Transitioning from Faculty-Written Examinations to National Board of Medical Examiners Custom Examinations in Medical Education.

Purpose: A challenge for medical educators is choosing a method that best evaluates preclinical students' performance in preparation for Step 1. In previous years, block directors (BDs) of the 2nd year (MS2) neuroscience course at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine issued faculty-written (FW) examinations during the course. In 2022, BDs replaced FW examinations with National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) custom examinations.

Supplementation with green tea polyphenols improves bone microstructure and quality in aged, orchidectomized rats.

Recent studies show that green tea polyphenols (GTPs) attenuate bone loss and microstructure deterioration in ovariectomized aged female rats, a model of postmenopausal osteoporosis. This study evaluated the efficacy of GTPs at mitigating bone loss and microstructure deterioration along with related mechanisms in androgen-deficient aged rats, a model of male osteoporosis. A 2 (sham vs.

Rethinking CME: an imperative for academic medicine and faculty development.

To help address the clinical care gap, a working group discussed the future of faculty development in academic medicine, explored problems within the large, current enterprise devoted to continuing medical education (CME), and described four domains core to its revitalization and reformation. These domains are (1) preparing and supporting an engaged clinician-learner, (2) improving the quality of knowledge or evidence shared, (3) enhancing the means by which to disseminate and implement that knowledge and evidence, and (4) reforming the patient, health care, and regulatory systems in and for which the process of CME exists. Reshaping these domains requires the consideration of a more seamless, evidence-based, and patient-oriented continuum of medical education.

Digoxin: current use and approach to toxicity.

Heralded as the oldest known cardiovascular drug, digoxin remains widely used today in the face of increasing rates in heart failure and atrial fibrillation despite the emergence of newer medications. Its hemodynamic, neurohormonal and electrophysiologic actions make it a suitable adjunctive, evidence-based therapy for the above conditions. Its narrow therapeutic index and its toxicity, however, have become more relevant as aging, comorbid diseases, and polypharmacy make more patients vulnerable.

Altered inotropic reactivity in diabetic rabbit right ventricular myocardium.

Alloxan monohydrate was used to induce diabetes in rabbits, which were maintained for a 3-month period with or without daily insulin replacement along with age-matched controls. Isolated right ventricular myocardial strips were used to generate dose-response curves to isoproterenol, forskolin, and Bay K 8644. Basal developed force was significantly elevated in diabetic ventricular strips.

Differential indicators of diabetes-induced oxidative stress in New Zealand White rabbits: role of dietary vitamin E supplementation.

Determination of reliable bioindicators of diabetes-induced oxidative stress and the role of dietary vitamin E supplementation were investigated. Blood (plasma) chemistries, lipid peroxidation (LPO), and antioxidant enzyme activities were measured over 12 weeks in New Zealand White rabbits (control, diabetic, and diabetic + vitamin E). Cholesterol and triglyceride levels did not correlate with diabetic state.