Class Act

How Does Alcohol Affect Hypertension?

June 24, 2011
How Does Alcohol Affect Hypertension?

By Benjamin Kenigsberg

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Alcoholic beverages have been part of human culture for thousands of years and cross nearly every political and demographic boundary. Despite this long history, the interaction between alcohol and human health is still poorly understood. This confusion is particularly true with regard to blood pressure, as multiple studies have debated the association between alcohol intake and the development or management of hypertension.  For this discussion, in America a standard drink is defined as 12 ounces of regular beer, 5…

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Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening Guidelines and Bellevue’s High-Risk Population

June 22, 2011
Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening Guidelines and Bellevue’s High-Risk Population

By Ramoncito David

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the world.  The prevalence of this fatal disease greatly varies among different nations, due to the fact that almost 80% of cases are secondary to hepatitis B or C.

The implementation of an effective vaccine against the hepatitis B virus (HBV) has reduced the prevalence of HBV carriers in North America to 0.1-2%; however, hepatitis B remains a global public health problem due its high…

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How to Counsel Patients on Vision Preservation in Primary Care

June 10, 2011
How to Counsel Patients on Vision Preservation in Primary Care

By Nora Muakkassa, Class of 2011

Faculty Peer Reviewed

When patients bring up questions or concerns about their vision in the primary care setting, many providers feel ill equipped to handle them. While certain issues are better left for the ophthalmologists, primary care providers can offer patients basic information on how to protect their vision.

The first thing physicians can do is to refer their patients for comprehensive screening eye exams. Certain eye diseases with potentially therapeutic interventions may…

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If I Eat Candy and Fatty Foods, Will I Get Acne?

June 3, 2011
If I Eat Candy and Fatty Foods, Will I Get Acne?

By Timothy Wu, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

A 17-year-old female comes into the clinic for an annual health checkup.  During the visit she reveals that she has been dealing with acne so severe that she is often embarrassed to go to school.  She states that her diet often consists of lots of candy, fast food, and soft drinks.  She asks, “Am I getting acne because of what I eat?”

Introduction

Acne is…

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The Hangover: Pathophysiology and Treatment of an Alcohol-Induced Hangover

May 27, 2011
The Hangover: Pathophysiology and Treatment of an Alcohol-Induced Hangover

By Anthony Tolisano

Faculty Peer Reviewed

The sunlight forces its way into your eyes, stabbing at your cortex.  Suddenly, a wave of nausea and diarrhea grips your stomach, threatening to evacuate its contents.  You rush to the bathroom, tripping over the clothes that speckle your apartment.  Your heart pounds inside your chest and your hands shake ever so subtly.  Your mind is in a fog and the details of last night’s party are a blur.  Sound familiar?

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The Stories My Senses Tell Me

May 20, 2011
The Stories My Senses Tell Me

By David Ellenberg

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Mr. A is a 91 year old male with a history of hypertension and two myocardial infarctions. He presented with shortness of breath and worsening lower extremity swelling and was subsequently admitted to the medicine floor for a CHF exacerbation. While on the floor, he also complained of painful pressure ulcers on his lower buttocks. He was diuresed and given oxygen by nasal cannula during his 48-hour hospital stay, and his ulcers were…

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Warning: Drinking Cola May Be Dangerous To Your Health

May 11, 2011
Warning: Drinking Cola May Be Dangerous To Your Health

By Jessica Leifer

Faculty Peer Reviewed

As a new third year medical student excited to finally be seeing my own patients and still looking for my style as an interviewer, I approach the social history in the systematic way we have learned in the first 2 years of medical school. God forbid I leave something out. Over the past month of my first clerkship, I’ve grown comfortable with asking the uncomfortable questions: Are you currently sexually active? With men,…

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Educating Patients About Sun Exposure

March 23, 2011
Educating Patients About Sun Exposure

By Courtney Maxey

Faculty Peer Reviewed

At this point it seems that the general public is aware of the relationship between exposure to the sun and skin cancer. It is troubling, however, that our culture still considers a dark tan to be “healthy” despite the World Health Organization’s classification of ultraviolet light emitted from tanning devices as a human carcinogen, based on observational studies that show a 75% increase in cutaneous melanoma in people using tanning devices before age…

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Twisted Translation: Using Friends and Family Members As Medical Interpreters

March 18, 2011
Twisted Translation: Using Friends and Family Members As Medical Interpreters

By Nina Sainath, Class of 2011

 Faculty Peer Reviewed

According to the latest US Census Bureau report analyzing the use of languages in the United States, over 20% of Americans speak a language other than English at home. Of this population, greater than 24% report that they do not speak English well or do not speak English at all. With a United States population of more than 300 million, this makes over 70 million people with limited English proficiency.…

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The Myth of the Helminth: Can Worms be the Next Therapeutic Breakthrough for IBD Patients?

March 16, 2011
The Myth of the Helminth: Can Worms be the Next Therapeutic Breakthrough for IBD Patients?

By Michael Guss, Class of  2012

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Helminths–parasitic worms that have co-evolved with humans and colonized our gastrointestinal (GI) tract for millennia–have developed the ability to modulate our inflammatory responses and evade our immune systems to survive . Until the 1930s, the helminth colonization of humans was almost universal, owing to poor sanitation conditions and an impure food supply . This changed as the economic development of the last century created improved sanitary conditions: clean running water,…

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Culturally Competent Care: Primary and Preventive Health Care for Lesbian and Bisexual Women

March 2, 2011
Culturally Competent Care: Primary and Preventive Health Care for Lesbian and Bisexual Women

By Elizabeth P.  Gurney, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

In the United States, population-based studies estimate that 1-4% of women self-identify as lesbian or bisexual and 4-17% have had same-gender sexual activity since puberty. Since the publication a decade ago of the Institute of Medicine report urging investigation of health issues for lesbian and bisexual women, sensitivity to the unique challenges faced by this group has increased. Despite improvements in cultural competence and awareness training for physicians, lesbian and bisexual…

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Ramadan, Fasting, and Diabetes

February 25, 2011
Ramadan, Fasting, and Diabetes

By Sana Shah, Class of  2011

Faculty Peer Reviewed

The Islamic faith is characterized by five central pillars: the public declaration of one’s faith, five daily prayers, an annual tax to the poor, a pilgrimage to Mecca, and annual fasting. Muslims fast together during the month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and will next occur from August 1st-30th, 2011. The month begins 10 to 11 days earlier each year in the…

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