Yahoo News via Reuters – Quotes Dustin Lee, postdoctoral fellow in the department of psychiatry, on a recent study which found that nearly one in five high school students in Connecticut who said they used electronic cigarettes to vaporize nicotine also used them to vaporize marijuana. “We know very little about the acute and long-term effects of high-potency THC on neurobiology and behavior,” says Lee, who was not involved in the study. “This is especially concerning for teens, who are in a critical time for development of brain structures that are integral in executive functioning.”
In the News
Payson Teens Having Babies
Payson Roundup – An article on research conducted by Lisa Jackson, Geisel ’14, which found that teens attending Payson High School (PHS) in Payson, Ariz., engage in substantially more high-risk behaviors than the national average — and suffer a much higher rate of teen pregnancies.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Geisel Name Surgery Chair
Valley News – Sandra Wong, the William W. Coon Professor of Surgical Oncology and associate chairwoman of clinical affairs at the University of Michigan Health System, has been named chairwoman of surgery and senior vice president of the surgical service line at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and chairwoman of surgery at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Her term begins Oct. 26.
Lebanon Hospitals to Affiliate: Dartmouth-Hitchcock, APD Unveil Plan to Integrate Offerings
Valley News – Quotes Peter Mason, assistant professor of community and family medicine, on the announcement that Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital will become Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s fifth affiliate, should the state approve the agreement the two institutions expect to file in September. Mason says he hopes that an affiliation would make patients’ transitions between the two hospitals “much more seamless and much more appropriate.”
Precision Medicine, Linked to DNA, Still Too Often Misses
The Boston Globe – Cites comments by Gregory Tsongalis, professor of pathology, from a meeting of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council last month on how the differences in the molecular profiles of primary tumors and their metastases, and from one spot in a tumor to another, “speak to how little we know about this disease.”
CMS: ‘Healthier People, Smarter Spending’ with ACOs
MedPage Today – Quotes Elliot Fisher, director of the Dartmouth Institute for Heath Policy and Clinical Practice, who comments that a hospital or physician group were more likely to achieve savings the longer they had participated in Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), which comprise hospitals, physicians groups, and other clinicians collaborating to coordinate care for all patients.
Vaccines Weren’t Ready for Ebola. We Can Do Better
Wired – An opinion piece by Kendall Hoyt, assistant professor of medicine, which urges governments to invest in countermeasure programs that will allow for more speedy and efficient creation of vaccines that are outbreak ready before pandemics arise and spread. Hoyt argues that “medical countermeasure programs must focus not just on innovation but also on the timeliness of innovation. Once this becomes our goal, we will run faster in our race against pathogens.”
Which Medical Schools Interview the Most Minority Applicants?
U.S. News & World Report – Geisel is listed among ranked institutions, and as one of three Ivy League schools, that interview the highest numbers of underrepresented applicants. A chart lists Geisel as having interviewed 231 minority students out of a total of 752 for fall 2014.
The Makers of Female Viagra Say the Haters Have It All Wrong
Business Insider – Quotes Lisa Schwartz, professor of medicine, on the drug flibanserin, marketed as a pink pill called Addyi, recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration after two failed attempts. Schwartz points out that despite what appeared to be feminist forces helping the approval along, the drug could be considered anti-feminist. “The strongest advocate for women would want good, safe drugs that will really help them,” she said.
Parrish Medical Center Provides Emmi Patient Education Programs
WFTV – Highlights a randomized controlled study by Geisel and Dartmouth-Hitchcock researchers supporting the value and efficacy of the Emmi programs, a series of online presentations that makes complex medical information easy to understand, and uses plain language, animation and graphics to educate patients about upcoming surgery procedures, chronic conditions, and safety. Researchers found that patients who had viewed an Emmi program about their upcoming procedure had decreased anxiety, lower sedation medication requirements, and shorter procedure times.