Boston - Herpes zoster infection rates in individuals living with HIV-1 infection have not improved since the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), according to research presented here at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.
Maui, Hawaii - Is it less important to treat onychomycosis in older patients? Do they just not care to bother? Is it a lack of prescription coverage?
Galveston, Texas - A recent analysis of data from an ongoing open-label trial provides strong validation of an earlier finding that adjunctive treatment of acute herpes zoster using the anticonvulsant drug gabapentin (Neurontin) dramatically reduces the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia, Mathijs H. Brentjens, M.D.
Washington - A spate of deaths and other significant risks prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue a public-health advisory regarding the safety of topical formulations of Lindane shampoo and lotion products for the treatment of scabies and lice.
San Francisco - Inamed Corp. received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to compete against what it considers a formidable foe - its own ZyDerm and ZyPlast products.
Q My insurance agent is recommending that I purchase life insurance in order to pay for my estate taxes. Does this strategy make sense?
Most of you know by now that simply deleting material will not erase it from your hard disc. Until the space on your hard disc occupied by deleted files is used for some other purpose - or is deliberately erased - the "deleted" files will remain and easily can be recovered. Medical and personal files thus remain at risk for accidental or deliberate recovery and misuse until the physical space they occupied is deliberately overwritten or erased.
Q. Why do sunscreens cause "break outs" in adolescent patients?
San Francisco - When a dermatologist treats a patient with scleromyxedema, the therapy strategies are often limited and based on a review of the scant case reports in the literature.
Washington - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late March approved a liquid decontamination lotion for soldiers exposed to chemical weapons. Called Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion (RSDL), the product is designed as a single-use sponge pad and is meant to be applied immediately after contamination.
Rancho Mirage, Calif. - Stem cells that exist in the skin and in hair follicles are important targets for delivering genes if physicians are to achieve longterm expression of a favorable genetic characteristic, Jonathan Vogel, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.
There was nothing in his early years that could have predicted what life held for Marcus A. Conant, M.D. His father, who worked for the IRS when Marcus was born in Jacksonville, Fla., a few years before World War II, was called to serve in the war when Marcus was still very young.
Q. I am currently fully invested in a variety of individual stocks and equity mutual funds and am concerned about the market's volatility and recent drop, even though I don't plan on needing the money for another 10 to 15 years. Does it make sense to sell now and buy back at a later date, or should I remain fully invested?
Any medical practice can be embezzled, although several safeguards can help prevent it from occurring and allow you to be compensated if it does. One critical practice, according to Ken Gross, M.D., is to make sure you're not cooking the books yourself: no under-the-table payments, no draws off the top, no missing tax payments.
More than 500,000 troops are expected to receive the smallpox vaccination as America braces for war in Iraq. Many already have begun the process. They are not alone. From the Office of Homeland Security to city councils across the country, folks are revamping contingency plans to keep pace with possible threats against the country. For the first time in recent history, U.S. physicians have inherited the daunting task of recognizing and containing a biological attack on U.S. soil.
The U.S. Treasury Department is turning one of the most complex areas of our tax law on its head. Soon the government will no longer require all expenditures made to acquire, create, or enhance intangible assets to be automatically capitalized rather than deducted as a legitimate expense of the dermatology practice.
How much is too much to pay for a new dermatological drug? Your answer likely will depend on whether you're a developer or doctor, a patient or a third-party payer. Regardless of one's perspective, it doesn't take a medical degree to recognize the fact that prescription prices have risen precipitously in recent years, a trend which continued in 2002 and is expected to persist well beyond this year.
With one in four children at risk for becoming overweight and one in 10 children already overweight, childhood obesity is an epidemic fast becoming a national health problem.
Oklahoma City - Results of preclinical and initial clinical studies indicate the investigational compound CX-452 has promising activity as a highly safe and very effective topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and anti-aging agent, Bryan B. Fuller, Ph.D., said.
San Francisco - Daily antiviral therapy with valacyclovir (Valtrex) reduces not only genital herpes outbreaks and their severity but also reduces shedding, which, in turn, reduces transmission of the virus, according to a new study.
New York City - Citing a small but growing number of patients who have been diagnosed with minocycline hypersensitivity syndrome, Colleen Crandell, D.O., advises dermatologists to become familiar with this recently emerging entity.
A 24-year-old woman has excelled at her receptionist job at a prominent cosmetic dermatology office. She is an employee at will; that is, she has no employment contract. She has recently attended a conference at which Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome is discussed. At that time she discloses that, although she has no stigmata for the disease, she has a strong family history for this genetically transmitted disease. Shortly thereafter she is terminated from her job. She is not given a reason for the termination but suspects it is related to her genetic predisposition.
While driving home from work on a two-lane road one dark night last week, it suddenly occurred to me that I was taking for granted, without any thought or apprehension, the fact that the drivers of the oncoming cars were paying attention to their driving and not impaired in any way. Of course, once I started to think about the potential problems of inattentiveness or possible impairment of the older drivers, I immediately began recalling the numerous accounts on television and in the newspaper of horrific automobile accidents resulting in extensive injuries and sometimes even death.
There's probably no area of medicine that has received more hype, misinformation, and confusion than the Internet and practice Web pages. There are hundreds and perhaps thousands of our physician colleagues who have created Web pages only to have a bad taste concerning the time, money, and effort spent on a medium that does not appear to generate more patients or improve the efficiency of the practice.
Once you (or your staff) have experienced a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, you will never want to go back to a bulky, energy-hogging cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. I purchased one 17-inch LCD monitor for my front-desk staff - it was such an improvement and was so popular that I went back and immediately purchased a second, identical monitor for their other workstation!
Chicago - Incorporating a few straightforward screening questions and some simple intraoperative techniques can translate into significant benefits for enhancing the success and safety of liposuction surgery, Naomi Lawrence, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.
Birmingham, Ala. - In a rare occurrence, superficial punctate keratitis developed after injections of botulinum toxin type A to the glabellar area, a difficult diagnosis arrived at through the combined consultation of a dermatologist and an ophthalmologist.
Dear general practitioners: Botox isn't an easy road to riches. You need to get very good and deliver consistent, high-quality results throughout the entire transaction - from the first phone call to the next follow-up appointment. You are looking at investing at least $10,000 (more commonly $20,000) after all is said and done, plus probably a hundred hours (or more) of your time.
Akron, Ohio - Chronic wounds benefit from a multidisciplinary treatment strategy, according to Eliot N. Mostow, M.D., of Wound Care Associates, Akron. Dr. Mostow has a multidisciplinary approach, known as the four Ps' of woundcare. "This means getting the right people, the right place, the right products, and the right protocol together," he said.
Boston ?? Wound bed preparation is essential to obtaining the maximum benefits from bioengineered skin and other advanced wound therapies, according to Vincent Falanga, M.D.
