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NEW YORK -- Giving bigger ribavirin doses to heavier hepatitis C patients appears to result in better outcomes, especially for African Americans, researchers here said.

CHICAGO -- A neat orderly mind augmented by a conscientious personality tends to resist Alzheimer's disease, researchers here found.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Early prescription of glasses for children with bilateral refractive amblyopia may prevent a lifetime of visual disability, a team of pediatric ophthalmologists has found.

PHILADELPHIA -- Reliance on a focused history and physical and judicious use of diagnostic imaging are hallmarks of new guidelines for management of low back pain issued jointly by the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasingly recognized condition in the general population worldwide.

In her case report, Crum-Cianflone1 describes an HIV- infected patient receiving antiretroviral therapy with no history of significant alcohol use and an undetectable HIV-1 RNA level who presented with a recurrent, mildly elevated alanine aminotransferase level.

Hemophagocytic syndrome is a macrophage disorder that may develop as a result of immunological activation, such as that seen in severe infection.

Sanchez and colleagues1 report a case of histoplasmosis-associated reactive hemophagocytic syndrome in a 61-year-old HIV-infected man. The association of hemophagocytic syndrome with HIV infection is important for several reasons:

The Fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention (4th IAS Conference) was held in Sydney, Australia, from July 22 to 25, 2007.

In 1996, approximately one quarter of the AIDS prevention budget of the CDC was allocated to HIV testing, predominantly for low-risk populations.1 It was their single biggest HIV prevention expenditure.

SEATTLE -- Patients with acute lung injury are less likely to die if they're treated in closed intensive care units that permit care to be directed only by intensivists, researchers here said.

BOSTON -- Dialysis patients exposed to gadolinium-containing contrast material during MRI may be at risk for nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, researchers found.

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Kids whose first reaction to inhaling tobacco smoke is to feel relaxed are more likely to get hooked on cigarettes, researchers here said.

When should buried stitches be used in closing a laceration? Which tools are best for removing a popcorn kernel lodged in a 2-year-old's nose? How do you determine the appropriate site for a shoulder injection? These are just some of the questions that will be answered in our new feature, "Primary Care Procedures: A Photo Guide," which launches in this issue on page 1035.

A comatose 82-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department. Her husband reports that after dinner she began to have difficulty in speaking, lost consciousness, and fell to the floor. He tried to rouse her, but was unsuccessful and called for an ambulance.

In a previously published Practical Pointer (CONSULTANT, August 2005), D. Brady Pregerson, MD, of Los Angeles proposed a method for tightening loose stitches after the clinician has finished suturing.

At the end of her Guest Commentary, "The Virtual Patient" (CONSULTANT, July 2007), Dr Faith Fitzgerald asks: "How shall my students experience the things that cannot be taught but only learned through the sometimes inconvenient, potentially time-consuming, emotionally disquieting, and generally non-remunerative interactions with real patients?"

When you need to jot down the name of a medicine, condition, or specialist for a patient and you're in a hurry, just grab a tongue depressor.