Q&A: Evaluation of Acute Breathlessness and Wheeze

Wheezing is a common manifestation of respiratory illness in adults. While wheezing typically brings to mind airway obstruction from bronchoconstriction or excessive mucus production and/or poor clearance due to asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), wheezing is also caused by a spectrum of other processes that cause airflow limitation. These processes may be present on their own or may coexist with asthma or COPD, contributing to difficult to control symptoms. When evaluating wheezing, it may be helpful to recall the adage, "All that wheezes is not asthma [or COPD]; all that wheezes is obstruction."

World AIDS Day - 1 December 2015

The world has come a long way since 2000, achieving the global target of halting and reversing the spread of HIV.

Accelerate Expansion of Antiretroviral Therapy to All People Living With HIV -- WHO

World AIDS Day WHO emphasizes that expanding antiretroviral therapy to all people living with HIV is key to ending the AIDS epidemic within a generation.

Treat All People Living With HIV, Offer Antiretrovirals as Additional Prevention Choice for People at "Substantial" Risk

Anyone infected with HIV should begin antiretroviral treatment as soon after diagnosis as possible, WHO announced Wednesday. With its "treat-all" recommendation, WHO removes all limitations on eligibility for antiretroviral therapy (ART) among people living with HIV; all populations and age groups are now eligible for treatment.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): Progress Report on the Health-Related MDGs

We earlier discussed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We defined it as 8 goals that UN Member States agreed to try to achieve by the year 2015. This article is a progress report on the health-related goals of that plan. UPDATE: Since 2016, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) replaced the MDGs.

FDA Approves First Treatment Pill for Decreased Libido in Women -- With Restrictions

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, on Tuesday approved the so-called "little pink pill" marketed as Addyi to treat acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). In simpler words, the controversial drug is intended to boost decreasing sex drive in women.

WHO Confirms Cuba Is First Country To Eliminate Mother-to-Child HIV and Syphilis Transmission

The World Health Organization on Tuesday declared Cuba the first country in the world to eliminate the transmission of HIV and syphilis from mother to child.

Q&A: Diagnosis of Progressive Weakness

Many patients who complain of weakness are not objectively weak when muscle strength is formally tested. A careful history and physical examination will permit the distinction between lassitude, motor impairment due to pain or joint dysfunction, and true weakness.

Q&A: Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Interpretation

Tests that can be used to screen for type 2 diabetes are measurement of fasting plasma glucose, a glycated hemoglobin (A1C or HbA1C), and a two-hour plasma glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). However, because of its inconvenience, OGTT is not commonly used for screening, except in pregnant women.

Q&A: Complications Of Coronary Angioplasty

Complications seen during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) include those related to cardiac catheterization and diagnostic coronary angiography, and those that occur as a consequence of the specific equipment (eg, wires) required for the intervention or the intervention itself (eg, distal embolization leading to myocardial ischemia).

Q&A: Pathophysiology Of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinsonism is a clinical syndrome presenting with any combination of bradykinesia, rest tremor, rigidity, and postural instability. The most common form of parkinsonism is Parkinson disease (PD), a chronic, progressive disorder caused by degenerative loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain and characterized clinically by asymmetric parkinsonism and a clear, dramatic, and sustained benefit from dopaminergic therapy.

Q&A: Evaluation of Cerebral Ischaemia

The symptoms of brain ischemia may be transient, lasting seconds to minutes, or may persist for longer periods of time. Symptoms and signs remain indefinitely if the brain becomes irreversibly damaged and infarction occurs. Unfortunately, neurologic symptoms do not accurately reflect the presence or absence of infarction, and the tempo of the symptoms does not indicate the cause of the ischemia. This is a critical issue because treatment depends upon accurately identifying the cause of symptoms.

New Guideline on Mental Health in Humanitarian Emergencies - WHO/UNHCR Press Release

Worldwide close to 80 million people are currently impacted by humanitarian emergencies arising from natural disasters and armed conflicts, such as those in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, and more recently, Nepal. WHO estimates 5% to 10% of these people suffer from a mental health condition such as depression as a result of the emergency.

Q&A: Autonomic Receptors and Post-Receptor Mechanisms of Action

The autonomic nervous system regulates many of the internal organs through a balance of two aspects, or divisions. Along with the endocrine system, the autonomic nervous system is instrumental in homeostatic mechanisms in the body. The two divisions of the autonomic nervous system are the sympathetic division and the parasympathetic division. The sympathetic system is associated with the fight-or-flight response, and parasympathetic activity is referred to by the epithet of rest and digest. Homeostasis is the balance between the two systems. Most organs in the body are innervated by both divisions and usually they have antagonistic effects. For example, the heart receives connections from both the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions. One causes heart rate to increase, whereas the other causes heart rate to decrease.

WHO's Rapid Health Impact Assessment of Nepal's Earthquake - Press Release

1 MAY 2015 | KATHMANDU - A rapid assessment of health-care facilities by WHO and the Ministry of Health and Population in the earthquake-stricken areas of Nepal has found that hospitals in 4 of the worst-affected districts are completely destroyed or too badly damaged to function.