The first publicly released findings from the largest mental-health study conducted by the military gave a sobering picture of the prevalence of mental disorders and suicide indicators among active-duty troops. Ronald Kessler, the McNeil Family Professor of Health Care Policy, is the lead author.
It may be a good idea to get a blood pressure reading in both arms rather than just one. A difference in those readings, a new study suggests, is an independent risk factor for heart disease. Ido Weinberg, instructor in medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the lead author.
In the past year or so, researchers have discovered that the bacterial system can be harnessed to make precise changes to the DNA of humans, as well as other animals and plants. A system called Crispr is being used to make genetically engineered laboratory animals more easily than could be done before, with changes in multiple genes. George Church, Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics, is quoted.
A new study based on genetic testing of 150,000 people has found a rare mutation that protects even fat people from getting Type 2 diabetes. The effect is so pronounced — the mutation reduces risk by two-thirds — that it provides a promising new target for developing a drug to mimic the mutation’s effect. David Altshuler, professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the lead author of the study.
The Harvard Medical Student Review—a new, online student-run and peer-reviewed medical journal—will launch Monday under the leadership of HMS, HSDM, and students and staff from HSPH. The founders of the Review include HMS students Noor M. R. Beckwith, Omar Abudayyeh, and Jay Kumar and HMS teaching assistant Adam Frange. Jeffrey S. Flier, dean of the faculty of medicine at Harvard University, and Nancy E. Oriol, dean for students at HMS, are quoted.
Bucknam McPeek, associate clinical professor of anaesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital, died on Dec. 26 at the age of 80. Emery Brown, the Warren M. Zapol Professor of Anaesthesia, and Edward Lowenstein, the Henry Isaiah Dorr Distinguished Professor of Research and Teaching in Anaesthetics and Anaesthesia, both of Massachusetts General Hospital, are quoted.
Emboldened by stories circulated through Facebook, Twitter and the news media about children with seizure disorders who have been successfully treated with a special oil extract made from cannabis plants, mothers have become the new face of the medical marijuana movement. Sharon Levy, assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
Lester Grinspoon, associate professor of psychiatry, emeritus, has written an open letter to NFL commissioner Roger Godell urging him to listen to evidence of cannabis as a successful treatment for long-term head trauma.
The decision of whether or not to undergo genetic testing is personal. But whether or not to share results extends far beyond the patient. Heidi Rehm, associate professor of pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
