Case of the month.
The patient was born at 28 weeks' gestational age by spontaneous vaginal delivery to an 18-year-old mother with no history of spontaneous abortion or prenatal infections. At birth, he had extensive skin lesions and severe breathing problems that necessitated intubation. On physical exam, he had large, polycyclic red and...

Musical stories of note featured in this month's books.
Byline: Nicholas A. Basbanes Music in multiple guises-bluegrass, classical, jazz, even barn-yard yodeling - provide sufficient premise for several of our choices this month, all rendered with a bit of whimsy and good cheer. Another favorite topic - dreamland - comes in for a bit of examination...

Community devastated by her passing: Stephanie Meredith(NEE BLAKE) 1 June 1961-5 June 2007.
Stephanie Meredith was born at Balranald Hospital on 1 June 1961. She began her schooling at St Joseph's in Balranald and after two years went over to Balranald Central School where she remained until she completed her HSC. On leaving school, Stephanie worked as part of the...

Genetics sheds light on lentiginosis syndromes.
Washington -- Conditions in which patients have multiple lentigines commonly have an etiology that shares the same final molecular pathway that predisposes the patients to tumors, Dr. Constantine Stratakis said at a meeting of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology. Understanding the common etiologic pathway in lentiginosis syndromes...

Vocal demands on teachers.
TEACHERS ARE THE LARGEST GROUP OF PROFESSIONALS who use their voices as a primary tool of trade. As singing teachers, we are among that group, which comprises about 4% of the workforce in the United States. (1) The greatest vocal demand is placed on those teachers who lecture or...

Genetics sheds light on lentiginosis syndromes: many genes that have recently been found to be involved in oncogenesis also cause skin disorders.
WASHINGTON -- Conditions in which patients have multiple lentigines commonly have an etiology that shares the same final molecular pathway that predisposes the patients to tumors, Dr. Constantine Stratakis said at a meeting of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology. An understanding of the common etiologic pathway in...

Stapes mobilization revisited: Primum non nocere.
Unavoidably, much medical practice is based on impression and experience rather than evidence. When evidence is available, we are usually more comfortable with our practice decisions. However, we should also remember that utilization of evidence-based data includes interpretation and judgments. It seems healthy to review the assumptions underlying such...

New assay helps in the diagnosis of urticaria.
KEYSTONE, COLO. -- A new in vitro diagnostic assay that detects antibodies responsible for about 40% of chronic idiopathic urticaria is now available, Dr. Mark Boguniewicz said at a meeting on allergy/clinical immunology, asthma, and pulmonary medicine. The test detects upregulation of CD203c, an ectoenzyme expressed only...

Restoring scents: faulty sniffers may get help.
Betty (not her real name) remembers the day 9 years ago when she fully experienced an orange. As she split the fruit's skin, the sections, citrus scents sprayed into the air and the 51-year-old woman experienced a sensory epiphany: "Whoa! This is an orange. My God, this is what...

On deaf ears; "Life is as tedious as a twicetold tale, Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man." William Shakespeare (15641616) English dramatist, poet Louis the Dauphin, In King John, Act 3, sc. 4.
Byline: DR. BRIX PUJALTE MOST people know about presbyopia - the age-related stiffness of the lens of the eye leading to far-sightedness. It's that inescapable squinting and focusing in reading, for example, the messages on your cellphone inbox. But how many have heard of presbycusis (prez-bee-KYOO-sis)? This...