Dartmouth Medicine Summer 2000
Dear Reporter, Editor, or News Director:
Inside the Summer 2000 issue of Dartmouth Medicine, (to request a printed copy, call 603-653-0772 or e-mail dartmed@Dartmouth.edu), read about:
A little-known and often misdiagnosed auditory disorder: ADHD has made the news lately because of controversy about its overdiagnosis. Just the opposite is the case with central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), the auditory version of dyslexia--the ear hears just fine, but the brain can't process sounds properly. DHMC audiologist Frank Musiek, an international leader in the research and treatment of CAPD, hopes to increase awareness of the disorder. See page 32.
Getting a better handle on how to treat back pain: A major, multicenter, $14.5-million research study based at Dartmouth aims to increase understanding about the best way to treat back pain. See page 9.
A permanent cure for heartburn: A Dartmouth gastroenterologist was the first physician in the country to use two new devices that hold considerable promise for treating heartburn. One uses a tiny sewing device and the other microwave technology--attached to an endoscope. See page 11.
The economic impact of osteoporosis: A member of the DMS faculty was asked to give expert testimony to a consensus panel of the National Institutes of Health on this debilitating disease's economic impact. Estimates of its cost range as high as $45 billion a year by 2025. See page 10.
A scientist who uses tattooed students as research subjects: The presence of carbon particles makes it possible to measure the oxygen content of tissues--which has clinical applicability, because well-oxygenated tissues respond better to radiation therapy. And since tattoo ink contains carbon, Dartmouth radiologist Hal Swartz is using tattooed students as volunteer research subjects. See page 8.
The first study ever on assisted-reproduction clinic access policies: Given the plethora of biomedical journal articles today (nearly half a million worldwide each year!), it's not often that a researcher has a chance to produce the first study ever on a subject. But Dartmouth's Judy Stern did. See page 14.
Art from eyeballs?: That may be what people say at first about ophthalmic photographer Patrick Saine's works of art--kaleidoscopic assemblages created from photographs of retinas. But then they look closer and are moved by the works' sense of order and natural progression and level of detail. Critics and galleries, too, have increasingly been moved by his work. See page 38.
Putting medical information in a palm-top organizer: Dartmouth internist Blair Brooks is heading up an effort to put a palm-sized organizer in every resident's and physician's pocket. And it will do more than keep track of their schedules and address lists. He's stocking the devices with distilled medical literature, so it will be handy whenever a thorny clinical question arises. See page 13.
A promising new treatment for diabetes: Diabetes exacts a chilling toll on society, leading to blindness, kidney failure, lower-extremity amputations, and even death. That makes Paul Beisswenger's research into a new way to reduce the incidence of diabetic complications big news. See page 50.
If you'd like to pursue any of these stories, contact:
- Hali Wickner, communications coordinator for Dartmouth Medical School, at (603) 650-1520.
- The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Office of Public Affairs, at (603) 650-7041.
Or feel free to give me a call; my direct line is (603) 650-4058.
Dana Cook Grossman,
Editor