Dermatology Editorial Team Joins HealthPlexus and JCCC

I have the pleasure of introducing the latest edition of the Journal Of Current Clinical Care. As always there are a multitude of noteworthy developments to report and a variety of interesting and clinically relevant topics that are covered in this issue.

As hinted in my last editorial, I am pleased to welcome Dr. Charles Lynde as Editor-in-Chief for the Dermatology Educational Resource @HealthPlexus and the Journal of Current Clinical Care. Dr. Lynde with the help of his fellow editors Drs. Anne Goodfellow, John Kraft and Francesca Cheung, will spearhead a Dermatology section on www.healthplexus.net and the Journal of Current Clinical Care. For this edition, Shahana Nathwani and Dr. Joseph Lam from the University of British Columbia provide an approach to ‘lumps and bumps’ in the pediatric population. There are a number of conditions that present clinically as ‘lumps and bumps’ in this age group. Some of these follow a benign course and can be safely observed, and others are more concerning and require definitive therapy and may even result in serious complications. A helpful feature of the article is a practice helper tool: A menu of cutaneous lesions in the pediatric population categorized according to colour.

I am also happy to introduce our new department called Infographics. Going forward we will select a topic and present the information and facts in an exciting and visually informative format. In this issue our choice of condition to present as an infographic is Ulcerative Colitis, an important topic for which we are also developing a CME program that is scheduled for release later this year.

Another first that we are introducing in this issue is a Lecture Series department. Dr. Michael Gordon, the Medical Program Director at Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System at the University of Toronto, is one our regular contributors, and is the Editor-in-Chief of our Dementia Educational Resource, gives an engaging talk on Later Stage Dementia and focusing on Promotion of Comfort, Compassion and Care, complete with video and slides.

Also in this issue, Dr. Michael Gordon in his article When to Have the Critical Conversation? Issues in Planning for Persons with Dementia and their Caregivers, uses a poignant family vignette to remind us that as health care providers we should encourage families and our patients to initiate conversations early regarding treatment at the end of life.

Drs. Lovingly Quitania Park and Sarah Tomaszewski Farias from the Department of Neurology at the University of California at Davis review the concept of Functional Limitations Predict Future Decline in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). MCI is a term used to describe a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. In MCI there are subtle changes in everyday activities that may indicate the presence of an under lying neurodegenerative condition, however patient independence is maintained. The authors review how to assess for cognitive impairment in this population and the prognostic implications of on subsequent conversion to dementia and the rate of progression of dementia.

The effects of caregiver burden are often expressed as a decline in psychological and physical health, as well as an increase in physician visits. In the article, Identifying and Managing Caregiver Burden Among Spouses of Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease Dr. Andrew Johnson et al., examines some of the predictors of caregiver burden, with a specific emphasis on the burden experienced by caregivers of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Helpful strategies for relieving caregiver burden are also reviewed.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the journal. As always, your comments and questions are welcomed.