Archive for 2017

Why Is NH a Hotspot for Opioid Deaths? – Seacoast Online

Read article – Features research led by Lisa Marsch, director of the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health and professor of psychiatry and of health policy and clinical practice, in which she examined why New Hampshire ranks second in the nation in opioid deaths. Marsch recently took part in the National Drug Early Warning System HotSpot study in an effort to explain why this is happening in the state, and to find ideas to reduce the state crisis.

Social Notworking: Is Generation Smartphone Really More Prone to Unhappiness? – Scientific American

Read article – Quotes Kelly Aschbrenner, assistant professor of psychiatry and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about a new study that closely correlates mobile device use with depression and suicide. Aschbrenner, who was not involved in the study, says that the research did not delve into exactly what people might have been doing when they were using their devices. The researchers “only ask how often they’re using social media or devices. We don’t know that people are scrolling through social media and viewing content that’s upsetting them, or interacting with others in a way that makes them feel bad,” says Aschbrenner.

Should You Be Worried About the Arsenic in Your Baby Food? – The Globe and Mail

Read article – Margaret Karagas, chair and professor of epidemiology, and professor of community and family medicine, is quoted about the levels of arsenic found in rice cereal. “It’s just like lead: we don’t think there is a safe level,” says Karagas. “It’s not an essential nutrient like zinc and selenium, which you need but can be toxic if you take too much—there’s no known benefit to arsenic exposure.”

IV Drug Users Risk Loss of Sight – Seacoast Online

Read article – Quotes Michael Zegans, professor of surgery and of microbiology and immunology, and Preston Luong, Geisel ’19, about a study Zegans led that shows a link between a specific type of eye disease and the abuse of opioids. “The bacteria that resulted in EE (endogenous endophthalmitis) came mostly from that which appears naturally in the skin,” says Luong, who assisted Zegans with the study. “When the person pokes a needle in themselves, they can push the bacteria into their body.”

Should You Be Worried About the Arsenic in Your Baby Food? – The New York Times

Read article – Margaret Karagas, chair and professor of epidemiology, and professor of community and family medicine, is quoted about the levels of arsenic found in rice cereal. “It’s just like lead: we don’t think there is a safe level,” says Karagas. “It’s not an essential nutrient like zinc and selenium, which you need but can be toxic if you take too much—there’s no known benefit to arsenic exposure.”