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Monthly Archives :

May 2015

Talking to Adolescent Patients About Marijuana
 Talking to Adolescent Patients About Marijuana 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

With legalization spreading across the United States, it’s hard to know what to say to teens curious about marijuana. Legal in 23 states and the District of Columbia. Renowned in pop culture. Affectionately called everything from “wacky tobaccy” to “hippie lettuce.” Marijuana isn’t going away. Despite its popularity and availability, many youths — and clinicians…

Do You Believe in Integrated Health Care?
 Do You Believe in Integrated Health Care? 150 150 Miguel Saps, MD
By: Miguel Saps, MD

Patients are more than a segregated set of organ systems. Treating them as whole beings requires the practice of integrated medicine. I believe in an integrated approach to health care. The care of patients is often envisioned as fractionated, with different specialists taking care of different organs or organ systems — a model that I…

A Watershed Moment for Cancer Virotherapy
 A Watershed Moment for Cancer Virotherapy 150 150 Timothy Cripe, MD, PhD
By: Timothy Cripe, MD, PhD

A recent decision may define the future of virotherapy’s role in the clinical treatment of cancer. At 4:50 pm on Wednesday, April 29 2015, the votes were cast: 22 in favor, 1 against. With this overwhelming majority, an advisory committee sent a clear message to the FDA recommending the first marketing approval for a live virus cancer…

Crohn’s Disease Not Exempt From Racial Disparities
 Crohn’s Disease Not Exempt From Racial Disparities 150 150 Gina Bericchia
By: Gina Bericchia

Disparities exist among pediatric Crohn’s patients of different races for a number of health care metrics. A study published in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases found significant differences in hospital readmissions, medication usage and both medical and surgical complications of children with Crohn’s disease related to race. In the study, black children had a 1.5 times higher frequency…

Technology Expands Access to Translational Medicine
 Technology Expands Access to Translational Medicine 150 150 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

When primary care physicians, specialists and all the lab work in their arsenal fail to provide a diagnosis for debilitating symptoms, patients earn the label of “undiagnosed.” These undiagnosed patients wait with unresolved symptoms for medical research to catch up with them. The Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP) at the National Institutes of Health sees 120-150 previously undefined…