Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Medical Therapies For Motor Symptoms In Parkinson’S Disease, Conrad Musey, Vikram Shivkumar

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the aging population. It is associated with progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Parkinsonism is a clinical syndrome that consists of motor and non-motor symptoms. It has been well described that many if not all of these deficits are associated with abnormalities related to the neurotransmitter Dopamine. This review is intended for primary care physicians who often establish the diagnosis and initiate Parkinson’s treatments. One challenge faced by the primary care physician is to decide the appropriate medication and starting dose. Often medications are used at very low doses or …

Optimizing Heart Failure Outcomes Through Diet: A Review, Farley B. Neasman Iii

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Heart failure is a growing epidemic that will add significant monetary and human costs to an already overtaxed health-care system. Though promising new medications have recently been approved, this complex condition is largely preventable through aggressive risk factor modification, with diet being shown to have a greater effect than exercise. An underrated component of a healthy diet is the simple addition of nuts – the anti-inflammatory fatty acids, healthy proteins, and general availability have been shown to improve survival and reduce the primary risk factors contributing to heart failure, making the addition of nuts and legumes to the diet an …

Systematic Analysis Of Whole Exome Sequencing Determines Ret G691s Polymorphism As Germline Variant In Melanoma, Brent J. Smith Jr, Jennifer D. Hintzsche, Carol M. Amato, Aik-Choon Tan, Keith R. Wells, Allison J. Applegate, Rita T. Gonzalez, Jodie R. Barr, William A. Robinson

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Abstract

The RET proto-oncogene encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase that is activated by glial cell derived neutrotrophic factor (GDNF). Previous studies have found that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), RETp (G691S), in the juxtamembrane domain enhances the signaling pathway and promotes tumor growth by GDNF in pancreatic and thyroid cancer in addition to melanoma. It is uncertain however whether this SNP is a germline variant or somatic mutation. A prior study reported that the RETp variant was a germline SNP in desmoplastic and non-desmoplastic melanomas. In the present study, we examined both melanoma tissue samples and matching peripheral blood DNA …

Herpes Simplex Virus Type Ii In A Patient Having Periodic Lateralized Epileptiform Discharges, Justin Chuang, Sona K. Shah

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Herpes Simplex Encephalitis has been found to be one of the most common causes of fatal viral encephalitis (1). The mortality rate in untreated patients has been found to be as high as 70%, thus, correct management and early diagnosis are important for good prognoses and crucial for predicting outcomes. (1,2) In patients with Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), specific findings such as the Periodic lateralized epileptic form discharges (PLEDs) are considered a specific finding on electroencephalogram (EEG). PLEDs are usually seen in the context of destructive structural lesions involving the cortex. Other causes may include acute ischemic stroke and, less …