HIV: medical milestones and clinical challenges.

Since its discovery in the 1980s, HIV has infected every continent on the globe by crossing socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and gender barriers, and it continues to contribute to human morbidity and mortality. Advances in medicine and technology have led to new combination medications for HIV-positive patients, early HIV testing methodologies, and potential for an HIV vaccine, and they have given researchers and clinicians a larger armamentarium with which to treat and prevent the disease. Even with these vast improvements in HIV prevention, detection, and treatment, scientists have been unsuccessful in developing its vaccine. Therefore, the search for a cure for HIV remains the marathon of the millennium.

Identification and treatment of scurvy: a case report.

Scurvy is a nondiscriminatory disease process resulting from a nutritional deficiency of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The severe vitamin deficiency produces a breakdown in the cellular structure of the body. This case report describes a middle-age woman with a history of edema, bruising of the lower extremities, anemia, and severe periodontal disease. Her presentation and medical history are classic for the signs of scurvy. Scurvy is now only uncommonly seen in developed countries, but there are still vulnerable populations whose nutritional status can lead to scurvy. The aim of this report is to help the clinician identify and treat scurvy, a disease that was once feared for its high mortality but is now easily treatable, even in cases that have progressed to multiple organ dysfunction and failure.