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The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) is a brief, structured test of mental status that takes about 10 minutes to complete. Introduced by Marshall Folstein and others in 1975, the MMSE is the most commonly used test to assess problems with ​memory and other cognitive functions. Learn what the test involves, as well as how to score it and how accurate it is in identifying dementia. Scoring of the MMSE Scores on the MMSE range from 0 to 30, with scores of 26 or higher being traditionally considered normal....

The ECU tendon, or extensor carpi ulnaris, is one of the major wrist tendons. It is on the ulnar side of the wrist, the same side as the small finger. The tendon starts on the back of the forearm and crosses the wrist joint directly on the side. There are a number of causes of ulnar-sided wrist pain, and one of those are problems with the ECU tendon. The two most common ECU tendon problems are tendonitis and tendon subluxation....

Genetics play a huge role in hearing loss and deafness in both infants and the elderly. About 60 to 80 percent of deafness in infants (congenital deafness) can be attributed to some kind of genetic condition. It is also possible to have a mix of genetic hearing loss and acquired hearing loss. Acquired hearing loss is hearing loss that occurs because of an environmental cause such as medication side effects or exposure to chemicals or loud noises....

Flu season is right around the corner. Or is it here already? Key Takeaways U.S. flu season typically peaks in February, but some states are already logging cases in September.Southern Hemisphere countries like Australia experienced particularly bad flu seasons this year, with high hospitalization rates. This is usually a harbinger of things to come in the U.S. The United States flu season typically peaks around February. But as of mid-September, influenza has already crept into some states....

As medical systems struggle to keep up with calls from patients concerned about COVID-19, Penn Medicine has stepped in with a solution: a chatbot that helps provide immediate answers to questions related to the pandemic. Key Takeaways Penn Medicine designed a chatbot to help answer patient questions about COVID-19.The chatbot is designed to both free up medical staff for more urgent care needs and to help patients get immediate help.Google is helping to make the chatbot publicly available to other healthcare systems....

On May 18, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidelines to assist state officials in safely allowing nursing homes to resume visits, which had been restricted for months due to COVID-19. But as of July 15, only 31 states have allowed nursing homes to restart in-person visits for family and friends, largely because cases of COVID-19 continue to rise. Key Takeaways More than half of states have allowed nursing homes to resume in-person visits....

Most Americans walk a staggering 75,000 miles on their feet by the time they hit 50 years old. Yet most of us don’t pay much attention to our feet—that is until they start giving us grief. The time we spend on our feet, and the weight they bear each day, can overwork the joints and soft tissue of even the healthiest feet—as well as expose them to infections. As a result of this stress, certain foot conditions can develop....

An inactivated vaccine is one that uses a killed virus or bacteria to stimulate the immune system to protect the body against infection. Because the bacteria or virus is dead, it cannot replicate or cause disease. While inactivated vaccines have the same aims as live vaccines—namely to generate immunity, including antibodies that fight diseases—they may induce a less robust response and often require multiple doses and/or booster shots to achieve adequate protection....

One might believe that hepatitis A and B are basically the same thing. However, many are unfamiliar with what hepatitis is and does. Learn more about hepatitis, such as the various types and the difference between them by reading further. When you overhear the term hepatitis, it just means one thing: inflammation of your liver. There are several ways that you can develop this health condition. Alcohol and certain medications are some of these causes....

The U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its regulations last week to tighten regulations around organic products. This update comes after a number of allegations claiming farmers have tried to sell non-organic, or conventional, food with the lucrative white and green USDA “organic” label. Key Takeaways New USDA regulations will allow for additional oversight and certification points in the supply chain for organic products.This update comes after several allegations against farmers who try to sell non-organic foods with the USDA organic label....

When it comes to relieving pain, you may have heard conflicting advice about heat and ice. Both have their uses in managing pain, but sometimes heat is best, sometimes ice is best, and sometimes you may get the best results by combining them. If you’re trying to figure out which one to use, it helps to know what types of pain each approach is best for. Heat for Managing Pain Before using heat to help with your pain, ask yourself the following questions:...

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a disorder which causes multiple parts of the nervous system to degenerate. The older names for MSA include three syndromes: Shy-Drager syndrome, striatonigral degeneration, and olivopontocerebellar atrophy. MSA is a progressive disease affecting the ​autonomic nervous system, the part of your body that controls unconscious actions like blood pressure, digestion, and breathing. MSA affects anywhere from two to 15 individuals per 100,000. It can take a while to receive an MSA diagnosis because of the similarities between MSA and other conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease....

The symptoms of shingles, a painful blistering skin condition caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus, progress in three stages: the pre-eruptive stage (before the rash appears), the acute eruptive stage (when the rash appears), and the chronic phase (in which healing begins put pain can persist). The timeline of these events are relatively consistent. Shingles often starts with a tingling or burning sensation one to five days before the actual rash appears....

A multi-casualty incident (MCI) is an emergency situation where the number of patients overwhelms the available resources. It has to include more than one patient, and in many jurisdictions, it is generally defined as at least three. Purpose In emergency medical services, the term multi-casualty incident is used to trigger a change in the way patients are handled to more efficiently allocate resources to treat the most patients possible. The change in how patients are handled might be jurisdictional—just one city or county—or it could be statewide, and possibly even regional with multiple states involved....

Myofunctional therapy is a program involving exercises to strengthen weak muscles around the airway, including the tongue, face, and mouth. By teaching people how to properly engage their tongue and orofacial muscles, myofunctional therapy helps correct problems with talking, eating, or breathing, especially when used in children. Research has found it may be helpful for improving snoring and sleep apnea. This article discusses how myofunctional therapy works, including what exercises are involved and how it might help sleep apnea....

The body is divided from top to bottom into motor zones described as myotomes. The muscle movement of each myotome is controlled by motor nerves coming from the same motor portion of a spinal nerve root. This differs from a dermatome, which is a zone on the skin in which sensations of touch, pain, temperature, and position are modulated by the same sensory portion of a spinal nerve root. Myotomes and dermatomes are mapped, and the location of sensory or motor deficits correspond to specific nerve roots....

Certain strong medications that are typically only available by prescription can run the risk of addiction if misused. Prescription drug misuse is using a drug in a way that was not intended by the person who prescribed it, or using it without a prescription. Misuse becomes abuse when a person experiences consequences of drug use. This article discusses both frequent and rare signs and symptoms of prescription drug addiction and when to seek medical care....

Eczema is a condition that damages the barrier of the skin. It is known to leave the skin itchy, dry, discolored, and bumpy. Eczema is not contagious and can affect different areas of the body. Although eczema is a known condition, scrotal eczema is a common condition that is typically overlooked by physicians and dermatologists. Research shows it is easily mistaken for a fungal infection and considered to be a general case of eczema....

A tendon sheath, which is a thin layer of tissue, surrounds each tendon in the body. The tendon sheath can also be called synovial lining or fibrous sheath. Tendon sheaths help protect tendons from abrasive damage as they move. Synovial fluid, produced by the tendon sheath, maintains a barrier of moisture, which protects and lubricates tendons and their tendon sheaths. Overuse and traumatic injuries can cause pain or swelling of the tendon sheath, often requiring physical rest and/or additional treatment, such as medication, physical therapy, or surgery....

There’s research to suggest that smoking marijuana (weed), especially at an early age, may increase the risk of schizophrenia and psychosis. But although there may be a connection, it’s not a straightforward cause-and-effect one, and more research is needed. Some parts of marijuana may even help treat schizophrenia, but it’s not clear yet just how effective this is. Read on to learn more about the connection between schizophrenia and marijuana....