4.11 Antibody Review Rheumatology review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam. ANA Principles ANA (Anti-Nuclear Antibody): Non-specific antibody. Reacts against nuclear antigens, including proteins, DNA, RNA, and nucleic acid-protein complexes. Includes a group of antibodies such as anti-dsDNA, anti-histone, SSA/Ro, SSB/La, Scl-70, anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (Jo-1). Found in 20-30% of the general public without connective tissue disorder symptoms. ANA+ individuals may or may not have a rheumatologic di...
Nov 15, 2023•9 min•Season 4Ep. 11
4.10 Gout and Pseudogout Rheumotology review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam. Gout Caused by uric acid crystal deposition due to purine metabolism. Triggers inflammation when crystals precipitate in cooler joint fluid. Presents with severe, red, and swollen monoarticular joints, often in the big toe. Diagnosis through synovial fluid analysis. Acute treatment: colchicine, NSAIDs, and glucocorticoids. Preventive treatment: allopurinol, febuxostat, probenecid, and lifestyle changes. Pseudogout Resulting ...
Nov 08, 2023•19 min•Season 4Ep. 10
4.09 Rheumatologic Emergencies Rheumatology review for USMLE Step 1 Exam Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) A large vessel vasculitis, mainly in older individuals. Symptoms: headache, jaw claudication, vision loss. Ischemia from granulomas in large vessels causes vision loss. Immediate high-dose corticosteroids are crucial. Scleroderma Renal Crisis A complication of scleroderma. Symptoms: finger edema, skin tightening, sudden hypertension, rising creatinine. Renal artery fibrosis leads to high blood pre...
Nov 01, 2023•19 min•Season 4Ep. 9
1.06 Systolic Heart Murmurs Cardiovascular system review for the USMLE STEP 1 Exam Heart murmurs are caused by turbulent blood flow in the heart There are 4 different types of systolic murmurs: ventricular septal defect (VSD), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), aortic stenosis, and mitral or tricuspid regurgitation PDA produces a constant, machine-like murmur VSD produces a harsh holosystolic murmur Aortic stenosis produces a crescendo-decrescendo systolic ejection murmur Mitral and tricuspid regur...
Aug 07, 2023•11 min•Season 1Ep. 37
5.13 OCD and Related Disorders Psych review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Treat with CBT + SSRIs/SNRIs. Tic Disorders: Tourette Syndrome involves multiple motor and at least one vocal tic. Treat with Habit Reversal Therapy. Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Preoccupation with minor flaws, treat with SSRIs and CBT. Trichotillomania: Hair pulling disorder, treat with Habit Reversal Training and sometime...
Jul 27, 2023•13 min•Season 5Ep. 13
5.12 Anxiety Related Disorders Psychiatry review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Anxiety is a normal response to threats or stressors in the environment Anxiety disorders occur when anxiety causes significant distress or impairment in functioning Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) involves persistent and excessive worry about various aspects of daily life for at least 6 months, accompanied by physical symptoms Treatment for GAD typically involves a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and...
Jul 18, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 12
5.11 Eating and Feeding Disorders Psychiatry Review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Eating Disorders: Main disorders: bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Bulimia and anorexia share anxiety and compensatory behaviors. Anorexia: low body weight, fear of gaining weight, treatment involves slow refeeding. Bulimia: normal weight, signs of forced vomiting, treated with CBT and SSRIs. Binge Eating Disorder: uncontrollable eating, negative emotions, SSRIs and CBT for treatment. Feedi...
Jul 11, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 11
5.10 Mood Disorders (Depression and Bipolar) Psychiatry Review for the USMLE Step 1 exam Mood disorders are persistent disruptions in emotion, categorized into bipolar disorders and depressive disorders. Bipolar disorders are characterized by manic or hypomanic episodes, while depressive disorders feature periods of depression. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is characterized by feelings of sadness, guilt, worthlessness, and anhedonia lasting for at least two weeks. SIG E CAPS is an acronym used...
Jul 06, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 10
5.09 Schizophrenia Psychiatry review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Epidemiology: Slight male predilection (1.4:1 male to female ratio). Men present between 18-25, women between 28-35. Affects about 0.5% of the population. Symptoms: Positive symptoms: hallucinations, delusions, disorganized behavior and speech. Negative symptoms: flat affect, anhedonia, apathy, alogia, lack of interest in socialization. Cognitive symptoms: impairments in attention, executive function, working memory. Diagnosis: Crite...
Jul 04, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 9
5.08 Cluster C Personality Disorders Psychiatry review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Introduction: Cluster C personality disorders = anxious/worried. Disorders: avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, dependent. Distinguish from normal traits. Avoidant Personality Disorder: Inhibited, introverted, anxious. Fear of rejection, low self-esteem. Characteristics: avoidance, preoccupation with criticism/rejection, social ineptness. Treatment: Anti-anxiety drugs may help temporarily. Obsessive-Compulsive Personali...
Jun 29, 2023•15 min•Season 5Ep. 8
5.07 Cluster B Personality Disorders Psychiatry review for USMLE Step 1 Exam Cluster B personality disorders are the highest yield among all personality disorders. The cluster B disorders include borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. Substance abuse and comorbid mood disorders, particularly major depressive disorder (MDD), are commonly associated with cluster B disorders. Personality disorders are...
Jun 27, 2023•17 min•Season 5Ep. 7
5.06 Cluster A Personality Disorders Psychiatry review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam. The cluster A personality disorders include paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal. These disorders are characterized by individuals who are perceived as weird, awkward, and quiet. Personality disorders differ from normal personality quirks based on their negative impact on daily life, lack of awareness of the problem, and deviation from cultural expectations. Paranoid Personality Disorder: Patients are chronically su...
Jun 23, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 6
5.05 Hallucinogens (Types, Intoxication, and Withdrawal) Psychiatry review for the USME STEP 1 Exam. Hallucinogens are a diverse class of drugs that cause hallucinations and other symptoms. Common hallucinogens discussed in the podcast are LSD, marijuana, PCP, and ketamine. LSD activates serotonin receptors, causing visual and auditory hallucinations, time and reality distortions, mood elevation, and dilation of the pupils. No notable withdrawal symptoms. Marijuana acts as a depressant, stimulan...
Jun 20, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 5
5.04 Depressants (Types, Intoxication, and Withdrawal) Psychiatry review for the USMLE Step 1 exam. Depressants decrease neuronal activity in the brain. They can work by stimulating GABAergic neurons or binding to opiate receptors. Common GABA-promoting depressants: alcohol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and inhalants. Opioid depressants include heroin and morphine derivatives. Alcohol enhances GABA receptor effects, inhibits glutamate activity, and causes intoxication symptoms such as disinhib...
Jun 15, 2023•12 min•Season 5Ep. 4
5.03 Stimulants (Types, Intoxication, and Withdrawal) Psychiatry review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam. Stimulants increase CNS activity and activate the sympathetic nervous system. They can block reuptake of neurotransmitters or stimulate their release. Intoxication symptoms include agitation, dilated pupils, sweating, euphoria, hallucinations, and increased norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin levels. Prescribed stimulants: amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, and methylphenidate (used f...
Jun 13, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 3
5.02 Classical and Operant Conditioning Psychiatry review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Classical Conditioning: Pavlovian conditioning discovered by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist known for his experiments with dogs. Learning through association. Example: Conditioning dogs to respond to a noise the way they would respond to meat. Involves associating an unconditioned stimulus with a new conditioned stimulus to elicit the same response. Process of Classical Conditioning: Start with a stimulus th...
Jun 06, 2023•11 min•Season 5Ep. 2
5.01 Ego Defenses Psychiatry review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Defense mechanisms protect the unconscious part of our personality from anxiety caused by unacceptable thoughts or feelings. Ego defenses are categorized into three groups: mature, neurotic, and immature. Immature defense mechanisms include projection, regression, denial, acting out, and splitting. Projection involves attributing objectionable thoughts or emotions to others. Regression is behaving in an age-inappropriate way to avoid ...
May 31, 2023•17 min•Season 5Ep. 1
4.08 Myasthenia Gravis and Lambert Eaton Syndrome MSK/Rheumatology review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Introduction: Review of neuromuscular junction and its components: presynaptic part, postsynaptic part, synaptic cleft. Cascade of events leading to the release of acetylcholine into the synaptic cleft. Myasthenia Gravis: Autoimmune neuromuscular junction disease. Fluctuating muscle weakness, especially ocular and eyelid weakness, distal limb weakness. Antibodies target nicotinic acetylcholine rec...
May 19, 2023•10 min•Season 4Ep. 8
This high yeild podcast covers schizophrenia type disorders for the USMLE Step 1 exam. I cover the following topics: Defining psychotic symptoms: hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thoughts/speech Example of a delusional belief about a small being inside the body Schizophrenia spectrum disorders: schizophrenia, schizophreniform, and brief psychotic disorder Differentiating the disorders based on the duration of symptoms: brief (6 months) Progression from brief psychotic disorder to schi...
May 16, 2023•11 min
4.07 Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis MSK/Rheum review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Polymyositis and dermatomyositis are autoimmune inflammatory myopathies. They are caused by abnormal activation of T cells that attack skeletal muscle and both cause proximal muscle weakness, especially of the shoulders and pelvic girdle muscles. Polymyositis develops when there is abnormal activation of CD8 T cells, while dermatomyositis is primarily attacked by CD4 T cells. Both are diagnosed through a muscle biop...
May 10, 2023•10 min•Season 4Ep. 7
4.06 Osteoarthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis Rheumatology review for the USMLE Step 1 exam Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis both cause joint inflammation, joint pain, and can limit joint range of motion Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that occurs when the articular cartilage that covers the ends of bones begins to degrade and erode The most common joints affected by osteoarthritis are the hips and knees, and the distal interphalangeals of the hands are also commonly affected...
May 08, 2023•15 min•Season 4Ep. 6
4.05 Scleroderma Rheumatology review for the USMLE Step 1 exam Scleroderma is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease that causes thickening and hardening of the skin, as well as fibrosis (excess deposition of collagen and other ECM proteins) throughout the body. Autoreactive immune cells activate endothelial cells, which produce large amounts of endothelin 1, leading to overactivation of fibroblasts that overexpress collagen. It typically affects younger women (35-50 years old) with a F:...
May 03, 2023•9 min•Season 4Ep. 5
HIGH YIELD 2: Marfan's vs Homocystinuria vs Ehlers-Danlos High yield review for the USMLE Step 1 exam. Marfan's syndrome, Ehlers-danlos, and homocystinuria are three distinct diseases that affect connective tissue. They share similarities like tall stature, long fingers, scoliosis, high arched palate, chest wall deformities, joint hypermobility, and lens dislocation. Marfan's syndrome is caused by FBN1 gene mutation on chromosome 15, and it results in defective fibrillin-1. It causes aortic root...
May 01, 2023•10 min
4.04 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Rheumatology review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Marfan's syndrome, Ehlers-danlos, and homocystinuria are three distinct diseases that affect connective tissue. They share some clinical features like tall stature, long fingers, scoliosis, high arched pallet, chest wall deformities, joint hypermobility, and lens dislocation. Marfans is caused by a mutation in the FBN1 gene, resulting in defective fibrillin-1, and the main complication is aortic root dilation. Homocy...
Apr 26, 2023•11 min•Season 4Ep. 4
4.03 Large Vessel Vasculitis Rheumatology review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Vasculitis is inflammation of blood vessels Vasculitis is split into three groups based on the size of blood vessels affected: large, medium, and small vessel vasculitis Large vessel vasculitis involves inflammation of the aorta and its main branches Two distinct large vessel vasculitidies: temporal (or giant cell) arteritis and takayasu arteritis Temporal (giant cell) arteritis primarily affects older women (>60) and ...
Apr 24, 2023•5 min•Season 4Ep. 3
4.02 Medium Vessel Vasculitis Rheumatology review for the USMLE Step 1 exam. Vasculitis: inflammation of blood vessels, classified by the size of the blood vessels affected Medium vessel vasculitis affects the main visceral arteries and veins, and their initial branches Three types of medium vessel vasculitis are discussed: polyarteritis nodosa, Kawasaki disease (mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome), and Buerger disease (thromboangiitis obliterans) Polyarteritis nodosa affects middle-aged to older...
Apr 21, 2023•9 min•Season 4Ep. 2
4.01 Small Vessel Vasculitis Rheumatology review for the USMLE Step 1 exam Vasculitis is inflammation of blood vessels and is classified into three categories based on vessel size: large, medium, and small vessel vasculitis. Small vessel vasculitis affects arterioles, capillaries, and venules, leading to symptoms associated with damage to these vessels, such as palpable purpura. Five types of small vessel vasculitis include IgA vasculitis (Henoch-Schonlein Purpura), Granulomatosis with polyangii...
Apr 19, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 1
HIGH YIELD 1: Top Weird Drug Reactions Review for the USMLE Step 1 exam The podcast discusses high yield weird drug side effects that are unexpected. Cyanopsia (blue vision) with sildenafil (PDE-5 inhibitor) Hepatic necrosis with halothane (inhaled anesthetic) Tendon/cartilage damage with fluoroquinolones (antibiotics) Cinchonism with quinidine (class IA antiarrhythmic) Hemorrhagic cystitis with cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide (chemotherapeutic agents) Muscle pain and rhabdomylitis from statin u...
Apr 06, 2023•17 min
3.30 Spirochetes Microbiology review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Spirochetes are spiral or corkscrew-shaped bacteria that stain gram negative. They have a unique endoflagella that distinguishes them from other species of bacteria. The endoflagella rotates within the periplasmic space and causes the bacteria to move, acting as its own propeller. Borrelia burgdorferi, Treponema pallidum, and Leptospira interrogans are the three important species of spirochetes to know. Borrelia burgdorferi causes Ly...
Apr 04, 2023•15 min•Season 3Ep. 30
3.29 Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma Microbiology review for the USMLE Step 1 Exam Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma are bacteria without cell walls, making them invisible to gram stain. They cause respiratory and genital infections and have a cell membrane containing cholesterol. Main species causing infections in humans include Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma hominis, and Ureaplasma urealyticum. Mycoplasma pneumoniae causes atypical pneumonia and is spread through respiratory drople...
Mar 27, 2023•6 min•Season 3Ep. 29
