John Loewenstein, HMS associate professor of ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, participated in a Q&A about a computer program he developed to help teach medical students how to perform cataract surgery.
Scientists have located the cells in the cervix that give rise to cancer when attacked by the human papillomavirus, a discovery that may lead to new methods of preventing and treating the disease. Christopher P. Crum, HMS professor of pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is the senior author. A 2011 study by Frank McKeon, HMS professor of cell biology, is also mentioned.
Malpractice claims dipped dramatically among Massachusetts physicians after they began using electronic medical records, according to new research, although it’s not clear whether the record-keeping was connected to the decline in claims. Steven Simon, HMS associate professor of medicine at VA Boston Healthcare System, is a co-author of the study.
The malfunction at Harvard’s brain bank has been a setback for scientists studying disorders like Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia, but especially for those working on autism because it exposed what is emerging as the largest obstacle to progress: the shortage of high-quality autopsied brains from young people with a well-documented medical history.
The authors of “Almost a Psychopath” suggest that people with just a few of the dangerous characteristics of a psychopath may take a greater toll on the community than those with the real diagnosis, only because the partly psychopathic are so much more pervasive and elusive. Ronald Schouten, HMS associate professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, is one of the authors.
Mount Auburn Hospital, a teaching hospital for HMS, has been named one of America’s “100 Best Hospitals” for cardiac surgery in 2012 by HealthGrades, an independent health care ratings company.
The first total artificial heart implant in New England was performed last February at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on a 66-year-old retired high school teacher and track and field coach from the South Shore, who was diagnosed last year with a rapidly deteriorating condition that would have caused total heart failure.
Mark Boguksi, HMS associate professor of pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Center for Biomedical Informatics, spoke at a recent conference about his view that the time of the $1000 genome is over because it is reducing clinical credibility.
As electronic medical records become widespread in an effort to better coordinate care and reduce spending, there is a clash over patient privacy issues and what information should or should not be shared. David Blumenthal, Samuel O. Thier Professor of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital; John Halamka, HMS professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; and Thomas Lee, HMS professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, are quoted.
A new study points to just how crucial the correct bacteria may be for developing a robust immune system. Dennis Kasper, the William Ellery Channing Professor of Medicine at HMS, is the senior author of the paper.
