norfloxacin wasalso unsuccessful. The patient is otherwise healthy.

A 41-year-old woman with a 4-yearhistory of polymyositis with lupus featureshas had constant rectal pain for4 months. She has not noticed any factorsthat either aggravate or relievethe pain. The patient complains of intermittentconstipation (but no dischargeor rectal bleeding), generalizedweakness and malaise for the past 2months, a low-grade fever for the pastmonth, and a 4.1-kg (9-lb) weight lossover the past 6 weeks. She denies nightsweats or chills, anorexia, vision problems,drug allergies, and tobacco oralcohol use.

A 24-year-old woman complains ofa pruritic rash that erupted after shesoaked in a hot tub a few days earlier.The patient is otherwise healthy;her only medication is an oralcontraceptive.

Highlights:➤What to tell your patients about thebenefits-and risks-of mammography.➤A realistic look at cancer screening: Arewe overstating the benefits?➤Which screening strategies you canrecommend with confidence.➤How best to bring the patient into thedecision-making process.

This painful, blistery eruption recentlydeveloped on the hand of ateenage girl. She claims she has hadno other such lesions. What doesthis look like?

A30-year-old man complains of chest pain, dyspnea, fever, and nonproductivecough that began earlier in the day. The pain is constant and does notdiminish with rest; it worsens somewhat with deep inspiration and has localizedto the left chest. The patient has had no nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain.He has been immobile for several years secondary to spinal cord disease buthas no history of cardiopulmonary disease.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Childhood obesity remained a focus of pediatrics during the year, along with concerns about safety, particularly the safety of psychiatric medications.

MONTREAL -- Early reports about promising investigational compounds and new insights into the effect of diet on the gut were highlights in gastroenterology during the year.

ATLANTA -- The long-running debate about treatment choices for early localized prostate cancer remained the focus of much research into the disease during 2006, a year in which malignancy of the gland was the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Against the background of the growing incidence of type 2 diabetes and obesity in the United States came news this year about the first new insulin delivery system in 80 years, as well as new categories of drugs for type 2 disease.

NEW YORK -- The ban on trans fats in this city was the highest profile event during the year in diet and nutrition, as Americans continued to struggle against ever-expanding waistlines and foods deemed unhealthy.

ST. LOUIS -- Bacteria in the gut may be arbiters of weight loss or gain, according to a revolutionary theory proposed by researchers here. They suggested that manipulation of intestinal microbes might be used one day to treat obesity.

Despite Pfizer's high-profile drug failure, boosting HDL still a key heart-disease strategy. Several drugs in development use various mechanisms to raise levels of "good cholesterol." Meanwhile, physicians can do plenty right now to raise patients' HDL levels.

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- Smarter kids are more likely to adopt limited vegetarianism when they mature, according to a large British cohort study.

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- Smarter kids are more likely to adopt limited vegetarianism when they mature, according to a large British cohort study.

TORONTO -- For patients with fluid-retaining conditions, the simple act of lying down in bed at night may cause a fluid shift to the upper body that results in obstructive sleep apnea, a small study here suggested.

TORONTO -- For patients with fluid-retaining conditions, the simple act of lying down in bed at night may cause a fluid shift to the upper body that results in obstructive sleep apnea, a small study here suggested.

SAN ANTONIO -- A diet with 20% of calories from fat, or less, may help reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence, particularly for women with hormone-receptor negative disease, according to a large trial.

SAN ANTONIO -- A diet with 20% of calories from fat, or less, may help reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence, particularly for women with hormone-receptor negative disease, according to a large trial.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Avastin (bevacizumab) added to chemotherapy for non-squamous cell, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) increased survival by two months, but treatment-related deaths rose.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Avastin (bevacizumab) added to chemotherapy for non-squamous cell, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) increased survival by two months, but treatment-related deaths rose.

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 12 -- Exercise can counteract the bone-mineral density loss that is triggered by calorie restriction, according to a small study.

LONDON -- Men who lose three centimeters or more of height (about 1.18 inches) as they age are at increased risk of death, compared with men who lose less than a centimeter, according to a longitudinal study here.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Smoking accelerates cartilage loss and increases pain in men with knee osteoarthritis, researchers here reported.

ST. LOUIS -- Long-term lifestyle modifications, particularly cutting way back on the consumption of protein, seems to be associated with reduced levels of markers of cancer risk, researchers here said.

NEW YORK -- The action by this city's Board of Health to ban the use of artificial trans fats in restaurants, ranging from pizzerias and delis to bakeries and upscale restaurants, could have fallout for mouths and lipid levels across the nation.

MINNETONKA, Minn. -- The healthiest state in the nation appears to be Minnesota, land of Wobegon and 10,000 other lakes, low cardiovascular death rates, and a well-insured population, according to the United Health Foundation here.

A 71-year-old man presents with a2-week history of early satiety, decreasedappetite, postprandial nauseaand vomiting, jaundice, dark urine,acholic stools, and generalized pruritus.In addition, he reports a 4.5-kg(10-lb) weight loss within the past2 months.

A 52-year-old man presented to his primary care physician with shortness of breath for 5 days, right-sided lower thoracic back pain, and dry cough. The patient was a 15-pack-year cigarette smoker who had emigrated from China to the United States in 1989. He had no significant history of occupational exposure or tuberculosis. He had no significant weight loss, and his past medical history was otherwise unremarkable.