Although hypertension is among the most common reasons for an outpatient medical visit,¹ many patients with established hypertension have poorly controlled blood pressure.² For example, in the 1988–1991 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (...

Annually, more than 1 million coronary angiographic procedures are performed in the United States.¹ Replacing even a fraction of these diagnostic procedures with a noninvasive imaging technique would constitute an important advance in the care of patients ...

Both primary prevention and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease are being widely investigated.¹,² Preventive cardiology would benefit from the introduction of noninvasive techniques that accurately quantify the extent of coronary ...

Esophageal carcinoma is an aggressive disease with a poor prognosis. For patients with stage 1, 2, or 3 carcinomas, surgery alone remains one standard of care. Another approach, treatment with radiation plus concurrent chemotherapy, has been shown to be ...

Figure 1. A 41-year-old woman with blurred vision and dyspnea was found to have severe hypertension (blood pressure, 240/125 mm Hg in both arms) and grade IV hypertensive retinopathy. Laboratory studies revealed a hematocrit of 23 percent, a platelet ...

A century ago, William Osler helped create a new approach to medical education based largely on teaching by example. Osler himself is venerated as a paragon of clinical and pedagogic excellence, serving as an example for academic physicians to emulate. ...

Until 30 years ago, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease was an obscure form of dementia unknown to most physicians. The name is now familiar to the medical community as the major transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (or prion disease) in humans and to research ...

Presentation of Case

A 49-year-old right-handed woman was admitted to the hospital because of a hemorrhagic stroke and mutism.

The patient had been well until two weeks earlier, when she began to have menorrhagia and orthostatic weakness. One day before ...

Atherosclerosis has been a serious health epidemic in developed countries in the late 20th century, and its rising prevalence in developing nations suggests that it will become the chief cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide by early in the next ...

In this issue of the Journal, Wright et al. present provocative evidence that many physician-teachers do not exhibit the professional characteristics that residents desire to emulate.¹ Assuming that this study's results, from two highly respected teaching ...

Electron-beam computed tomography (CT) is a new, increasingly widely promoted technique for the detection of calcification within coronary atherosclerotic lesions. Evidence supporting the use of this test in screening for coronary artery disease is ...

To the Editor: In their report on an observational study of beta-blockade after myocardial infarction, Gottlieb et al. (Aug. 20 issue)¹ firmly conclude that beta-blockers should be used for high-risk patients after acute myocardial infarction, including ...

To the Editor: In their assessment of normal as compared with low hematocrit values in patients with cardiac disease who were undergoing hemodialysis and receiving epoetin, Besarab et al. (Aug. 27 issue)¹ report seemingly paradoxical results. Although ...

To the Editor: Immediately on insertion of a needle for antecubital phlebotomy, a 64-year-old woman noted acute pain at the needle site. The pain radiated down the middle of the forearm and was associated with lateral forearm numbness. The pain persisted ...

To the Editor: It is no secret that product endorsements provide a lucrative supplement to the day jobs of celebrities and athletes. Sports great Michael Jordan is the perfect example of this, making $47 million last year in endorsements alone.¹ Another ...

To the Editor: In his review of Staphylococcus aureus infections, Dr. Lowy (Aug. 20 issue)¹ states that bacteremia involving methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is not associated with higher mortality than bacteremia involving methicillin-...

To the Editor: In their Sounding Board article, Breman and Henderson (Aug. 20 issue)¹ promote a traditional, decades-old “contain and vaccinate” strategy of controlling smallpox that requires refinement to remain viable. The human immunodeficiency virus (...

To the Editor: In his editorial (Aug. 27 issue),¹ Dr. Campion invites suggestions for ways of improving the Journal's World Wide Web site. The usefulness of the site would be increased if access to the subscribers-only site were extended to those who ...

On an average day in the United States, guns kill some 100 citizens and are used in about 3000 serious crimes. The policy discussion concerning this important problem in public health and criminal justice is one of America's most contentious debates.

At ...

Toxic-waste dumps, ancient Chinese herbal remedies, and over-the-counter medications — each has nephrotoxic potential. As many as 30 percent of cases of end-stage renal disease may have been caused or exacerbated by nephrotoxins, and 20 percent of cases ...

Nature has long had an intense interest in pigmentation. The innumerable variations in pigment across biologic species have important social and cosmetic roles. Pigmentation protects us from the sun, and for many amphibians, reptiles, fish, and mammals, ...