In recent years, modern medicine has made huge strides in helping chronically ill children live longer. That’s good news for many kids and their families. But when it comes to managing pain, emotional distress and discomfort, the news is less good. Jerome Groopman, the Dina and Raphael Recanati Professor of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Joanne Wolfe, associate professor of pediatrics at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, were recently guests on Radio Boston to discuss this issue.
As New Year’s resolution enthusiasm wears off, are your healthy eating goals and strategies effectively sticking around? Boston-based clinical psychologist Monica O’Neal will answer readers’ questions on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 1 p.m. She’ll talk about effective goal-setting and understanding emotional relationships with food. O’Neal is a clinical instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance.
Arnold Relman, professor of medicine, emeritus, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, describes his hospitalization at Massachusetts General Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.
Back pain treatment can be costly, and it frequently includes the overuse of treatments unsupported by clinical guidelines, according to a new study. Bruce E. Landon, professor of health care policy, and John Mafi, instructor in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, are authors of the study.
Patients might assume that all approved drugs are created equal. Yet new research finds that there can be big differences in the amount of testing that drugs and medical devices go through before being approved or given to patients. Aaron Kesselheim, assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is the author of one of the studies.
The term “X chromosome” has an air of mystery to it, and rightly so. Today, scientists know the X chromosome much better. It’s part of the system that determines whether we become male or female. But the X chromosome remains mysterious. Research by Jeannie T. Lee, professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital, is cited.
Suzanne Koven, assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, authored this piece about Anne Thorndike’s research labeling every food and drink at MGH cafeterias with a red, yellow, or green dot signifying unhealthy, moderately healthy, and more healthy choices, respectively. Thorndike is an assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.
UVA exposure reduces human blood pressure by releasing nitric oxide metabolites from storage in the skin. Thomas Michel, professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
It may come as a surprise that Finland — one of the least polluted, wealthiest countries, where average life expectancy is among the world’s highest — has the highest rate of Type 1 diabetes. Some researchers suspect there may be a connection between Finland’s cleanliness and the incidence of the disease there. Ramnik Xavier, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine in the Field of Gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
Annie Brewster, instructor in medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, authored this piece about a patient with West Nile Virus who received his care at MGH and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Brewster is also a producer of the audio and founder of Health Story Collaborative, a nonprofit dedicated to harnessing the healing power of stories.
