The 7 Elements Communication Rating Form for Teaching and Assessing Medical Communication Competency.

Introduction: Medical communication skills are a critical component of clinical medicine and patient satisfaction. Communication skills are difficult to teach and evaluate, necessitating tools that are effective and efficient. This study presents and validates the 7 Elements Communication Rating Form (7E-CRF), a streamlined, dual-purpose, evidence-based medical communication checklist that functions as a teaching and assessment tool.

Thermal and Mechanical Pain Thresholds of Women With Provoked Localized Vulvodynia: A Pilot Study.

Context: Vulvodynia is a chronic pain condition defined as vulvar pain lasting at least 3 months in the absence of gross anatomic or neurologic findings. Provoked, localized vulvodynia (PLV), a subtype of vulvodynia, is characterized by vestibular pain in response to light touch. The cause of PLV remains largely unknown, and triggering events have yet to be determined.

Advancing Methods of Assessing Bone Quality to Expand Screening for Osteoporosis.

Context: Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) limits osteoporosis screening because of machine size, technical requirements for operation, and exposure to ionizing radiation.

Objective: To establish data ranges from calcaneus ultrasonography (US) that correspond to bone mineral density (BMD) stratification identified by DXA and to determine whether vitamin D concentration adds to US bone health assessment.

Methods: Patients scheduled for DXA at the Robert C.

Mini-medical school programs are an effective tool to introduce students to osteopathic medicine.

Context: Mini-medical school programs are designed to give participants, usually high school students, a more realistic perception of medicine and to leave students with a stronger desire to pursue a career in medicine.

Objective: To determine if the annual High School Mini-Medical School program hosted by the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine increased interest in osteopathic medicine among high school students.

Design: A survey was conducted before and after the program to test the program's effectiveness.

Salivary uric acid as a noninvasive biomarker of metabolic syndrome.

Background: Elevated serum uric acid is associated with obesity, hypertension and metabolic syndrome. Because a linear relationship exists between serum and salivary uric acid (SUA) concentration, saliva testing may be a useful noninvasive approach for monitoring cardiometabolic risk. The goal of this pilot study was to determine if SUA is increased in patients with metabolic syndrome and to investigate correlations between SUA and individual cardiometabolic risk factors.

Detection of homocysteine and C-reactive protein in the saliva of healthy adults: comparison with blood levels.

Inflammation and cardiovascular disease are associated with elevated serum levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and homocysteine. The presence of both molecules in saliva provides an opportunity for development of non-invasive assessments of disease risk. However, salivary CRP and homocysteine reference ranges and their correlation with serum levels are unknown.

Breastfeeding, the immune response, and long-term health.

Breastfeeding provides unsurpassed natural nutrition to the newborn and infant. Human breast milk also contains numerous protective factors against infectious disease and may influence immune system development, as noted in previous studies of infant response to vaccination and thymus gland development. If immune system development is significantly improved with the introduction of components of breast milk, then prematurely discontinued breastfeeding may facilitate pathogenesis of many chronic diseases later in life (eg, autoimmune disorders).