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An 83-year-old man with a history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diverticulosis was hospitalized because of painless hematochezia of 1 day's duration. Two years earlier, he had undergone surgical excision of a superficial spreading melanoma on his right thigh.

Several hours after striking his closed fist against the side pillar of a passenger car, a 28-year-old man presented with acute pain and swelling of the left hand. The dorsum of the left hand appeared deformed and edematous; there were scattered abrasions but no lacerations, exposed bony fragments, ecchymosis, or active bleeding.

For several months, a 55-year-old white construction worker experienced intense burning of the skin when exposed to direct sunlight. In addition, multiple fragile blisters appeared on the dorsa of his hands and arms; these rapidly developed into crusted, superficial erosions.

abstract: Common causes of poorly controlled asthma include nonadherence to long-term inhaler therapy; environmental exposures; and uncontrolled comorbidities, such as allergic rhinitis. Adherence can be limited by many factors, including inadequate patient education, medication cost, prior failed treatment, poor physician-patient relationship, unrealistic expectations for therapy, and depression. For patients who have a poor perception of their symptoms, emphasizing the "disconnect" between symptoms and pulmonary function can help motivate them to monitor themselves with a peak flow meter and to adjust their medication accordingly. For patients with allergic triggers, instituting allergen-specific environmental controls can decrease symptoms and urgent care visits for asthma. Chronic rhinosinusitis and gastroesophageal reflux disease can also contribute to difficult-to-control asthma, and treatment of these comorbidities can help reduce asthma symptoms. (J Respir Dis. 2007;28(9):365-369)

A 47-year-old woman who recently completed adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer has painless cervical lymphadenopathy of 1 to 2 cm. She has no fever, sore throat, cough, or unexplained weight loss, and she denies exposure to ill persons or animals.

AURORA, Colo. -- High-risk smokers have "tremendous" genetic damage in their bronchial endothelium even before lung cancer develops, which may provide clues in the search for a genetic screening test.

PITTSBURGH -- Underage drinking in elementary schools -- whether more than a sip or regular use -- is on the decline but still not uncommon.

Take this MedPage Today survey on the practice of naming diseases after the doctors who discovered them.

CHICAGO -- A star chef with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue is undergoing aggressive chemoradiation hoping to avoid a resection that would cripple his sense of taste.

PRESTON, England -- From Addision's disease to Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, medical eponyms remain ubiquitous in the literature in favor of more scientific descriptions of disease. Now comes a proposal to do away with Down's and its ilk.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Only six of the 17 declared candidates for President showed up at a two-day forum designed to bring cancer care to the forefront of campaign issues, but the discussion broadened into questions of overall health care.

BRISTOL, England -- Autistic children have an impaired ability to place unfamiliar faces in memory, possibly explaining some of the social difficulties associated with the disorder, investigators here concluded.

SEATTLE -- ZIP codes and property values will provide a better handle on the scope of the nation's obesity problem than income, race, or education, investigators here reported.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- When imatinib (Gleevec) therapy fails in Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), it may be because the B-cells involved lack a critical tumor suppressor gene, researchers here said.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A daily dose of crushed flaxseed halved hot flashes in postmenopausal women who did not want to take estrogen, according to a pilot study.

NEW YORK -- Turnover rates as high as 70% could be improved with better orientation and management of newly licensed nurses, researchers said.

BRASILIA, Brazil -- A newly found mutation in one of the genes involved in sexual development prevents puberty in males but allows it to occur in females, researchers here said.

SYDNEY, Australia -- Acute restoration of fluid volume for patients with severe traumatic brain injury should be done with saline rather than albumin, researchers here found.