While playing on a brick walkway in her backyard, a 4-year-old girl stepped on a puss caterpillar and was stung. The ecchymosis exactly outlined the caterpillar's spines and remained visible for at least 3 months. The initial sting caused intense pain that lasted for more than an hour.
A 53-year-old perimenopausal woman presented to the emergency department with throbbing lower abdominal pain and distention. The pain started 5 days earlier and worsened with sitting and walking; she also experienced increasing dyspnea. She had noticed increasing abdominal girth about 5 months earlier. Since then, she had gained 5 to 10 lb, despite dieting. The patient reported a 22-pack-year history of smoking but no alcohol use. She was taking over-the-counter painkillers and allergy medications. Her family history was notable for a brother who died of laryngeal cancer.
Obesity is a well-known risk factor for many diseases. Now it looks like asthma can be added to the list. A meta-analysis that was conducted by Beuther and Sutherland indicated that being overweight is associated with a 50% increase in the incidence of asthma. The risk applies to both men and women.
Phytobezoars commonly develop in the distal small bowel, where the lumen is narrow. Prevalence is higher after partial gastric resection.
CLEVELAND -- Infliximab (Remicade) showed no efficacy against two related rheumatic diseases, according to researchers here and in Italy.
BELMONT, Mass. -- Exercise-associated hyponatremia, a potentially fatal condition of endurance athletes, may be brought on by suppression of renal water excretion exacerbated by too much fluid intake, reported Boston Marathon doctors.
BOSTON -- Mice with induced brain atrophy that were exposed to new toys and new pals in an "enriched environment" were able to build new pathways to faded memories, said researchers here.
WASHINGTON -- Retraining runners' gait patterns reduces or eliminates common injuries, researchers said here.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The aging population has escalated the national price tag for arthritis and other rheumatic conditions by nearly 25% in seven years, investigators here reported.
CARDIFF, Wales -- Children's tiny hands don't have enough heft behind them to force the needed compression for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, even with the correct technique, but young teens can usually carry it off.
ATLANTA -- Bronchiolitis obliterans -- called "popcorn lung" when it affects workers making butter flavoring for microwave popcorn -- has been identified in other sectors of the flavoring industry.
BOSTON -- Low-dose aspirin doesn't protect women against overall cognitive decline, a finding that adds to doubts about whether anti-inflammatory drugs offer any neuroprotective benefit.
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., April 27 -- Merck said today that the FDA has rejected the investigational Cox-2 inhibitor etoricoxib (Arcoxia) for marketing.
SAN FRANCISCO -- While the behavioral symptoms of autism have been treated with a wide spectrum of medications, atypical antipsychotics may be the most effective drug class.
SAN FRANCISCO -- A gradual swap of one form of immunosuppression for another in heart transplant recipients can preserve renal function without compromising the graft, said Mayo Clinic investigators.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Several genetic regions appear to contribute to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, three research groups have found in a major collaborative effort.
ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Some 300,000 home continuous positive airway pressure devices have been recalled by ResMed after short circuits from faulty wiring in electrical plugs, reported the FDA.
BALTIMORE -- Neither naproxen (Aleve) nor celecoxib (Celebrex) reduced the risk of Alzheimer's disease, at least in the short term, investigators from the suspended ADAPT trial reported.
NEW YORK -- Some of the structural cells in the brain -- long thought to be passive onlookers as motor neurons die in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- are actually major players, according to two research groups.
BOSTON -- Despite new regulations governing physician-industry relationships, there has been no letup in the pursuit of high-prescribing physicians by pharmaceutical and other medical marketers, researchers here reported.
