Dartmouth Medicine Spring 2010
Dear Reporter, Editor, or News Director:
In the Spring 2010 issue of Dartmouth Medicine, read about:
Versatile drugs: Dartmouth researchers continue to identify therapeutic uses for synthetic triterpenoids, a family of drugs they helped develop that boost the human body's anti-inflammatory and antioxidant defenses. Triterpenoids were originally targeted at cancer, but in recent studies they have also shown promise against diabetes, Parkinson's disease, macular degeneration, and emphysema. See page 3.
Whatever works: People with severe mental illnesses-and their bosses-reap the rewards of supported employment, which Dartmouth's Psychiatric Research Center invented, studied, and developed. The model is now being promulgated nationwide, thanks to support from Johnson & Johnson. See page 32.
Breath of hope in TB fight: In a clinical trial among 2,000 HIV-infected patients in Tanzania, DMS investigators showed that a new vaccine reduced the rate of tuberculosis by 39%. See page 5.
Taking a (by)pass: After examining more than 2,300 lower-extremity arterial-bypass operations at 11 hospitals around northern New England, a DMS vascular surgeon and his collaborators have identified several risk factors that patients should consider before undergoing the procedure. See page 4.
Hurry up and wait . . . no more: Staff and managers of the phlebotomy labs at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center have streamlined the processes for drawing and testing blood-a boon to outpatients and practitioners alike. See page 10.
Contagious cleanliness: You can lead a clinician to hot water-or to a dispenser of hand-sanitizer-but can you make him or her lather up? Dr. Kathryn Kirkland has cajoled more and more nurses, physicians, and support staff into developing the hand-washing habit, raising Dartmouth-Hitchcock's rate of hand hygiene and cutting the hospital infection rate. Another initiative-giving surgical masks to all outpatients who report coughs-provided early warning about the onset of H1N1 flu. See page 50.
Missions of mercy: In the weeks following Haiti's magnitude-7.0 earthquake, 25 Dartmouth clinicians treated survivors and helped jumpstart the rebuilding of the medical infrastructure of the troubled Caribbean-island nation-thanks to strong financial and moral support from students, colleagues, and the leadership back home and to collaboration with the international aid group Partners in Health. See page 9.
Fishing for clues: While using the latest technology to examine and analyze genetic data, Dartmouth Medical School's Jason Moore also relies on a century-old concept about the interaction of genes to study the causes of disease. See page 26.
Last but not least: Dartmouth researchers and their collaborators have found that women who breast-fed the last of their children were 42% less likely to contract ovarian cancer than those who fed formula to all their children. See page 6.
To pursue any of these stories, contact David Corriveau, media relations manager for Dartmouth Medical School, at 603-653-0771 or David.A.Corriveau@Dartmouth.edu.
Dana Cook Grossman
Editor