August 15, 2000

Family physicians should be informed about current recommendations for cardiovascular screening of student athletes as part of a comprehensive sports preparticipation physical evaluation. Such knowledge will help physicians make informed decisions about young athletes in their…

Decreased libido is associated with depression, and the treatment of depression frequently has deleterious effects on libido. Changes in libido and sexual functioning can affect compliance.

Appropriate corticosteroid therapy can dramatically improve the symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis.

The evaluation of fever with a rash includes a thorough history and a careful physical examination, consideration of the differential diagnosis, classification of lesion morphology and selected laboratory tests. Hospitalization, isolation and prompt antimicrobial treatment may…

Pregnant women should be counseled about the risk of having a child with Down syndrome. Advanced maternal age and abnormal results of maternal serum screening are among the indications for diagnostic testing.

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

The “Inside AFP” column (February 15, 2000, page 922) contained an error. The Department of Family Medicine at Chicago Medical School of Finch University of Health Sciences evolved from the Department of Primary Care. Dr. Lawrence L. Hirsch arrived in 1975 as founding professor…

A lot has been happening with AFP's patient information process since the last time we updated you on plans for enhancing this resource for physicians. While the work that AFP staff has done in publishing patient information handouts over the past decade established the roots…

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

“You've Got Mail.” The practice of physicians using e-mail to communicate directly with patients is an idea whose time has come. According to a report from Medem, Inc., in San Francisco, an e-health network founded by some leading U.S. medical specialty societies and the…

In December 1999, the American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Scientific Affairs issued a report on cardiovascular screening of student athletes. This report adds to the American Heart Association's (AHA's) 1996 consensus recommendations for the cardiovascular component…

Genetic screening is a burgeoning field of medicine, and family physicians will be instrumental in translating this new science to patients. Dr. Newberger's article1 in this issue of American Family Physician reviews the importance of screening for Down syndrome. The article is…

WLL seems to find boric acid useful in various treatments. In one past “Diary” entry (June 1994), he told about using a supersaturated solution of boric acid to treat superficial onychomycosis and, in another (August 1994), he relayed how to make boric acid capsules for vaginal…

(6th International Springfield Symposium) According to the results of two studies, patients receiving galantamine (an investigational drug under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease) improved in memory, behavior and ability to…

The American Urological Association (AUA) has released a policy report on the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in screening for and monitoring of prostate cancer.

Interest in the effects of creatine use by a number of American athletes has led to numerous studies. Many of these studies have produced conflicting findings. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has published a consensus statement from their scientific roundtable…

When should a physician disclose personal information to a patient, and what do we do when a particular case touches on our own suffering? At a deeper level, how do we deal with our own mortality in caring for the seriously ill and dying?

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a disease that causes stiffness in the neck, shoulders and hips. The stiffness is usually worse in the morning. Without treatment, the stiffness and pain can get worse over time.

Down syndrome is one of the most common genetic disorders. It's caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome number 21. This condition is called trisomy 21.

Down syndrome is one of the most common genetic disorders. It's caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome number 21. This condition is called trisomy 21.