Therapeutics
Delivery Technology Paves Way for RNAi Therapies

Neuroscience
Gene Clue to Brain Asymmetry Revealed on Right Side

Social Medicine
Gun Violence May Be Viewed as Contagious

Neurology
Fetal-cell Transplants Reverse Parkinson’s in Two Patients

Clinical Research
Discord Found in Clinical-trial Contracts

Health Care Policy
National Mental Health Survey Shows Mixed Results on Progress

Genetics
Disease Mutation Tracked Down, Ending ‘Curse’ for Colombian Families

New Books
The Spring Bookshelf

Education
HMS Teaching Awards Presented for 2005

Accolades
Students Laud Gardner as Champion of Humanism in Medicine

Medical Ethics
Debate at HMS Frames Ethics of Online Organ Donation

Brain Chemical Serotonin Linked to Left–Right Patterning of Embryo

Rising Leaders in Minority Health Research Turn Data into New Directions

New Chairs Honor Federman and Egan Family

Honors and Advances

In Memoriam

Let Consumers Drive Progress in Health Care Quality

Front Page

The Spring Bookshelf

Recent Books by Faculty of Harvard Medical, Dental, and Public Health Schools

T. Berry Brazelton and Joshua D. Sparrow
Understanding Sibling Rivalry: The Brazelton Way
Mastering Anger & Aggression: The Brazelton Way
Merloyd Lawrence Books/Da Capo Lifelong Books
In these two slim books, the latest in his Touchpoint series, T. Berry Brazelton addresses two hefty issues for parents. In the first, Brazleton, HMS clinical professor emeritus of pediatrics, and co-author Joshua D. Sparrow, HMS assistant professor of psychiatry at Children’s Hospital Boston, focus on the often intractable problem of sibling rivalry. Their stated aim is to help parents raise caring and considerate children. In the second book, the authors provide a map of those times when children are most likely to explode with anger and aggressive feelings, “so that parents can anticipate them and understand how they can help their child learn to get them under control,” write the authors.

Mason Freeman
Lowering Your Cholesterol
McGraw–Hill
For some people, high cholesterol means heart attacks and shortened life expectancy, while for others it is harmless. In Lowering Your Cholesterol, Mason Freeman, HMS associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, untangles the myths and confusion around cholesterol, informing readers about the basic facts about cholesterol and how to reduce high levels of the lipid. Freeman describes what cholesterol is and how the body produces it, as well as the differences between high-density lipoproteins (“good cholesterol”) and low-density lipoproteins (“bad cholesterol”). He goes on to examine the variety of ways in which people attempt to lower their cholesterol, including diet changes, exercise, medications, and alternative medicines, and he helps readers decide which choices would make them healthiest.

Carolyn Kaelin
Living Through Breast Cancer
McGraw–Hill
In Living Through Breast Cancer, Carolyn Kaelin, HMS assistant professor of surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a breast cancer survivor, informs readers on how to emotionally deal with breast cancer and its consequences. The book covers diagnosis through treatment, helping patients understand and cope with their experience and teaching them to retain a sense of self and control. In it, Kaelin explains the diagnosis and the importance of assembling a support team. She discusses the myriad changes that patients have to adjust to after undergoing treatment. She describes the choices that surround dressing oneself after undergoing a mastectomy, wearing wigs when chemotherapy causes hair loss, and the difficulties the cancer and its treatments can pose to relationships. Throughout the book, Kaelin uses breast cancer survivors’ stories to highlight the decisions they make and the obstacles they overcome.

Phillip H. McKee, Eduardo Calonje, Scott R. Granter
Pathology of the Skin with Clinical Correlations,
Third Edition, Vols. 1 and 2
Elsevier Mosby
Like most areas of medicine, the study of skin disease is “undergoing a unique revolution as a result of the advances brought about by the molecular era,” write the authors of this two-volume, 1,865 page set. To take account of the momentous changes, Phillip McKee, HMS associate professor of pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, invited Scott Granter, HMS associate professor of pathology at BWH, and Eduardo Calonje, of St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, to help with the third edition of his classic text. Readers are introduced to every imaginable skin ailment with the help of two CD-ROMs and more than 5,000 color photographs.

Ralph Metson
Healing Your Sinuses
McGraw–Hill
In Healing Your Sinuses, Ralph Metson, HMS clinical professor of otology and laryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, gives an overview of sinusitis and its symptoms and the various treatments for the disorder. He focuses on practical advice on symptom relief as well as surgical options. He discusses the effects of drugstore products, cold and allergy medications, steroids, antibiotics, diet and lifestyle choices, and alternative therapies, as well as what to expect from surgery. He also reviews special subgroups among sinusitis sufferers, such as pregnant women and youth, and describes other disorders that can be mistaken for sinusitis.

Majid Ezzati, Alan D. Lopez, Anthony Rodgers,
Christopher J.L. Murray, Editors
Comparative Quantification of Health Risks, Volumes 1 and 2
World Health Organization
This two-volume work, Comparative Quantification of Health Risks, estimates deaths and disabilities from preventable causes of major diseases around the world. It builds on the Global Burden of Disease project, which involved HSPH researchers, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization and described the number of deaths and years of health lost worldwide due to specific diseases. The current text looks at the underlying risks for these diseases, quantifying their impact on different regions. The authors reviewed scores of studies from different countries, developed methods to compare them, and collectively analyzed the data. Among their findings are that eliminating 20 leading global risk factors, such as undernutrition, high blood pressure, air pollution, unsafe sex, and physical inactivity, would add more than nine years to worldwide healthy life expectancy and about 16 years in the most afflicted parts of Africa. “A major goal was to standardize analysis methods to ensure greater consistency and comparability in using and evaluating scientific evidence across risks,” said Majid Ezzati, HSPH assistant professor of international health and lead editor of the book. In addition to Ezzati, the editors are Alan Lopez of the University of Queensland, Australia; Anthony Rodgers of the University of Auckland, New Zealand; and Christopher Murray, the Richard Saltonstall professor of population policy at HSPH, HMS professor of social medicine, and director of the Harvard Initiative for Global Health. The entire work has been published online by the WHO at www.who.int/publications/cra/en and can be ordered through the agency’s online bookstore at www.who.int/bookorders or www.amazon.com.

Carl Salzman, Editor
Clinical Geriatric Psychopharmacology:
Fourth Edition
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
In the latest edition of his all-encompassing guide for psychotropic drug use in the elderly, Carl Salzman, HMS professor of psychiatry at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, and his colleagues describe psychiatric disorders common among the elderly, such as dementia, delirium, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, sleep problems, and alcohol dependence and abuse. The text also discusses the risks and benefits of the psychotropic drugs used to treat these problems. It reviews special financial concerns for the elderly and explains the aging process’s effect on the central nervous system. Advances in knowledge about the relationship between aging and the CNS, says Salzman, “is beginning to inform the creation of new classes of therapeutic medications and ultimately will determine how drugs will be selected for any individual elderly patient.”

David M. Nathan, Linda Delahanty
Beating Diabetes
McGraw–Hill
Type 2 diabetes is one of a cluster of health conditions related to poor lifestyle choices. David M. Nathan and Linda Delahanty argue in Beating Diabetes that by changing their diet and exercise, diabetics and people at high risk for diabetes can improve their health. In the book, Nathan, HMS professor of medicine and director of the Diabetes Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Delahanty, HMS instructor in medicine and chief dietician at MGH, provide guidance on how to permanently alter habits to reduce weight and increase health. They provide sample menus and meal guides for those with different calorie needs and testimonials from people who have successfully adopted healthier living habits. The book concentrates on pragmatic changes people can make in their lives. It carefully examines weight loss programs, including medicines, surgeries, low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets, and various exercise programs.

Stephen Wilmot Miller
Cardiac Imaging: The Requisites, Second Edition
Elsevier Mosby
To diagnose cardiac disease, physicians must be able to see it. Cardiac Imaging: The Requisites, which is part of the Requisites series on clinical topics, provides a comprehensive look at imaging methods for cardiac disease to residents, fellows, and physicians. Miller, an HMS associate professor of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and his invited co-authors help bring this topic up to date on rapidly evolving imaging methods, like the now-pervasive digital technologies. The first chapters offer an overview of the use of chest films, MRI, echocardiography, and angiography, while later chapters apply these fundamental principles to common cardiac diseases.

James J. O’Connell, Stacy Swain, Christine Loeber Daniels,
Joslyn Strupp Allen, Editors
The Health Care of Homeless Persons: A Manual of Common Communicable Diseases and Other Conditions in Shelters and on the Streets
The Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
James O’Connell, HMS clinical instructor in medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, has edited and revised the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program’s 1991 manual on health care for the homeless to reflect new and previously overlooked concerns. The updated manual contains chapters about 28 communicable diseases and three infections seen frequently among the homeless, written by specialists. It also includes chapters on bioterrorism and on nosocomial infections that spread easily in shelters. The manual describes tactics for managing chronic illness in a population without housing or a storage space for medication. In addition, a new section has been added on exposure-related health problems such as frostbite and hypothermia.

Aaron Nelson
Achieving Optimal Memory
McGraw–Hill
People often forget the most obvious things: the name of a movie seen a few days ago, where keys were placed the previous night, the name of their child’s teacher. In Achieving Optimal Memory, Aaron Nelson, HMS assistant professor of psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, discusses what causes memory loss and how to prevent it, as well as new findings about the brain and new treatments for memory disorders. The brain, he explains, requires good eating and exercise just as much as the heart does. Practicing “brain fitness” includes sleeping and eating well, exercising, and moderating alcohol consumption. He also describes everyday strategies to enhance memory and analyzes the benefits and risks of memory-enhancing drugs.

W. Allan Walker
Eat, Play, and Be Healthy
McGraw–Hill
The food children eat today has a huge impact on how healthy they will be as adults. In his sequel to Walter Willett’s Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, W. Allan Walker, the Conrad Taff professor of pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, outlines a healthy lifestyle for children. Children’s dietary needs are different from adults’; their bodies are still growing and developing in ways that adults’ bodies are not. In Eat, Play, and Be Healthy, Walker discusses the specific nutritional needs of children in different age groups. He starts with newborns, describing the benefits of breastfeeding, and explains how to help toddlers develop good eating habits as they learn to eat solid foods, and finishes with school-age children and their dietary needs. For this final group, he explains how to evaluate free lunch programs and gives recipes and meal planning tips, including ideas for how to make healthy packed lunches.

Mohammed S. Razzaque
Fibrogenesis: Cellular and Molecular Basis
Landes Bioscience
HSDM’s Mohammed Razzaque has gathered 39 chapter co-authors, including three from HMS, to examine the molecular basis of fibrotic diseases in many tissues and organs. The slim volume looks at fibrosis or sclerosis in the heart, lung, liver, kidney, and blood vessels, and examines the effects on fibrogenesis of low-density lipoprotein, inflammation, oxidative stress, ischemia, apoptosis, and aging. Chapter authors are active in clinical and basic research, and they discuss emerging and potential molecular therapies for fibrotic disorders. The extracellular matrix, until recently assumed to be a passive infrastructure, emerges in the book as a major player in the body’s healing and development.

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