June 15, 2000

Uterine fibroid embolization is now considered a safe and effective nonsurgical treatment in women with symptomatic uterine fibroid tumors. It offers several advantages over conventional treatment and widens the options for patients who desire to avoid a hysterectomy.

Successful management of obese patients involves modification of lifestyle behaviors that contribute to obesity, such as inappropriate diet and inactivity. Behavior modification involves self-monitoring, stimulus control, cognitive restructuring, stress management and social…

The complexities of water metabolism and the pathophysiology of hyponatremia and hypernatremia must be carefully considered in elderly patients.

Approximately 7 to 10 percent of adults older than 50 years, 25 percent of hospitalized patients and 30 to 40 percent of nursing home patients experience dysphagia. Family physicians can reduce the risks of complications through early and aggressive evaluation and management of…

Prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, urogenital cancers, premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction are genitourinary conditions commonly encountered in men. Screening questions to identify these health problems should be included in the comprehensive health evaluation.

Cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme inhibitors are an option to traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in patients with arthritis who are at high risk for ulcers.

This feature is part of a year-long series of excerpts and special commentaries celebrating AFP's 50thyear of publication. Excerpts from the two 1950 volumes of GP, AFP's predecessor, appear along with highlights of 50 years of family medicine.

(Australia—Australian Family Physician, January 2000, p. 51.) While coxsackie B virus infection is rare in persons more than 60 years of age, it is more common in children and young adults. The infection is transmitted by hand-to-mouth contact and may become widespread in…

Award-winning illustration that appeared on the cover of the December 1999 issue of AFP.

Selected policy and health issues news briefs from AAFP News Now.

Be kind to your left-handed friends. According to a report in the American Journal of Public Health, as people age, the prevalence of left-handedness seems to become rarer. Many people born with an innate left-handedness switch to right-handedness in adulthood. According to the…

Each working day in the United States, the uterus is surgically removed from about 3,000 women. An American woman who reaches the age of 60 has something like a one in three chance of losing her uterus. Uterine leiomyoma is the single most common reason for hysterectomy. The…

Treating the pain associated with osteoarthritis is a common challenge for family physicians. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have long been used to manage this disease. The adverse side effect profile of NSAIDs is well known and includes gastrointestinal and…

A nurse practitioner in our group had been taught to obtain Papanicolaou (Pap) smears in all women older than 18 years, regardless of their level of sexual activity. Because our practice has many women who choose to remain chaste until marriage, JTL felt that this issue needed…

(49th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology) Results of a two-part study showed a significantly higher incidence of recurrent acute ischemic cardiac events among patients with depression than in patients without depression, despite similar co…

The American Urological Association (AUA) has issued guidelines for the management of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (Stages Ta, T1 and TIS).

A mental health report released by the surgeon general takes a lifespan approach to its consideration of mental health and mental illness by discussing in detail the periods of childhood, adolescence, adulthood and later life.

The Committee on Adolescence of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a statement on contraception and adolescents. The statement appears in the November 1999 issue of Pediatrics.

Your doctor has told you that you have a fibroid in your uterus. There are several ways to treat fibroids. One way to treat women with fibroids is called uterine fibroid embolization. If you and your doctor have decided that this may be appropriate treatment for you, this…