Dartmouth Medical School Digest
July 2008

News for our community

In this issue

• Drug-releasing stents
• What's my risk?
• Health care disparities
• Flu vaccines
• Class day 2008
• Research scholar
• Fighting cancer

Drug-releasing stents
Stents coated with drugs to keep heart arteries open appear safe and effective, DMS cardiologists found. Their use may help avoid repeated coronary artery unblocking procedures and does not appear to increase the risk of death, report Drs. David J. Malenka, Aaron Kaplan and colleagues in the June 25 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study helps allay uncertainty about the tradeoffs of drug-releasing stents compared to bare metal stents.

What's my risk?
New Dartmouth charts document the chances of death from smoking and other causes. Dartmouth Medical School physicians, Drs. Steven Woloshin, Lisa M. Schwartz and H. Gilbert Welch, created the charts to provide patients with information - based on actual records - to put their own risk of death in context. The charts can help people make wise health behavior choices without becoming overwhelmed by exaggerated or incomplete risk information.

Health care disparities
A major community-focused initiative will attack quality of care deficiencies revealed in new research from the Dartmouth Atlas. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced that it will commit $300 million to a program, "Aligning Forces for Quality" to improve health care and reduce racial and ethnic differences underscored by the Dartmouth work.

Flu vaccines
Are we ready for the next flu epidemic? Maybe, a DMS pediatrician comments in a perspective for the June 12 New England Journal of Medicine. Novel vaccine approaches offer new promise against emerging threats, including bird flu, says Dr. Peter Wright, and an experimental vaccine using monkey cells begins to address some of the limitations with current stockpiles of avian flu vaccine.

Class day 2008
Dartmouth Medical School celebrated the accomplishments of 168 budding physicians, biomedical scientists, public health and health policy specialists in Class Day ceremonies, June 7. The graduates, who received their degrees at the college's commencement exercises, were honored with hoods, advice and kudos.

Research scholar
A Dartmouth medical student has been selected for a national initiative for aspiring physician-scientists to participate in hands-on biomedical research. Matthew Reilley will spend a year doing research as one of 42 Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health 2008 research scholars. The program aims to help develop professionals who can build bridges between the laboratory and the patient.

Fighting cancer
Noting the continuum of cancer research that ultimately translates into better prevention and care, a DMS scientist urges investing locally in the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Dr. Charles Brenner lauds the community of cancer investigators whose intellectual insights, novel devices and useful therapeutic approaches are leading to inroads against cancer. Writing in the Valley News June 21, he calls for supporting the Prouty Century Ride & Challenge Walk.

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