A rare case of cytomegalovirus hepatitis mimicking malignancy in an immunocompetent adult.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a highly prevalent pathogen that remains dormant in majority of the cases. Severe CMV infection is generally limited to immunocompromised hosts. While occasional cases of CMV hepatitis are observed in healthy immunocompetent hosts, it is very rare to find this associated with focal liver lesions mimicking malignancy.

Quantifying the Association Between Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The relationships between physical activity (PA) and both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have predominantly been estimated using categorical measures of PA, masking the shape of the dose-response relationship. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, for the very first time we are able to derive a single continuous PA metric to compare the association between PA and CVD/T2DM, both before and after adjustment for a measure of body weight.

Methods And Results: The search was applied to MEDLINE and EMBASE electronic databases for all studies published from January 1981 to March 2014.

The Buddha relics and evidence of physical space conditioning with unimprinted intention host devices.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to experimentally determine whether an unimprinted intention host device (IHD), electrically activated in the near presence of the Maitreya Buddhist relics for about 72 hours (3 nights), could be imprinted by its loving kindness essence into the IHD. This will be referred to as a "first-degree relic IHD."

Design: This first-degree relic IHD was placed in an unused, unconditioned room in a Scottsdale, AZ home in the presence of a water vessel (pH ~ 5.

Prevalence and risk factors of gastrointestinal disorders in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results from a population-based survey in olmsted county, Minnesota.

Objectives. To compare the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) versus non-RA subjects and to describe determinants of GI disorders in RA. Methods.

Symmetry States of the physical space: an expanded reference frame for understanding human consciousness.

A remarkable phenomenon is taking place around the globe, one that I have been fortunate enough to witness and in which to participate. The relics of the historical Buddha, also known as Siddhartha or Shakyamuni Buddha, still survive today over 2500 years since his enlightenment, and, for the first time in history, are traveling throughout the world. In common Buddhist practice, relics are highly venerated and treasured remains of realized Masters.

Identification of intraarticular and periarticular uric acid crystals with dual-energy CT: initial evaluation.

Purpose: To estimate the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and interobserver agreement of dual-energy computed tomography (CT) in detection of uric acid crystals in joints or periarticular structures in patients with arthralgia and patients suspected of having gout, with joint aspiration results as reference standard.

Materials And Methods: With institutional review board approval, patient consent, and HIPAA compliance, 94 patients (age range, 29-89 years) underwent dual-source, dual-energy (80 and 140 kVp) CT of a painful joint. A material decomposition algorithm was used to identify uric acid.

A new perspective on "the placebo effect": untangling the entanglement.

It is generally accepted that a placebo in a standard, randomized, controlled trial (RCT), being an inert substance, cannot itself produce any effects. Yet, the magnitude of the placebo effect has increased remarkably in the last three decades. We propose that macroscopic information entanglement potentially explains a change in the placebo such that it no longer behaves as an isolated and inert element in a RCT.

What rheumatologists in the United States think of complementary and alternative medicine: results of a national survey.

Background: We aimed to describe prevailing attitudes and practices of rheumatologists in the United States toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments. We wanted to determine whether rheumatologists' perceptions of the efficacy of CAM therapies and their willingness to recommend them relate to their demographic characteristics, geographic location, or clinical practices.

Methods: A National Institutes of Health-sponsored cross-sectional survey of internists and rheumatologists was conducted regarding CAM for treatment of chronic back pain or joint pain.

Primary Raynaud phenomenon and small-fiber neuropathy: is there a connection? A pilot neurophysiologic study.

The pathophysiologic factors of primary Raynaud phenomenon (RP) are unknown. Preliminary evidence from skin biopsy suggests small-fiber neuropathy (SFN) in primary RP. We aimed to quantitatively assess SFN in participants with primary RP.

Dual energy computed tomography for quantification of tissue urate deposits in tophaceous gout: help from modern physics in the management of an ancient disease.

Gout has been recognized for centuries but is also a modern day scourge. It is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis in men and appears to be increasing in both incidence and prevalence (Arromdee et al. in J Rheumatol 29(11):2403-2406, 2002).

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), PBC autoantibodies, and hepatic parameter abnormalities in a large population of systemic sclerosis patients.

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of antimitochondrial antibodies (AMA), sp100, and gp210 antibodies for primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in a large population of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc); to examine concordance of these antibodies with subsets of SSc. Further, to assess the association of SSc-related antibodies with hepatic parameter abnormalities.

Methods: We obtained medical records to verify the diagnoses of SSc and PBC.

Schmorl's nodes: common, highly heritable, and related to lumbar disc disease.

Objective: Schmorl's nodes (SN) are common, but little is known of their relationship with degenerative change and back pain or genetic and environmental factors influencing their expression. We studied healthy female twin volunteers to determine the prevalence and clinical features associated with SN.

Methods: Serial sagittal T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine were analyzed in 516 healthy female twins (150 monozygotic and 366 dizygotic).

Evaluation of a model for maximizing interprofessional education in an acute hospital.

A one-year planning phase established a rolling programme of bi-monthly interprofessional clinical teaching workshops derived directly from patient experiences in an acute hospital. Pre-registration healthcare students from 8 professions spent an afternoon in the hospital training centre, randomly allocated to one of 6-8 small working groups. Using a problem-based methodology they analysed a ward case with patient consent, chosen to reflect the input of a wide range of health professionals.

Epidemiology of back disorders: prevalence, risk factors, and prognosis.

Purpose Of Review: This article reviews some of the advances that have taken place in understanding back disorders, with a particular emphasis on low back pain, as this area has been most represented in the literature in the preceding year (September 2003 to September 2004).

Recent Findings: Epidemiological studies continue to provide insights into the prevalence of back pain and have identified many individual, psychosocial, and occupational risk factors for its onset. Psychological factors have an important role in the transition from acute to chronic pain and related disability.