Read article – Quotes Ellen Meara, professor of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and adjunct professor of economics, about a recent study she co-authored that found the adoption of controlled-substance laws since 2006 was not associated with a decrease in potentially hazardous opioid use, or in the number of opioid overdoses, among disabled Medicare beneficiaries.

Read article – Quotes Steven Woloshin, professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about how ads may make big-name cancer centers look unrealistically good, giving the impression that a cancer patient who does not go to one of these centers is making a mistake. “The people who these ads are targeting are really vulnerable,” so it is incumbent on the cancer centers themselves to be responsible, Woloshin said.

Read article – Quotes James Greenblatt, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry, about how working out is one of the most talked-about ways to combat depression. When you exercise, your body releases “feel good” chemicals known as endorphins, which interact with receptors in your brain that reduce the perception of pain or sadness, explains Greenblatt.

Read article – The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine inducted Freddie Fu ’74, Geisel ’75, a member of the Geisel School of Medicine’s Board of Overseers, into its Hall of Fame on Friday during its annual meeting in Colorado Springs. The society chooses inductees based on their contribution to the sports medicine field.

Read article – Cites a paper by H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and Douglas Robertson, associate professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, which found that the rate of colon cancer deaths has fallen by nearly 50 percent since its peak in the 1980s. “The magnitude of the changes alone suggests that other factors must be involved,” say Welch and Robertson. “None of the studies showing the effect of increased screening for colon cancer have indicated a 50 percent reduction in mortality, they wrote, “nor have trials for screening for any type of cancer.”

Read article – Story features Corey Siegel, associate professor of medicine and community and family medicine, about new bar and beverage products he and partners are developing to help people prep for colonoscopies. The goal, he says, is to provide a more palatable alternative to the salty, sludgy liquid patients must imbibe ahead of the procedure.

View story – As a guest on “The Exchange,” Margaret Karagas, chair and professor of epidemiology, discusses the most prevalent cancers in New Hampshire and examines who appears to be most susceptible to these cancers and how genetics, lifestyle, or environmental causes might be contributing factors in the incidence of cancer in the state.

Read article – Quotes Lisa Schwartz, professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about the world of illness inflation and how the eight common conditions that were not part of mainstream medicine 20 years ago are now said to affect more than 180 million Americans. “The formula is you have to convince people there is an incredibly prevalent problem that has been totally ignored and now, all of a sudden, we are on the verge of developing miracle treatments to fix it,” says Schwartz.

Read article – An opinion piece by Cassie Kosarek, Geisel ’20, about how students taking a gap year before medical school could save more money – but they might lose good study habits. “Mixed opinions on the gap year abound, with some arguing that there is little point in delaying the plunge into medical training. Others counter that the gap year allows students to recharge and determine whether medicine is truly right for them,” says Kosarek.

Read article – Cites a book by H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, where he talks about the problem of cancer over-diagnosis and how not all cancers are fast running rabbits that need to be caught, but some are like turtles that were never going to hurt you anyway. The article also cites a Geisel School of Medicine study that found most people survive thyroid cancer, regardless of whether they have their thyroid out.