Human health and medicine

Star excursion balance test

The star excursion balance test (SEBT) is a clinical test of dynamic postural control: balancing on one leg while reaching maximally with the other along taped floor lines.

Star of Life: blue six-barred EMS symbol with the Rod of Asclepius, designed by Leo R. Schwartz of NHTSA after a 1973 Red Cross complaint, adapted from the AMA medical identification symbol, registered as a US certification mark February 1, 1977; each bar is one of six EMS functions.

STARD statement

The STARD statement is a reporting guideline specifying what authors should include in diagnostic accuracy studies, first published in 2003 and adopted by over 200 biomedical journals.

Stargardt disease

Stargardt disease (STGD1, fundus flavimaculatus), also called Stargardt macular degeneration or juvenile macular degeneration, is an inherited ABCA4-related retinal dystrophy causing childhood-onset central vision loss from lipofuscin buildup in the macula, with no approved treatment.

Starling equation

Starling equation: Jv = LpS[(Pc−Pi) − σ(πc−πi)], Ernest Starling's 1896 law of capillary fluid exchange balancing hydrostatic and oncotic pressures; revised with the glycocalyx model and lymphatic return.

START 1 trial

START 1 (NCT06419777) is a Thomas Jefferson University randomized trial comparing strict (two or more abnormal glucose values weekly) versus permissive (50% elevated weekly) thresholds for starting pharmacotherapy in gestational diabetes, enrolling 430 participants.

START trial (NCT00867048)

START (NCT00867048), the INSIGHT Strategic Timing of AntiRetroviral Treatment trial, randomized 4,685 HIV-positive adults with CD4 >500 cells/mm3 to immediate versus deferred ART; immediate treatment cut serious illness or death by 57% (HR 0.43).

START trial (NCT05902000)

START (NCT05902000), Stent Implantation Versus Balloon Dilation for Acute Anterior Circulation Tandem Occlusion, is a Chinese randomized open-label blinded-endpoint trial (222 patients, Lishui) testing emergency carotid stenting after thrombectomy versus balloon dilation alone for tandem-occlusion stroke.

START-NEW-ERA trial

START-NEW-ERA (NCT05291780; also STARTNEWERA-OM, NCT06207292) is a single-arm phase II trial from Terni, Italy, testing SABR in unresectable locally advanced and oligoprogressive NSCLC unfit for concurrent chemoradiotherapy, reporting 5-year overall survival of 50% without significant toxicity.

START-RUN1 trial

START-RUN1 (NCT06873685) is an Italian, non-controlled interventional trial by Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico testing robotic rehabilitation, nutrition, and quality of life after surgery for localized soft tissue sarcoma; 120 patients, recruiting since March 2025.

Startle epilepsy

Startle epilepsy, a rare reflex epilepsy (ICD-10 G40.5, ICD-11 8A61.40), causes tonic seizures triggered by sudden startle stimuli, mostly auditory, with falls, spastic plegia, intellectual disability, and refractory seizures.

Startle Reflex

The startle reflex is an automatic whole-body reaction to a sudden intense stimulus, causing muscle contraction, limb flexion, eye blinking, and autonomic changes like accelerated heart rate.

STARTNEWERA-OM trial

STARTNEWERA-OM (NCT06207292), also START-NEW-ERA #OLIGO, is a single-arm Italian phase II trial of SABR for synchronous/metachronous and oligo-progressive NSCLC; 80 patients, median new systemic therapy-free survival 34 months.

Starvation

Starvation: severe lack of food that can cause death. Covers IPC famine thresholds, global hunger figures (645 million in 2025), refeeding syndrome, the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, and long-term famine effects.

Stasis dermatitis

Stasis dermatitis, also called venous or gravitational eczema, is a chronic inflammatory skin condition of the lower legs caused by chronic venous insufficiency, usually in elderly people.

State and local food assistance programs in the United States

State and local food assistance programs are state, county, and municipal nutrition benefits beyond federal SNAP and WIC, including state aid for immigrants excluded from SNAP and produce incentives.

State Hospitals

State hospitals are hospitals controlled by state government agencies (MeSH: Hospitals, State). In the US the term chiefly means state psychiatric hospitals, down to 36,150 beds in 2023; elsewhere it covers public acute-care hospitals compared with private providers.

State Medicine

State medicine, also called socialized medicine, is medical care regulated, financed, and controlled by a national government, with the British National Health Service as its principal example.

States associated with artificial menopause

States associated with artificial menopause (ICD-11 GA30.3; ICD-10-CM N95.3) covers conditions caused by surgically or pharmacologically induced cessation of menstruation, including surgical menopause after bilateral oophorectomy and menopause from chemotherapy, pelvic radiation, or hormone therapy.

Static perimetry

Static perimetry, also known as standard automated perimetry, is an ophthalmic test measuring visual field sensitivity at fixed grid locations, the clinical standard for glaucoma since the 1980s.

Static posturography

Static posturography, also called stabilometry, is a noninvasive test that measures body sway during quiet standing on a force platform, used to assess balance in vestibular and neurological disorders.

Static stretching

Static stretching is a flexibility exercise in which a muscle is held in a lengthened position without movement; it improves range of motion but can briefly reduce strength.

STATICBREAST study

STATICBREAST (NCT04515888) is a completed French observational study by Institut du Cancer de Montpellier assessing the prevalence of pelvic static (pelvic floor) disorders and quality of life in women with localized breast cancer on adjuvant hormone therapy, using PFDI-20 and PFIQ-7 questionnaires.

Statin

Statin: HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor lowering LDL cholesterol; first statin mevastatin from Penicillium citrinum (Endo, 1970s), lovastatin FDA-approved 1987; first-line therapy for ASCVD prevention per 2026 ACC/AHA dyslipidemia guideline.

Stationary beam radiation therapy

Stationary beam radiation therapy is an external beam radiotherapy technique in which the machine delivers radiation from fixed beam positions without rotating, used for palliative, superficial, and total body treatments.

Stationary bicycle

Stationary bicycle (exercise bike, spin bike): an indoor cycling machine using friction, magnetic, hydraulic, or air resistance. Covers flywheel mechanics, wattage accuracy, calorie burn, bike types, health evidence, and 2025 connected-fitness market changes.

Statistical parametric mapping

Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) is a framework and MATLAB package that applies statistical tests at every voxel of PET or fMRI data to map significant brain activity.

Statistics of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Statistics of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: U.S. excess mortality, hospitalization, and death counts. Nearly 1.7 million excess deaths March 2020-2022; highest per capita excess mortality (283 per 100,000, 2020-2021) among wealthy OECD peers; about 16% of early COVID deaths uncounted.

Status epilepticus

Status epilepticus (SE), a prolonged or recurrent seizure emergency defined by ILAE 2015 (5 minutes for tonic-clonic seizures), treated with benzodiazepines then levetiracetam, fosphenytoin, or valproate, with about 20% mortality.