A longitudinal survey of 424 preschoolers and infants with neuromotor disorders served by a children's rehabilitation center was conducted to determine the number who were receiving muscle relaxant or anticonvulsant medication, as well as average daily dosages. An increase in the number of antiepileptic prescriptions was found from 1962 to 1986.…

High school coaches and athletic trainers should know proper first aid techniques, have special knowledge about particular sports injuries, have a good understanding of safety precautions for playing equipment and skill techniques, and understand environmental factors that may affect athletes. (JD)

Examines ethnic differences in infectious disease-related mortality in New Mexico's American Indian, Hispanic White, and other White populations from 1958-87. Findings indicate that for most infectious causes, American Indians had the highest mortality rates, followed by Hispanics. Discusses the influence of cultural beliefs and medical practices.…

The article describes an elective course, part of the required psychiatry clerkship, at Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire), which stresses development of critical thinking skills in the diagnosis and management of patients with substance abuse and related medical and psychiatric complications. (Author/DB)

The validity of the Periodontal Treatment Need System and the Community Periodontal Index for Treatment Need as screening tests for allocation of patients to dental students was assessed and compared. Sixty-one patients reporting to the Department of Periodontology at the University of Oslo were studied. (MLW)

A creditable response to society's needs and expectations can be best undertaken by establishing a national agenda in academic medicine that places a high priority on health services research and the scientific analysis of the entire health care system. The expansion of the cadre of health service researchers is needed. (Author/MLW)

The trend now driving American health care is that the payors are refusing to pay the true economic costs. Health care technology and the public's demand for it, the growth of managed care (Health Maintenance Organizations), and the need to increase the effectiveness of health care are affecting health care delivery. (MLW)

The article reviews issues of diagnosis and treatment of children with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection. A spectrum of clinical signs is correlated with serological results. The intense central nervous system involvement typically present in childhood cases is examined. (DB)

As costs rise and companies discontinue coverage of college students under parents' policies, students are choosing to forego insurance rather than pay for it themselves, so suggest speakers at the American College Health Association's annual meeting. Colleges offering group-insurance policies to students are also having problems renewing them.…

Analyzes data from 10 long-term prospective studies in relation to key issues about self-quitting smoking. Compares the success rates of self-quitters and formal treatment programs of light smokers and heavy smokers, and examines the cyclical nature of quitting. Concludes that self-quitting is a dynamic process, not a discrete event. (FMW)

Describes the symptoms, such as appetite change and mood fluctuation, basic mechanisms, and some treatments of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Carbohydrate-Craving Obesity (CCO) and Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). Provides several tables and diagrams, and three reading references. (YP)

A study to test whether or not a computer network can be used to ease the isolation of housebound AIDS patients and help them get advice and make decisions about their health care is described. The research is supported by the National Institutes of Health. (MLW)

A study of the impact of family physicians' participation in continuing medical education activities on the quality of their professional services, as measured by an in-office audit of a random selection of charts, found no relationship between care and educational activities. (MSE)

A discussion of the testing of new drugs in campus medical facilities reviews the process of federal approval of investigational new drugs, analyzes the implications of the federally mandated institutional review board, and the issues of informed consent and the ethics of human-subject research on campus. (MSE)

Johns Hopkins Hospital expanded its health care delivery capabilities and strengthened its position in the marketplace by acquisitions of and mergers with other hospitals and a health maintenance organization. The resulting conglomerate has achieved its goals of expanding patient care, broadening the patient base, and enlarging the asset base and…