PBS NewsHour
Will the NFL be safer this year?
9/4/14
PBS anchor Jeffrey Brown talked about the National Football League’s new rules aimed at preventing head injuries with Dr. Matthew Matava, president of NFL Physician Society, St. Louis Rams’ team physician and WUSM orthopedic surgeon.
Huffington Post
A Main Street way to help obese people
8/25/14
Bariatric surgery is recommended as a weight-loss treatment for morbidly obese people, and according to statistics, the procedure is safer now than it was in 2005. A study published in the March 2014 issue of JAMA Surgery cited the work of lead researcher Dr. Su-Hsin Chang that concluded “death rates are, in general, very low.”
NPR
How Ebola kills you: It’s not the virus
8/26/14
WUSM virologist Dr. Gaya Amarasinghe and colleagues discovered how the Ebola virus affects the body. The virus immediately zeroes in on and infects cells of the immune system, keeping it from doing its job. Other outlets:
Huffington Post Related WUSM news release
Fox News
Uninformed breast cancer patients more apt to consider removing unaffected breast
More than half of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer consider removing the second, unaffected breast to keep cancer from spreading. According to a new survey, they tend to have more anxiety and less knowledge about breast cancer than women who don’t consider removing the unaffected breast. Breast surgeon Dr. Julie Margenthaler said, “We continue to see increasing numbers of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer who choose bilateral mastectomy despite the fact that survival rates are equivalent between those who undergo lumpectomy with radiation and mastectomy.” Other outlets: Business Insider
St. Louis Business Journal
One on one: With hypertension specialist Dr. Angela Brown
8/22/14
Dr. Angela Brown explained that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for men and women, and high blood pressure affects about one- third of the U.S. adult population. She suggested lowering salt intake and exercising for an average of 150 minutes per week to keep one’s heart healthy.
KTVI-TV Fox 2
Changes to teen tanning laws in Missouri go into effect Thursday
8/27/14
Dr. Lynn Cornelius said that beginning Aug. 28, Missouri teens 17 years old and younger must have written parental consent to use a tanning bed or booth. Dr. Cornelius, along with WUSM and medical students and residents, led the charge to get the law passed in Missouri. Other outlet:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
KMOV-TV News 4/Great Day St. Louis
When to go to the ER
9/2/14
With school back in session, kids are resuming many team sports activities – which can lead to injuries. Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann said ankle sprains are the most common injuries and can be treated at home with rest, ice, compression and elevation – or RICE. She also suggested waiting 24 hours to see if the injury is still painful for the child, and if it is, said a trip to the doctor is warranted.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Senior Focus: Who should be screened for prostate cancer?
8/28/14
PSA testing for prostate cancer is beneficial for younger men, particularly those who have a strong family history of prostate cancer, according to Dr. Gerald Andriole. What is less clear, however, is when to stop screening. As a general rule, men with less than an estimated 10-year life expectancy are unlikely to benefit from PSA screening, and men with life expectancies of 10 to 15 years are in the gray zone and should have a candid discussion with their physician about the pros and cons of screening, Andriole added. Related WUSM news release
KTVI-TV FOX-2
Children and bullying
8/25/14
Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann encouraged parents to stand up for their kids if they’re being bullied, and to allow school leadership, or law enforcement, to confront the bully. Dr. Berchelmann also explained how to handle the situation when a parent’s own child is the bully.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Better Together releases public health study
9/4/14
Better Together, a group studying the possible benefits of regional cooperation, has released the results of a public health study in the St. Louis area. “Diseases do not know where the City ends and the County begins, and our approach to health challenges should reflect that reality,” said Dr. Will Ross, who chairs the group’s public health committee. Other outlet: KWMU-FM St. Louis Public Radio
KMOV-TV News 4
Enterovirus hits St. Louis
8/29/14
The census at SLCH has been extraordinarily high, due largely to a spike in enterovirus and rhinovirus – which is causing complications for kids who have existing respiratory problems such as asthma. Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann shared information for parents about recognizing and treating the symptoms. Other outlet: KTVI-TV Fox 2, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
MedicalXpress.com
Different forms of Alzheimer’s have similar effects on brain networks
8/28/14
Scientists at WUSM have shown that in both types of Alzheimer’s, a basic component of brain function starts to decline about five years before symptoms, such as memory loss, become obvious. Senior author Dr. Beau Ances said, “This affirms that what we learn by studying inherited Alzheimer’s, which appears at younger ages, will help us better understand and treat more common forms of the disease.” Other outlet: Alzheimers News Today Related WUSM news release
Battle Creek Enquirer (Michigan)
Editorial: Save lives, save money — fund birth control
9/5/14
An editorial references a WUSM study showing that providing low-income women with the birth control method of their choosing resulted in significantly lower rates of unplanned pregnancies.
Related WUSM news release
Oxford University Press
Education and service in residency training
9/5/14
Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer explains the roots of America’s system of residency training in his upcoming book, “Let Me Heal: The Opportunity to Preserve Excellence in American Medicine,” due to be released next month.
Senior Journal
Men who exercise least are most likely to wake up to urinate
9/2/14
Men who are physically active are at lower risk of nocturia (waking up at night to urinate), according to a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Nocturia is the most common and bothersome lower urinary tract symptom in men and increases with age. It is estimated to occur in more than 50 percent of men 45 and older. Co-authors of the study are WUSM’s Robert Grubb III, MD, Ratna Pakpahan, Gerald Andriole, MD, and Siobhan Sutcliffe, PhD.
