A binge-eating fish in Mexico shares a genetic mutation found in people with insatiable appetites that leads to obesity, researchers have found. Clifford Tabin, head of the Department of Genetics and George Jacob and Jacqueline Hazel Leder Professor of Geneticsis, is lead author of the study. Nicolas Rohner, research fellow in genetics, and Ariel Aspiras, research assistant in genetics, are study coauthors.
A recent recommendation from doctors in the United Kingdom raised eyebrows in the United States: The British National Health Service says healthy women with straightforward pregnancies are better off staying out of the hospital to deliver their babies. Neel Shah, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is quoted.
Darryl Talley, former team captain for many years with the Buffalo Bills, opened a discussion about his struggle with depression and other illnesses that are affecting his quality of life and the lives of many former NFL players. He is an unexpected face that could now be associated with what¹s becoming an epidemic for retired players of his age and beyond. Ross Zafonte, Earle P. and Ida S. Charlton Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and head of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Spaulding Rehabilitation, is mentioned.
Coloring books for adults have been around for decades. Fuelled to some degree by social media and by marketing that associates them with such therapeutic ends as anxiety- and stress-reduction has created a massive new industry category. Susan Linn, instructor in psychiatry at Children’s Hospital Boston, is quoted.
A little more than two years after the announcement of a landmark partnership between the NFL and Harvard Medical School for a long-term study on the aftereffects of football on retired players, it is progressing better than many involved expected. Bill Meehan, assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted. Martha Murray, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital; Aaron Baggish, assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital; Gary Strangman, associate professor of psychology at Mass General; and Kun Ping Lu, professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, are leading pilot studies.
The same forces that have made instant messaging and video calls part of daily life for many Americans are now shaking up basic medical care. Ateev Mehrotra, associate professor of health care policy, is quoted.
The House of Representatives is planning to consider a bill Friday that could give a big cash infusion to medical research, which has been struggling in recent years. But the bill would also tweak the government’s drug approval process in a way that makes some researchers nervous. Jerry Avorn, professor of medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
In an audit that is believed to be the first of its kind, Harvard Medical School researchers have tested 23 online “symptom checkers” and found that, though the programs varied widely in accuracy of diagnoses and triage advice, as a whole they were astonishingly inaccurate. Hannah Semigran, research assistant in health care policy, and Ateev Mehrotra, associate professor of health care policy, are the study coauthors.
Elderly patients may be willing to let family members access their medical records and make decisions on their behalf, but they also want to retain granular control of their health information, a study suggests. Bradley Crotty, instructor in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, led the research.
