A study of Humana members enrolled in commercial and Medicare Advantage plans showed that patients with fibromyalgia have higher health care utilization and costs than those without the disease.1 This is because of higher use of office visits, testing, and procedures as well as pain-related medications. More »

Schizophrenia, a devastating mental illness that affects nearly 2.2 million Americans, is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality.1 Persons with schizophrenia have a 20% shorter life expectancy than the general population.1,2 Furthermore, among persons with schizophrenia, there is an increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome characterized by a constellation of risk factors, including insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and hypertension,3 More »

Thimerosal, the organomercurial compound commonly used as a preservative in vaccines, does not cause autism, ruled the so-called vaccine court, a special branch of the US Court of Federal Claims that was established to handle claims of injury caused by vaccines. In this case, a group of parents who are convinced that there is a connection between the additive and autism were told that they had failed to prove their belief.1 More »

Parkinson disease (PD) is associated with a number of nonmotor symptoms, including depression, drug-induced psychosis and impulse control disorders, cognitive impairment, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. More »

Sporotrichosis is a fungal infection that typically results in cutaneous or lymphocutaneous disease, although other, more severe, life-threatening manifestations do occur. This article reviews updated treatment guidelines, which state that itraconazole has become the preferred therapy for most forms of infection. Amphotericin B remains the mainstay of treatment for severe cases, but lipid formulations are now preferred because of their more favorable toxicity profile. Also, fluconazole has been... More »