SUMC in the News (11/22/05)

Print media coverage

New York Times, 11/22/05
This is your brain under hypnosis (registration required)
The work of David Spiegel, the Jack, Lulu and Sam Wilson Professor, is referenced in this article on the use of hypnosis in medicine.

Wall Street Journal, 11/22/05
Doctors back off birth control patch (No online version available)
This article discusses how some doctors have stopped writing prescriptions for the Ortho Evra contraceptive patch. Patients at Stanford are being discouraged from trying the patch.

Los Angeles Times, 11/22/05
State won't pay for hospital for heart transplants (registration required)
The state Medi-Cal program has decided to stop paying for heart transplants at a Northern California hospital. Stanford is referenced as one of the two largest adult heart transplant programs in California.

Oakland Tribune, 11/22/05
Fremont center works to halt, understand cancer in Bay Area
Stanford is referenced in this article on the Fremont-based Northern California Cancer Center. The center was founded in 1974 by Stanford and UCSF.

San Mateo Daily Journal, 11/22/05
State has unfit kids
Only one out of four kids in California are as physically fit as they should be, according to the 2005 Physical Fitness Test results for California students announced Monday. The article mentions how the South San Francisco Unified school district participates with Stanford to put on a dance program that also teaches nutrition and cooking to parents

Allentown Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.), 11/22/05
New hormonal supplement curbs appetite
Stanford researchers have discovered obestatin, a hormone that suppresses appetite. The finding offers a key to researchers developing treatments for obesity. Aaron Hsueh, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and lead author, is quoted in this article, which also appears in the Arizona Business Gazette.

South China Morning Post, 11/22/05
Hepatitis B a growing scourge, says doctor (No online version available)
This article discusses how many people in Hong Kong are unaware they have the virus linked to liver cancer. Samuel So, the Lui Hac Minh Professor and director of Asian Liver Center, provides comment here.

Washington Post, 11/21/05
Getting the joke
This opinion piece references a Stanford study that found gender affects the way a person's brain responds to humor. The study was led by Allan Reiss, the Howard C. Robbins Professor.

Chicago Tribune, 11/21/05
A helping of turkey
A new Stanford study shows that a by-product of tryptophan - an amino acid found in turkey and other foods - can alleviate multiple sclerosis symptoms in animal models. The findings add to the growing body of evidence indicating that tryptophan plays a pivotal role in the immune system. Lawrence Steinman, professor of neurology and neurological sciences and of pediatrics, is quoted in this article, which originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

Palo Alto Online, 11/21/05
Hospital workers may authorize strike
Workers at Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital will take a vote Tuesday afternoon to authorize a possible strike at the two hospitals.

Vermont Guardian, 11/21/05
Being bipolar can boost creativity
Researchers here have shown for the first time that a sample of children who either have or are at high risk for bipolar disorder score higher on a creativity index than healthy children. Kiki Chang, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of the Pediatric Bipolar Disorders Program at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, and Terence Ketter, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, are quoted here.

San Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal, 11/18/05
Dynatherm Medical hopes doctors will warm to its mitt (registration required)
This article discusses a high tech mitt that warms hypothermic patients through a combination of heat and air. The device was developed at Stanford.

Broadcast media coverage

KQED-FM, 11/21/05
Two government biologists recruited by the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine have decided to work in Singapore, saying they will face fewer restrictions on stem cell research overseas. Irving Weissman, the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor for Clinical Investigation and director of the institute, was interviewed during this segment.