Table of Contents
From the Editor
- Who is conducting the deadly quartet?
The metabolic syndrome warrants aggressive intervention and prevention, even if we cannot explain it yet.
Review
- Emphysema in nonsmokers: Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency and other causes
The 10% of patients with emphysema who never smoked deserve a workup for its less common causes, including genetic risk modifiers and occupational exposures.
- Update on the diagnosis and treatment of human papillomavirus infection
Genotyping can distinguish viral subtypes that pose a high risk for cancer, but current therapies do not reliably eradicate the virus, and warts and neoplasia often recur after treatment.
Interpreting Key Trials
- The HIP trial
Patients should be selected for bisphosphonate therapy on the basis of low bone density, not age.
Review
Gallbladder disease: An update on diagnosis and treatmentCurrent diagnostic techniques and treatments offer results equal to or better than those of earlier methods, are less invasive, and allow patients to recover faster.
- A truly deadly quartet: obesity, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperinsulinemia
The best available treatment is to control one’s weight, exercise regularly, stop smoking, and eat a healthy diet.
Editorial
- The metabolic syndrome: A tug-of-war with no winner
Even before beta cells fail, the deadly quartet is quietly rehearsing.
Medical Grand Rounds
1-Minute Consult
Which children and adults should receive the chickenpox vaccine?It should be given to all seronegative children and adults in whom it is not otherwise contraindicated.
