BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Weekly progesterone injections don't reduce the risk of preterm births of twins they way they do for singletons in high-risk pregnancies, a multicenter team found.

HELSINKI, Finland -- The prevalence of anorexia is greater than previously thought, but so is recovery, according to a Finnish twin study.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Early pancreatic cancer at a resectable stage may be revealed by the scattering of light in the intestinal mucosa, investigators here reported.

SEATTLE -- Newborn hearing tests may provide a marker for infants at risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), researchers found.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Symptomatic uterine fibroids can be durably treated with MRI-guided focused ultrasound, reported investigators here and in other centers.

A 77-year-old man complains of deep, aching pain of several months' duration in his left thigh that is exacerbated by both standing and walking.

A quick test for detecting Alzheimer disease is to tell the patient that you will try to shake his or her hand-but at the same time tell him not to do it.

Drugs may confer serious risks along with substantial therapeutic benefits. The aging of the population and the trend toward increased outpatient drug use-and hence the likely rise in adverse events-underscore the need for ongoing surveillance of outpatient drug safety.

When you palpate for inguinal hernias, ask the patient to take a deep breath and then bear down in a moderately strenuous Valsalva maneuver--rather than cough--after you have placed your finger in the inguinal ring.

ABSTRACT: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and ß-blockers are the cornerstone of heart failure medical therapy; unless contraindicated, start these agents as soon as possible after volume status has been optimized. Aldosterone receptor antagonists, angiotensin-receptor blockers, and a fixed-dose combination of hydralazine and isosorbide dinitrate (the last recommended especially for African Americans) can be used as add-on therapy. Prophylactic implantable cardioverter defibrillators reduce long-term mortality in symptomatic patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 35% or less. Cardiac resynchronization therapy improves symptoms and ventricular remodeling in some patients; indications include wide (more than 20 milliseconds) QRS complex on ECG, impaired LVEF (35% or less), and advanced heart failure symptoms (NYHA classes III and IV) despite optimal drug therapy. Measurement of natriuretic peptides and impedance cardiography both show promise for monitoring patients with heart failure and for guiding therapy, but definitive data to justify their routine use are still lacking.

A 39-year-old woman complained of excruciating pain that radiated from a chronic lesion on the left upper lip to the entire left side of the face. She had AIDS but was not receiving antiretroviral therapy.

In the late 1980s, "club drugs" were typically limited to the so-called rave/techno subculture.1 More recently, studies have shown the growing appeal of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), or ecstasy to middle-aged and older adults.

Dermclinic: A Photo Quiz to Hone Dermatologic Skills

One day after he had been hit in the left eye with a drinking glass, a 48-year-old man sought medical attention. He could see only light and shadows with the eye.

A large right adrenal mass was noted incidentally on an MRI scan of the lumbar spine, which had been performed for other reasons in a 55-year-old non-obese woman. The bright heterogeneous mass (T2-weighted image) measured 6.2 3 6.2 3 4.1 cm and sat like the head of a serpent on the superior pole of the right kidney. Its margins were smooth, but signal intensity was increased on T2 weighting because of high water content. The left adrenal gland was normal.

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CHICAGO -- Although religious doctors are more likely to consider medicine a calling, that doesn't translate into caring for more underserved patients, a survey has revealed.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Things may not be all quiet on the home front. When soldiers deploy for combat, child abuse and neglect increase as does stress for the spouses left behind, researchers here said.

WASHINGTON -- It should be a woman's right to know what oral contraceptive she is taking, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

GRENOBLE, France -- Drug-eluting stents appear to pose a particular risk for thrombosis in diabetic patients on insulin therapy diabetes and those with multivessel coronary disease, researchers here found.