As genetic testing spreads, revolutionizing how doctors recognize and treat illness, this deeply reported story finds the insurance industry in a muddle. A genetic test one insurer calls “actionable,” another considers “unnecessary.” Some will pay to test sick patients, but not to find out who’s at risk of a disease. Barrett Rollins, HMS professor of medicine and chief scientific officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Allison Cirino, genetic counselor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, are quoted.
Doctors are divided on the issue of whether obesity is a disease. Some say it is indeed a disease, with causes beyond eating too much and exercising too little, and consequences that harm the body like any medical condition and others argue obesity is a risk factor for health problems, but not a disease itself. Pieter Cohen, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance, is quoted.
The stem cell bank that was a marquee piece of Governor Deval Patrick’s effort to bolster the life sciences industry will run out of funding at the end of the year and close, state and University of Massachusetts Medical School officials said Wednesday. George Q. Daley, HMS professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
The U.S Supreme Court decision on Thursday upholding President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul raises the curtain on act two, November’s general election, Harvard faculty members said. The ruling pushes the issue to the center of the political stage, even as it boosts the president’s leadership credentials. Michael Chernew, HMS professor of health care policy, is quoted. Article includes a link to a Q&A with Michael Chernew.
Deane Marchbein, HMS clinical instructor in anaesthesia at Cambridge Health Alliance, was recently elected president of the board of directors for Doctors Without Borders USA.
Harry Levinson, HMS clinical professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Emeritus, a psychologist who helped change corporate America’s thinking about the workplace by demonstrating a link between job conditions and emotional health — a progressive notion when he began developing his ideas in the 1950s — died on Tuesday at the age of 90.
In a new study, researchers suggest that studying brainwaves could be used to diagnose autism in children. Frank H. Duffy, HMS associate professor of neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital, is the author of the study. A new study by Charles Nelson, HMS professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is also featured.
Kevin Eggan, associate professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at FAS and Massachusetts General Hospital, is profiled for his work specializing in the study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and how he is using stem cells as an important tool for understanding the progression of the disease.
New research suggests that drinking coffee may help prevent heart failure. Murray Mittleman, HMS associate professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is the senior author.
