Table of Contents
From the Editor
- Surprises and reaffirmations in 2008 clinical trials
Clinical trials in 2008 showed us that too much glucose is bad, but trying too hard to lower it may be worse. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol promotes cardiovascular morbidity, and starts to do so even when the person is apparently healthy.
The Clinical Picture
- A persistently swollen lip
An otherwise healthy man has had asymptomatic swelling of his lower lip for 10 months. What is the cause? What is the treatment?
Review
- Hepatitis B: A strategy for evaluation and management
A single approach to treatment cannot be applied to all patients. Acute, adult-acquired infection rarely requires treatment, whereas treatment for chronic infection should be based on the patient’s clinical situation and test results.
Interpreting Key Trials
- JUPITER to Earth: A statin helps people with normal LDL-C and high hs-CRP, but what does it mean?
How low should we go with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and at what cost? What is the role of screening C-reactive protein? The JUPITER study partially answered these questions.
1-Minute Consult
- Who should receive the shingles vaccine?
The answer: Nearly everyone who is age 60 and older, immunocompetent, and without contraindications to it.
Review
Alzheimer disease: Time to improve its diagnosis and treatmentBasic research is bringing a much-needed infusion of optimism and urgency to the clinical diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer disease. Some of its risk factors may be modifiable, and although current drugs offer only modest benefit, true disease-modifying drugs are on the horizon.
- Depression and heart disease: What do we know, and where are we headed?
Depression is a risk factor for new cardiac disease and has a detrimental effect in established cardiac disease. Clinicians should routinely screen for it in cardiac patients and should not hesitate to treat it.
