Dartmouth Medicine Winter 2001
Dear Reporter, Editor, or News Director:
Inside the Winter 2001 issue of Dartmouth Medicine (to request a printed copy, call 603-653-0772 or e-mail dartmed@Dartmouth.edu), read about:
A new class of genes: A pair of Dartmouth geneticists has discovered a new family of unusually small genes. They've been found in worms, flies, and humans and may even play a role in the development of heart tissue and heart diseases. See page 8.
To chemo or not to chemo?: That question--whether chemotherapy after breast-cancer surgery proffers enough extended life to offset its toxic side effects--was recently answered by a Dartmouth statistician. He was able to quantify the quality-of-life trade-off between chemotherapy's risks and benefits and to answer the question above with a "yes." See page 11.
Why pediatricians wear wild ties: Five Dartmouth doctors wax hilarious about pediatricians' penchant for catchy neckwear. And there's a serious reason or two besides. See page 8.
Are neonatologists located where they're needed?: A team of Dartmouth researchers has determined that the nation's neonatology resources are unevenly distributed--from a low of 1.2 per 10,000 live births to a high of 25.6--and are not concentrated where there are the most high-risk newborns. See page 12.
Testing testosterone as a treatment for fibromyalgia: Dartmouth immunologist Hillary White first tried her innovative treatment for fibromyalgia on herself, and now she's heading a clinical trial to see if the male hormone testosterone can help other sufferers of the syndrome, too. See page 13.
Why you might want to consider not getting screened for cancer: A nationally noted outcomes researcher explains the complex factors that should be weighed in deciding whether or not to be screened for cancer. It's not an open-and-shut case, as many people believe. See page 27.
Psychiatric insights regarding Tony Soprano: The Emmy Award-winning hit The Sopranos, about a New Jersey Mafioso who suffers from panic attacks, has benefited since its inception from expert advice from a Dartmouth psychiatrist. See page 15.
Surgery survival for senior citizens: Elective surgery for older patients is a far more risky prospect than had been previously thought, according to a new Dartmouth study that analyzed operative mortality data on 1.2 million Medicare patients. See page 14.
Caring for Kosova: Two and a half years ago, the bombs stopped falling and the guns fell silent in the troubled Balkans--and Dartmouth Medical School stepped in to help the embattled province of Kosova rebuild its devastated medical school and university hospital. Some enduring relationships have been forged in that time. See page 28.
If you'd like to pursue any of these stories, you can contact:
- Hali Wickner, communications director for Dartmouth Medical School, at 603/650-1520.
- The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Office of Public Affairs, at 603/653-1910.
Or feel free to give me a call; my direct line is 603/650-4058.
Dana Cook Grossman,
Editor