The latest installment WBUR’s “Visionaries” series features Doug Melton, the Xander University Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, who has spent his career harnessing the power of stem cells to heal patients.
Reports of complications from robot-assisted surgery are rising, according to Massachusetts health officials who sent hospitals an “advisory” letter last week alerting them about their safety concerns. Peter Dunn, HMS assistant professor of anaesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
Nutrition, medical and culinary experts share their tips on how to mindfully eat chocolate for greater enjoyment and better health. Lilian Cheung, lecturer at HSPH and co-author of Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, and Helen Delichatsios, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, are quoted.
Doctors and nurses in the VA Boston Healthcare System are using a new program, Telehealth, to monitor the health of patients, teach them about their care and connect them to medical and specialty clinics remotely using high-tech video equipment.
Stress can harden students attitudes toward patients, but schools are trying to change that. Beth Lown, HMS associate professor of medicine at Mt. Auburn Hospital, is quoted.
In a study published last week, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health examined medical records from 50,000 women enrolled in the Nurses Health Study II and found that those who experienced the most physical, emotional, or sexual abuse as children were 60 percent more likely to have a child with autism. Andrea Roberts, research associate at HSPH, is the lead investigator.
In the last few years, medical and nursing schools have been offering sessions to help trainees learn how to convey empathy. Stephen D. Brown, HMS assistant professor of radiology; Elaine C. Meyer, HMS associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry; and David M. Browning, HMS lecturer on anaesthesia, all of Boston Children’s Hospital; and Helen Riess, HMS associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, are quoted. Author Suzanne Koven is an assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Shortening shifts for first-year interns often doesn’t cut workloads and can cause more problematic patient ‘handoffs,’ researchers say. Christopher Landrigan, HMS associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
Researchers have found that the virus that causes cold sores, along with other viral or bacterial infections, might be associated with memory loss, and if further studies establish such a link, it could eventually prove helpful in preventing strokes or Alzheimer’s disease. Alireza Atri, HMS clinical instructor in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
The New York Times published an editorial about how we need to change the way cancer care is delivered. Lowell E. Schnipper, the Theodore W. and Evelyn G. Berenson Professor of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Deborah Schrag, HMS associate professor of medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and Jennifer S. Temel, HMS associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, contributed to the article.
Joan Miller, the Henry Willard Williams Professor of Ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary was recently chosen for the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis (AOI), an academic association that limits active membership to just 70 individuals.
