Thiamine deficiency and supplementation in heart failure

Thiamine is a water-soluble vitamin that is an important coenzyme for various metabolic processes in the body.  These include the regulation of glucose metabolism, the Krebs cycle (generates ATP), the pentose shunt (generates NADPH), and maintenance of sodium/potassium gradients in the brain (necessary for conducting nerve impulses).  Thiamine is mostly obtained from dietary intake with absorption occurring in the jejunum and ileum. After traveling to the liver, thiamine spends a relatively short amount of time in the blood before distributing to tissues throughout

Diabetes discharge checklist

A 55 year old business executive is being discharged from the hospital after a brief admission for cellulitis.  His only PMH is HTN and obesity.  During his stay, his casual serum glucoses were found to be in the high 200s mg/dL and a hemoglobin A1C resulted at 11.6%.  What should be done at the inpatient to outpatient transition to address his diabetes?

Effectiveness of homeopathy for various conditions

Homeopathy is a part of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) that is an undeniable component of the healthcare industry in the United States.  A nationwide government survey from 2007 estimated that U.S. adults spent approximately $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on CAM.  Of this, $3.1 billion was spent on homeopathic medicine (compare this to $14.8 billion spent on natural products (nonvitamins and nonminerals) and $47.6 billion which was spent on prescription medications)1.  For more of an explanation of what homeopathy is with an example, see below.