Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers say that health care reform hasn’t affected the health of those with chronic diseases. Tomasz P. Stryjewski, clinical fellow in ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, is the lead author of the study. J. Frank Wharam, assistant professor of population medicine, is the senior author.
Emergency treatments delivered in ambulances that offer “Advanced Life Support” for cardiac arrest may be linked to more death, comas and brain damage than those providing “Basic Life Support.” Prachi Sanghavi, a PhD student in the Harvard Program in Health Policy, is lead author of the study.
Studies show that older African Americans are almost twice as likely as whites to develop Alzheimer’s disease for genetic, biological and socioeconomic reasons. Yet relatively few African Americans want to talk about Alzheimer’s, which is the leading cause of dementia. For historical reasons, even fewer want to participate in clinical research trials that could deliver benefits to themselves and future generations. Reisa A. Sperling, professor of neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted. Sperling is the principal investigator of a study involving 60 sites in the United States, Canada and Australia attempting to learn whether regular transfusions of an antibody will stop the cascading series of events that lead to memory loss, cognitive impairment and, eventually, death.
The anywhere, anytime gambling culture has changed the face of the industry over the past 15 years and brought fresh temptations to those who struggle to prevent a harmless flutter from becoming a dangerous addiction. HMS researchers have spent almost a decade working for online gambling company Bwin.Party to create an algorithm capable of identifying gambling addiction behavior, with a view to addressing customer issues before they become too entrenched. Howard Shaffer, associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, is one of the researchers.
New scrutiny over morcellator tool used in hysterectomies may save lives, but some women pay the grim price for decisions made before alarms rang. Christopher Awtrey, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is quoted.
Our growing reliance on computer automation may be exacting a high price. Worrisome evidence suggests that our own intelligence is withering as we become more dependent on the artificial variety. Research by Beth Lown, associate professor of medicine at Mount Auburn Hospital, is cited.
Though they seem rare, kids’ cancers have a huge impact; cancer is the second-leading cause of death among children, after accidents. Yet very few new drugs are developed specifically for kids’ cancers; most drugs used for childhood cancer aren’t approved for use in kids. Stephen Sallan, professor of pediatrics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is quoted.
A group at Boston Children’s Hospital is among four finalists in the inaugural Health Acceleration Challenge hosted by Harvard Business School and Harvard Medical School. The team from Boston Children’s developed a training system to reduce communication errors among doctors. Amy Starmer, lecturer on pediatrica at Boston Children’s Hospital, is the creator of the training system.
Some low-cost generic drugs that have helped restrain health care costs for decades are seeing unexpected price spikes of up to 8,000 percent, prompting a backlash from patients, pharmacists and now Washington lawmakers. Aaron Kesselheim, associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is mentioned.
