A recent study suggests that African Americans are more likely to experience “short” sleep—defined as fewer than seven hours per night—than white Americans. Susan Redline, the Peter C. Farrell Professor of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is one of the study’s authors.
Jane Weeks, HMS professor of medicine, who was director of the McGraw/Patterson Center for Population Sciences at Dana-Farber, and also taught at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, died of cancer on Sept. 10 in her Boston home. She was 61.
A new imaging study reveals abnormalities in the white matter of brains of people with schizophrenia. Dost Ongur, HMS associate professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital, is the senior author.
This week’s Ask an Expert features Orfeu Marcello Buxton, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who will answer questions about the causes and health consequences of sleep deficiency, particularly in middle age. The answers will be posted on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Novartis is returning to an area of medical research that has defeated drug companies time and again over the past decade: diseases of the brain — from depression to Parkinson’s — that affect millions of people worldwide. Steven E. Hyman, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at FAS, is quoted.
Colonoscopy is more effective than less-invasive sigmoidoscopy in preventing colorectal tumors and death, according to a study that supports recommendations for screening every 10 years. Andrew Chan, HMS associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, is one of the senior authors of the paper.
“Brains on Trial with Alan Alda” takes a fictitious crime – a convenience store robbery that goes horribly wrong – and builds from it a gripping courtroom drama. As the trial unfolds it takes us into the brains of the major participants – defendant, witnesses, jurors, judge – while Alan Alda visits the laboratories of some dozen neuroscientists exploring how brains work when they become entangled with the law. Eugene Beresin, HMS professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, appeared in the episode and also served as a script consultant.
Small businesses offering health insurance tend to require their employees to cover significantly more out-of-pocket than do big companies—and new limits imposed by the health-care law likely won’t ease the pain. Alison Galbraith, HMS assistant professor of population medicine, is quoted.
