Epilepsy: Treatment Options - American Family Physician
Jul 15, 2017 - The occurrence of a single seizure does not always require initiation of antiepileptic drugs. Risk of recurrent seizures should guide their use. In adults, key risk factors for recurrence are two unprovoked seizures occurring more than 24 hours apart, epileptiform abnormalities on ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2017/0715/p87.html
Evaluation and Management of Orthostatic Hypotension - American Family Physician
Sep 1, 2011 - Orthostatic hypotension is defined as a decrease in systolic blood pressure of 20 mm Hg or a decrease in diastolic blood pressure of 10 mm Hg within three minutes of standing when compared with blood pressure from the sitting or supine position. It results from an inadequate physiologic...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0901/p527.html
Evaluation and Prevention of Diabetic Neuropathy - American Family Physician
Jun 1, 2005 - Diabetic neuropathy is a debilitating disorder that occurs in nearly 50 percent of patients with diabetes. It is a late finding in type 1 diabetes but can be an early finding in type 2 diabetes. The primary types of diabetic neuropathy are sensorimotor and autonomic. Patients may ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0601/p2123.html
Evaluation and Treatment of the Child with Febrile Seizure - American Family Physician
May 15, 2006 - Up to 5 percent of children in North America and western Europe experience at least one episode of febrile seizure before six years of age. Most of these seizures are self-limited and patients do not require treatment. Continuous therapy after the seizure is not effective in reducing ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2006/0515/p1761.html
Evaluation of a First Seizure - American Family Physician
May 1, 2007 - Seizure is a common presentation in the emergency care setting, and new-onset epilepsy is the most common cause of unprovoked seizures. The patient history and physical examination should direct the type and timing of laboratory and imaging studies. No single sign, symptom, or test ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2007/0501/p1342.html
Frontotemporal Dementia: A Review for Primary Care Physicians - American Family Physician
Dec 1, 2010 - Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the most common forms of dementia in persons younger than 65 years. Variants include behavioral variant FTD, semantic dementia, and progressive nonfluent aphasia. Behavioral and language manifestations are core features of FTD, and patients have ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2010/1201/p1372.html
Headaches in Children and Adolescents - American Family Physician
Feb 15, 2002 - Headaches are common during childhood and become more common and increase in frequency during adolescence. The rational, cost-effective evaluation of children with headache begins with a careful history. The first step is to identify the temporal pattern of the headache--acute, ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0215/p625.html
Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia: Prevention and Management - American Family ...
Jun 15, 2011 - Herpes zoster (shingles) is diagnosed clinically by recognition of the distinctive, painful vesicular rash appearing in a unilateral, dermatomal distribution. An estimated 1 million cases occur in the United States each year, and increasing age is the primary risk factor. Laboratory ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0615/p1432.html
Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia: Prevention and Management - American Family ...
Sep 15, 2005 - The recognizable appearance and the dermatomal distribution of herpes zoster lesions usually enable a clinical diagnosis to be made easily. Herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia occur mainly in older patients. The role of the varicella vaccine in preventing herpes zoster is ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0915/p1075.html
Initial Evaluation of Vertigo - American Family Physician
Jan 15, 2006 - Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, acute vestibular neuronitis, and Meniere's disease cause most cases of vertigo; however, family physicians must consider other causes including cerebrovascular disease, migraine, psychological disease, perilymphatic fistulas, multiple sclerosis, and...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2006/0115/p244.html
Lumbar Spine Stenosis: A Common Cause of Back and Leg Pain - American Family Physician
Apr 15, 1998 - Lumbar spine stenosis most commonly affects the middle-aged and elderly population. Entrapment of the cauda equina roots by hypertrophy of the osseous and soft tissue structures surrounding the lumbar spinal canal is often associated with incapacitating pain in the back and lower ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/1998/0415/p1825.html
Management of Cluster Headache - American Family Physician
Feb 15, 2005 - Cluster headache, an excruciating, unilateral headache usually accompanied by conjunctival injection and lacrimation, can occur episodically or chronically, and can be difficult to treat. Existing effective treatments may be underused because of underdiagnosis of the syndrome. Oxygen ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0215/p717.html
Management of Herpes Zoster (Shingles) and Postherpetic Neuralgia - American Family ...
Apr 15, 2000 - Herpes zoster (commonly referred to as
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0415/p2437.html
Management of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus - American Family Physician
Sep 15, 2004 - Gait instability, urinary incontinence, and dementia are the signs and symptoms typically found in patients who have normal pressure hydrocephalus. Estimated to cause no more than 5 percent of cases of dementia, normal pressure hydrocephalus often is treatable, and accurate recognition ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2004/0915/p1071.html
Management of Seizures and Epilepsy - American Family Physician
Apr 1, 1998 - While the evaluation and treatment of patients with seizures or epilepsy is often challenging, modern therapy provides many patients with complete seizure control. After a first seizure, evaluation should focus on excluding an underlying neurologic or medical condition, assessing the ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/1998/0401/p1589.html
Mechanical Low Back Pain - American Family Physician
Oct 1, 2018 - Low back pain is usually nonspecific or mechanical. Mechanical low back pain arises intrinsically from the spine, intervertebral disks, or surrounding soft tissues. Clinical clues, or red flags, may help identify cases of nonmechanical low back pain and prompt further evaluation or ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2018/1001/p421.html
Medications for Migraine Prophylaxis - American Family Physician
Jan 1, 2006 - Sufficient evidence and consensus exist to recommend propranolol, timolol, amitriptyline, divalproex, sodium valproate, and topiramate as first-line agents for migraine prevention. There is fair evidence of effectiveness with gabapentin and naproxen sodium. Botulinum toxin also has ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2006/0101/p72.html
Mind-Body Therapies for Headache - American Family Physician
Nov 15, 2007 - Headache is one of the most common and enigmatic problems encountered by family physicians. Headache is not a singular entity, and different pathologic mechanisms are involved in distinct types of headache. Most types of headache involve dysfunction of peripheral or central nociceptive ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2007/1115/p1518.html
Neurological Complications of Scuba Diving - American Family Physician
Jun 1, 2001 - Recreational scuba diving has become a popular sport in the United States, with almost 9 million certified divers. When severe diving injury occurs, the nervous system is frequently involved. In dive-related barotrauma, compressed or expanding gas within the ears, sinuses and lungs ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0601/p2211.html
New Concepts In Acute Pain Therapy: Preemptive Analgesia - American Family Physician
May 15, 2001 - Pain, which is often inadequately treated, accompanies the more than 23 million surgical procedures performed each year and may persist long after tissue heals. Preemptive analgesia, an evolving clinical concept, involves the introduction of an analgesic regimen before the onset of ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0515/p1979.html
Nonoperative Management of Cervical Radiculopathy - American Family Physician
May 1, 2016 - Cervical radiculopathy describes pain in one or both of the upper extremities, often in the setting of neck pain, secondary to compression or irritation of nerve roots in the cervical spine. It can be accompanied by motor, sensory, or reflex deficits and is most prevalent in persons 50 ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2016/0501/p746.html
Older Adult Drivers with Cognitive Impairment - American Family Physician
Mar 15, 2006 - As the number of drivers with cognitive impairment increases, family physicians are more likely to become involved in decisions about cessation of driving privileges in older patients. Physicians who care for cognitively impaired older adults should routinely ask about driving status. ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2006/0315/p1029.html
Parkinson Disease: An Update - American Family Physician
Feb 15, 2013 - Parkinson disease is a progressive neurologic disorder afflicting approximately 1 percent of Americans older than 60 years. The cardinal features of Parkinson disease are bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, and postural instability. There are a number of neurologic conditions that mimic the...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2013/0215/p267.html
Parkinson's Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment - American Family Physician
Dec 15, 2006 - Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder that can cause significant disability and decreased quality of life. The cardinal physical signs of the disease are distal resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and asymmetric onset. Levodopa is the primary treatment for ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2006/1215/p2046.html
Pharmacologic Management of Pain at the End of Life - American Family Physician
Jul 1, 2014 - Although many patients experience debilitating pain at the end of life, there are many options to improve analgesia and quality of life. Pain assessment using a validated tool, with attention to patient function and specific goals, helps tailor individual treatment plans. The World ...
American Family Physician : Article
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2014/0701/p26.html