Dartmouth Medical School Digest
February 2009

News for our community

In this issue

Chromosome correction
Two proteins that work in concert for faithful chromosome segregation during cell division have been discovered by Dartmouth Medical School biochemists. The research, led by Dr. Duane Compton, was published in January's Nature Cell Biology. It may offer clues for targeting cancer tumors that improperly shuffle their chromosomes, but tend to progress and have a poor prognosis.

Protein connection
Fly courtship rituals my shed light on Tay-Sachs disease, a fatal genetic disorder, DMS geneticists report. A team led by Dr. Claudio Pikielny discovered similarities in fruit-fly mating proteins and a key activator missing in Tay-Sachs patients, resulting fatty acid buildup and neurodegenration. Their findings, reported in the Jan. 2 Journal of Biological Chemistry, and online earlier, suggest new possibilities for understanding and perhaps treating the lipid storage disorder.

Schizophrenia default link
A hyperactive brain network in schizophrenia may exaggerate the focus on self, according to a new study. A team that included DMS psychiatrist Dr. Alan I. Green found that schizophrenia triggers too much connectivity in a brain default mode involved in self-reflection. The research, reported in the Jan. 27 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, expands the view of the disabling disorder and may help explain the fixation on self.

Slicing through medical statistics
Health care decisions can involve assessing risk, but the messages are conflicting and confusing. Now DMS physicians have written a book to help people sort out what those numbers mean. Drs. Steven Woloshin and Lisa M. Schwartz, two of the authors of "Know Your Chances: Understanding Health Statistics," discussed how to make sense of it all on NPR's Talk of the Nation.

Shared Savings
A new model for payment reform can deliver high quality, affordable health care, according to a recent report. Dr. Elliott Fisher and colleagues from Dartmouth and the Brookings Institution demonstrated that financial incentives to providers for coordinating patient care through a shared savings program could save Medicare money and improve health care quality. Their proposal would benefit patients, payers and providers, they write in a January 27 Health Affairs web exclusive.

Targeting health ads
Drug companies and health care organizations that spend billions of dollars annually on advertising should tailor their messages by gender, age and race, say Dartmouth business experts. Their study, in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, offers a guide to designing effective health communications for different audiences.


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