A Spanking Good Idea?
(Published: 11-15-2007, Jewish Exponent) Spare the rod, spoil the child ... This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.
So goes an old saying, and a more modern one, about the practice of punishing children by spanking them. But another school
of thought states that spanking is cruel treatment and unnecessary punishment, and that there are other, saner ways to correct
children that don't involve hitting and putting hands on them in a threatening fashion -- calmer ways that achieve the desired
results. Harris Rabinovich, a senior child psychiatrist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, said that
some principles set up to raise children are fairly straightforward. "Corporeal punishment is not acceptable since it's negative
reinforcement, not positive reinforcement."
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Media Coverage
Jewish Exponent
Feeling SAD Lately?
(Published: 11-09-2007, Philadelphia Magazine) If leaving the office to sunless skies has you feeling tired and glum, you
may be dealing with a form of seasonal depression.You wake up, it's dark. You leave work, it's dark. It's only 6 p.m. and
you're ready to head home and crawl under the covers. If over the last few weeks you've noticed yourself morphing from your
stay-up-till-dawn summer self to your winter-hibernation, don't-bother- me-I'll-growl-like-an- angry-bear alter ego, you may
be struggling with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). A form of depression, SAD affects those who react negatively to the
dwindling amount of sunlight and the frigid temps of the fall and winter months.
No matter how low you go, feeling better may be as easy as flicking on a switch. "If you're able to hold your job and do normal
activities, but feel a little more tired and sluggish, you might be responsive to light therapy," says George C. Brainard,
Ph.D., director of the Light Research Program and Professor of Neurology at Thomas Jefferson University. Although antidepressants
have also been proven to help SAD sufferers as well, light therapy is the first approach to treating this seasonal slump.
Department of Neurology
Media Coverage
Philadelphia Magazine
Spinal Stem Cells Offer Hope Against Back Pain
(Published: 11-01-2007, WashingtonPost.com) As spinal discs degenerate, cells are lost, and there's a decrease is the ability
to produce water-binding molecules called proteoglycans. Water absorbs force on the spine. The loss of proteoglycans can result
in disc damage and pain. For the first time, researchers have found stem cells within the intervertebral discs of the human
spine. They say it may someday be possible to use these stem cells to help repair degenerating discs in order to treat neck
and lower back pain. "Our next step is to activate these disc stem cells and get them to repopulate the disc and make proteoglycans
and restore the water binding," researcher Irving Shapiro, Ph.D., professor of orthopedic surgery at Jefferson Medical College
in Philadelphia.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery
Media Coverage
WashingtonPost.com
USNews.com
HealthDay.com
Reading Hospital surgeons applaud robotic assistant
(Published 12-27-07, Reading Eagle) The newest member of Reading Hospital's surgical team has never worn scrubs, attended
college or graduated from medical school. The hospital has joined a growing list of hospitals worldwide to acquire a surgical
robot called daVinci to help surgeons work. The machine's $1.5 million base price puts robotics surgery out of financial reach
for many hospitals, said Dr. Costas D. Lallas, assistant professor of oncology at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson
University Hospital in Philadelphia. Lallas has been training Reading Hospital surgeons how to use the daVinci machine.
Department of Urology
Kimmel Cancer Center
Media Coverage
Reading Eagle
Maintaining Routine Can Chase Holiday Blues Away
(Published 12-22-07, U.S.News & World Report) While the Christmas season is a time of joy and celebration for many, it can
trigger holiday blues in some people. If you are prone to holiday blues, there are things you can do to help prevent them,
says Dr. Rajnish Mago, director of the Mood Disorders Program at the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University
in Philadelphia.
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Media Coverage
U.S.News & World Report
Washington Post
Tips to Cure the Holiday Blues
(Published 12-20-07, NBC 10) For many, the holidays mean pure happiness, but too often the holiday blues take over and put
those festive feelings on hold. But there are coping tips that doctors said can make a difference. Dr. Rajnish Mago, director
of the mood disorders program at Thomas Jefferson University, said maintaining a routine is crucial. "Meaning they wake up,
go to bed and eat at reasonably regular times and they are less likely to get depressed because the biorhythm in the brain
remains more stable," Dr. Mago said.
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Media Coverage
NBC 10
Targeted cancer drug poses heart risk
(Published 12-17-07, Philadelphia Inquirer) Another powerful new targeted cancer drug has been found to damage the heart,
prompting researchers to urge that all patients be closely monitored for high blood pressure and heart failure. Pfizer’s Sutent,
approved a year ago to treat a rare stomach cancer and advanced kidney cancer, is the latest in the growing arsenal of molecular-based
therapies that may cause collateral damage. Last year, a small increased risk of heart failure was linked to Gleevec, which
treats a type of leukemia.
“It’s still fair to say many of these agents are less toxic than traditional cancer drugs. They really have revolutionized
the treatment of some cancers,” said Thomas Force, M.D., James C. Wilson Professor of Medicine in the Center for Translational
Medicine and the Division of Cardiology at Jefferson Medical College, who coauthored the new Sutent study and led the earlier
work on Gleevec. “It appears that much of this [toxicity] is reversible if treated promptly.”
Department of Medicine
Media Coverage
Philadelphia Inquirer
HealthDay
Theheart.org/WebMD
Reuters
Boston Globe
Austin American-Statesman
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Advancing on MS: New Drugs and Hopes for a Vaccine
(Published 12-17-07, Philadelphia Inquirer) Barely 15 years ago, doctors could do nothing to change the course of multiple
sclerosis, the disabling neurological disease that strikes in the prime of adulthood. Today, six drugs are approved to decrease
the periodic immune attacks that underlie MS, another six are in final human testing, and dozens more are in development.
Researchers have zeroed in on genetic and environmental risk factors; a common virus may play a role in activating the disease.
And the ultimate goal - regrowing damaged nerves - is no longer a pipe dream. "I think a regeneration process may be available
in the next five to 10 years," said Abdolmohamad Rostami, chair of neurology at Thomas Jefferson University, where researchers
have partially reversed nerve damage in mice. "I'm very optimistic."
Department of Neurology
Media Coverage
Philadelphia Inquirer
Blowing Smoke. In wake of major pot bust, local hospitals say they haven't seen the so-called marijuana "overdoses."
(Published: 12-06-2007, City Paper) When police seized more than $1.4 million in drugs from a City Avenue penthouse last
week, they boasted about the 16 pounds of a potent marijuana strain known as "AK47" that, according to Narcotics Chief Inspector
William Blackburn, put people in the emergency room with overdoses.
Of the hospitals City Paper contacted — Jefferson, St. Joseph's and Penn — none have recorded any cases of marijuana overdose
within the past few months. There are people treated for the effects of marijuana, which, according to Jefferson toxicologist
Paul Kolecki, are limited to increased heart rate and panic attacks, but overdoses are basically impossible.
Department of Emergency Medicine
Media Coverage
City Paper
