Author Archives
Rebecca Voelker is the associate managing editor of JAMA's Medical News & Perspectives section.
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Genetic Variants Could Help Direct Breast Cancer Prevention Therapy
Researchers have pinpointed variations in 2 genes that can help predict which women at high risk of breast cancer will respond to preventive treatment. The findings represent a major step toward personalized breast cancer prevention therapy, the study authors said…. Read More ›
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Genetic Testing Is Vastly Underused, Study Shows
Members of families with a history of certain cancers may miss out on potentially life-saving screening tests or treatment because many forego genetic testing to estimate their cancer risk, according to researchers in France. Investigators from cancer centers throughout France… Read More ›
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Researchers Try to Quantify NSAID Risks
A new analysis confirms many of the risks and benefits of commonly used painkillers but quantifies them in ways that should help clinicians and patients make more informed decisions about using the drugs to treat chronic pain. The meta-analysis, published… Read More ›
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Use of Antacids for Heartburn Linked With Reduced Cancer Risk
Antacids may provide more than soothing relief for heartburn. A new study suggests that stomach acid neutralizers may decrease the risk of throat or vocal cord cancers in people with frequent heartburn who don’t smoke or drink alcohol. The study’s… Read More ›
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Researchers Explain How Schizophrenia Drug Fights Drug-Resistant Bacteria
An antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia apparently paves the way for developing antibiotics to kill drug-resistant bacteria by knocking out a piece of the bug’s cell wall, researchers in Denmark reported today. The finding could help launch new ways… Read More ›
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Genetic Testing Recommendations Contradict Professional Ethics, Experts Say
Recent recommendations that advise laboratories and physicians how to tell patients about incidental findings in genetic tests contradict ethical clinical practice, according to bioethicists at Stanford University’s Center for Biomedical Ethics in California. A working group convened by the American… Read More ›
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Clinical Score Still Best at Predicting Late Breast Cancer Recurrence
For women who have early-stage breast cancer, examining the clinical characteristics of tumors and the treatment they have been given is more effective than new genetic tests in predicting the likelihood of a recurrence more than 5 years after diagnosis,… Read More ›
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Survey Shows 84 Million With No Health Insurance or Inadequate Coverage in 2012
Nearly half of all US working-age adults—about 84 million people—were uninsured or had too little health coverage to protect them from high out-of-pocket medical costs last year, according to a new survey. The Commonwealth Fund 2012 Biennial Health Insurance Survey… Read More ›
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Intense, Single-Sport Training Increases Young Athletes’ Risk of Overuse Injuries
Young athletes who train strenuously in a single sport have a new rule of thumb for their practice schedules: don’t spend more hours than your age in training during a given week. Sports medicine researchers at the Loyola University Medical… Read More ›
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More Evidence Exonerates Vaccines From Autism Link
A new analysis adds to existing evidence showing that recommended childhood immunizations do not increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite a 2004 review from the Institute of Medicine that concluded the measles, mumps, rubella, and thimerosal-containing vaccines… Read More ›
