A previously healthy 40-year-old woman presented to a primary care clinic in New Orleans with a one-month history of fevers and a three-week history of swelling in her right armpit that had not abated with a course of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, an...

A five-month-old full-term baby was brought to the outpatient clinic in India with a three-week history of a rash. He had consumed breast milk exclusively until 20 days before presentation, when he had been switched to diluted formula due to his mother’s ongoing...

Recently we have seen a re-emergence of diseases (i.e. measles) that were all but eradicated due to vaccines. That is because vaccines are victims of their own success. Childhood vaccines have provided the greatest contribution to improved infant survival during the...

An 11-year-old girl presented to the orthopedic clinic in Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan with a one-month history of right thigh pain that worsened at night. She had no systemic (generalized) symptoms. Physical examination was notable for soft-tissue...

The anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, along with the posterior cruciate ligament, or PCL, is vital to maintaining the stability of the knee joint. Because of the nature of forces at the knee, tears, or rupture, of the ACL are common while PCL tears are rare. ACL...

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, is composed of nitrogen and oxygen and is colorless, odorless, inexpensive, and relatively easy to obtain. Misuse of nitrous oxide, which has increased markedly in the U.S. and worldwide among teens and young adults over...

In case you are wondering, I am not quoting Gen. McAuliffe’s famous reply to a German surrender request to the surrounded 101st Airborne at Bastogne in December 1944. I am referring to peanut allergy, a leading cause of food allergy worldwide that affects about 2% of...

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) involves accumulation of fat in the liver and may progress to liver inflammation and scarring (fibrosis). MASLD is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. It affects 30% to 40% of adults in the...

Endometrial cancer is a malignancy involving the lining of the uterus. It accounts for 95% of uterine cancers, which are the fourth most common cancer in women in the U.S. About one in 323 women in the U.S. will develop endometrial cancer in their lifetimes.

Not too long ago, this column covered type I diabetes. Today, we will be looking at the much more common type II diabetes, which affects about 14% of the population worldwide and about one in six adults in the U.S. In type I diabetes, the pancreas stops producing insulin altogether.