By the time they reach the eighth grade, nearly 50 percent of adolescents have had at least one drink, and over 20 percent report having been “drunk” (1). Approximately 20 percent of 8th graders and almost 50 percent of 12th graders have consumed alcohol within the past 30 days (1). Among 12th graders, almost 30 percent report drinking on 3 or more occasions per month (2). Approximately 30 perc...

The potential cost to society of alcohol-induced brain damage is enormous. Approximately 14 million Americans—about 7.4 percent of the adult population—meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism (Grant et al. 1994). On any given day, more than 700,000 people in the United States receive alcoholism treatment in either inpatient or outpatient settings (National Institute on Alco...

Approximately one in eight U.S. women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime.1 Because the earliest stages of breast cancer are asymptomatic, the process of breast cancer diagnosis is often initiated by detecting an abnormality through self-examination, physical examination by a clinician, or screening mammography. If the initial assessment suggests that the abnormality could be breast ...

The Rise in the U.S. Dollar The value of the dollar has climbed steadily over much of the past two years (Chart 1). The dollar’s rise through August 1998 represents more than a 20 percent appreciation over its average value in the 1991-95 period and more than a 30 percent strengthening relative to its unusually weak performance in April 1995. This large appreciation is reminiscent of the apprec...

INCIDENCE — Clinically significant cerebral edema occurs in approximately 1 percent of episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis in children and has a mortality rate of 20 to 90 percent; 50 to 80 percent of diabetes-related deaths are caused by cerebral edema [1-3]. Overall mortality rates for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children range from 0.15 to 0.51 percent in national population studies in Cana...

In controlled clinical trials, topiramate (Topamax) has demonstrated efficacy in refractory patients with complex partial seizures and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Approximately 45 percent of 534 patients had a > or = 50 percent reduction in seizure frequency. Limited open label trials have shown that topiramate has broad spectrum activity and may be effective in patients with...

The term otitis externa does not refer to a specific disease process but literally to an inflammation of the external ear canal. The prevalence in the dog has been reported to be between 10 and 20 percent, although in more tropical climates the prevalence is 50% or more. The incidence in the cat is less and reported to be approximately 2 to 10 percent. Otitis externa has multiple causes includi...