New research in mice suggests that redheaded people may be more susceptible to the dangerous type of skin cancer known as melanoma, even if they don’t spend a lot of time in the sun. David Fisher, chair of the Department of Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, led the study.
John Z. Ayanian, HMS professor of health care policy, has been recruited to be the first director of the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.
Researchers have developed a new type of medical tape that can be removed without damaging delicate skin. Jeffrey Karp, HMS associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Robert Langer, HMS senior lecturer on surgery, were on the team.
Proton therapy can be targeted much more precisely in treating prostate cancer and the hope is that it translates into far fewer side effects, such as impotence and incontinence. But proton therapy has become the center of an intense debate.Anthony Zietman, the Jenot W. and William U. Shipley Professor of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
The following HMS researchers are quoted in this article on managing back pain: Steven Atlas, associate professor of medicine; Ann Webster, instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry; and Frederick Mansfield, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery, all of Massachusetts General Hospital; Alec Meleger, instructor in physical medicine and rehabilitation and Carol Hartigan, assistant clinical professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, both of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.
Weight-loss programs can help even very young children slim down, and it appears that acting early may improve the odds of success, according to a pair of new studies. Elsie Taveras, HMS associate professor of population medicine, co-wrote an editorial on the findings.
An implant system called Braingate that reads brain activity led by Leigh Hochberg, HMS visiting associate professor of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Clinical Query, a program that turns medical records into a searchable database led by John Halamka, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and HMS professor of medicine, are mentioned as two of the medical breakthroughs of the year by The Boston Globe Magazine.
Doctors can often figure out pretty quickly where cancer started — most commonly the lung, breast, colon, or prostate — and the treatment is targeted to that particular form of the disease. But for others, the doctors can’t pinpoint the cancer’s origin in any of the usual ways, making it difficult, if not impossible, to treat. That’s cancer of unknown primary, or CUP. The profiled patient’s treatment by Alexi Wright, HMS instructor in medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is mentioned.
A public forum took place at HMS yesterday about Question 2 on this November’s general election ballot for Massachusetts, known as the “Death With Dignity” Initiative. Panelists included: Lachlan Forrow, HMS associate professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Marcia Angell, HMS senior lecturer on social medicine; Robert D. Truog, HMS professor of anaesthesia (pediatrics) at Boston Children’s Hospital; and Christine Mitchell, HMS associate director of clinical ethics in the Department of Social Medicine. Gary S. Gray, director, technology and innovation of Harvard Catalyst, is also quoted.
Recognizing the possibility of failure is a key to excellence in both teaching and medicine, Atul Gawande, HMS professor of surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said at a lecture at the Graduate School of Education Wednesday.
Partners HealthCare System has struck a new four-year contract with insurer Harvard Pilgrim Health Care that both sides said will help control Massachusetts health care costs by putting Partners’ large hospitals and doctors practices on budgets and limiting future reimbursement increases to between 2 and 3 percent annually, roughly the rate of inflation.
Physician health programs in most states are designed to help doctors with substance-use and other problems get the care they need and, when appropriate, return to work while protecting patient safety. But two Harvard doctors who have been involved with the Massachusetts program say there is too little oversight of operations in programs across the country and no clear standards. J. Wesley Boyd, HMS assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance and John R. Knight, HMS associate professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, authored a review article about this issue.
