Understanding Mechanisms of Disease

[greentealeaves]

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What is the best resource by which to figure out the actual mechanism of a disease. Amboss seems to cursory. UpToDate doesn't always have the actual mechanisms and seems more clinical in nature (focusing say on clinical presentations and lab values as opposed to why those presentations manifest or lab values occur). Wikipedia can be hit or miss. Big Robbins doesn't always have an explanation for why something occurs either (say neurological deficits in cobalamin deficiency). Does anyne have any good resources that have good explanations as to why a particular disease manfiests the way it does?

 

[DrStephenStrange]

You gotta understand that not all diseases are fully understood. If you've searched everywhere and can't find a detailed explanation on how a disease develops, chances are it is still a poorly understood process.

 

[7331poas]

If it isnt in robbins, it isnt well understood.

if you really want to look into it then your next step is pubmed.

 

[Goro]

What is the best resource by which to figure out the actual mechanism of a disease. Amboss seems to cursory. UpToDate doesn't always have the actual mechanisms and seems more clinical in nature (focusing say on clinical presentations and lab values as opposed to why those presentations manifest or lab values occur). Wikipedia can be hit or miss. Big Robbins doesn't always have an explanation for why something occurs either (say neurological deficits in cobalamin deficiency). Does anyne have any good resources that have good explanations as to why a particular disease manfiests the way it does?

Go to pubmed

type in "pathogenesis of ...[disease]" AND Review.

Click Review in Article Types in the upper left, then Human under species just below that

Profit.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Go to pubmed

type in "pathogenesis of ...[disease]" AND Review.

Click Review in Article Types in the upper left, then Human under species just below that

Profit.

The elusive third step!

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Go to pubmed

type in "pathogenesis of ...[disease]" AND Review.

Click Review in Article Types in the upper left, then Human under species just below that

Profit.

This. It's time-consuming, but if you want to truly understand, you have to dig though the primary literature.

 

[aldol16]

UptoDate actually does do a pretty good job of summarizing pathophysiology for most diseases for which the pathophys is known. It'll even tell you in instances where the pathophys isn't known. If that's not enough, then you should think about the disease more from basic physiology principles and see if you can figure out a way to rationalize it yourself. That in my opinion is the most rewarding way to figure it out.

 

[Jesus1]

I actually found Rapid Review Path by Goljan to be quite helpful with many of these things in med school. And it is more succinct than Robbins.

 

[libertyyne]

This. It's time-consuming, but if you want to truly understand, you have to dig though the primary literature.

I mean even the primary literature can have very vague understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and just have proposed sometimes competing mechanism. Sometimes it's a crapshoot all the way down.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I mean even the primary literature can have very vague understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and just have proposed sometimes competing mechanism. Sometimes it's a crapshoot all the way down.

Agreed. Understanding the natural history of the disease is even more elusive. That mostly comes second hand via years of experience, consulting colleagues, and new literature. Patients will ask you how this disease/process will affect my life after treatment. Often difficult to research the answer.

 

[OrgoCoop]

I feel like UpToDate generally has a nice little blurb on each disease’s basic science without going into excessive details