Expanding the number of young adults with health insurance appears to have improved their health and saved them money, according to a new study that is among the first to measure the effect of the healthcare law that President Obama signed four years ago. Kao-Ping Chua, clinical fellow in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is the lead author of the study. Benjamin Sommers, assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, also co-authored the new paper.
Arnold Relman, professor of medicine, emeritus, who led the New England Journal of Medicine for more than 13 years, died of cancer early Tuesday on his 91st birthday.
Kenneth Mayer, professor of medicine at Fenway Community Health Center, authored this opinion piece for The New York Times’ Room for Debate section about the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to curb H.I.V. infections and AIDS.
As Lyme disease becomes an increasingly challenging public health threat across the Northeast, a growing number of tests for the vexing ailment may be misdiagnosing patients when telling them that they have – or don’t have – the tick-borne illness. Andrew Onderdonk, professor of pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
Sonya Kurzweil, clinical instructor in psychology at Cambridge Health Alliance, authored this piece that offers five tips on parenting and digital media.
Confusion about cholesterol is common: Surveys of adults around the world show that although most people are concerned about their cholesterol, fewer than half know recommended cholesterol levels or understand what those numbers mean for their health. Dariush Mozaffarian, associate professor of medicine, and Paul Ridker, the Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine, both of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, are quoted.
While Americans have embraced wearable health devices that keep track of the minutiae of daily fitness routines and diets, they’ve been slower to trust online storage of their mental health records, mammogram reports, and prescriptions. An HMS study is cited. Bradley Crotty, instructor in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is quoted.
An artificial pancreas developed by Boston researchers shows considerable promise to dramatically change the treatment of type 1 diabetes, potentially enabling 2 million Americans to eat what they want without counting carbohydrates or calculating insulin injections, researchers announced Sunday. Steven Russell, assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, led the study. Howard Wolpert, associate professor of medicine at Joslin Diabetes Center, reviewed the paper.
Patients are discussing what is called wind turbine syndrome (WTS), a condition said to be caused by “infrasound,” an inaudible low-frequency sound produced by the turbines. Sufferers complain about symptoms like insomnia, vertigo, headaches and disorientation. Steven Rauch, professor of otology and laryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, is quoted.
Two small studies provide more evidence that weight-loss surgery may benefit people who are obese and have diabetes. Allison Goldfine, associate professor of medicine at Joslin Diabetes Center, was one of the researchers.
Drawbacks of widespread breast cancer screening may outweigh its ability to save lives. An article by Nancy Keating, associate professor of health care policy, and Lydia Pace, research fellow in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is cited. Eric Winer, professor of medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is also quoted.
