[capping chemo costs]
Effective Jan. 1, a new Missouri law limits patient costs for oral chemotherapy medicine. Many insurance companies distinguish between oral and intravenous chemotherapy, charging much more for the former and leaving patients with bills of up to thousands of dollars each month. The new measure, which Gov. Jay Nixon signed March 19 at the Center for Advanced Medicine at Washington University, caps costs at $75 for a 30-day supply.
[bad news blues]
As if depression weren’t depressing enough, in new research doctors recommend the condition be added to the list of risk factors associated with heart disease. A dozen experts, including Washington University School of Medicine psychiatry professors Robert M. Carney, Ph.D., and Kenneth E. Freedland, Ph.D., analyzed hundreds of studies and determined that people with depression are more likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease. The findings were published in Circulation.
[managing med school]
It’s no secret medical school is stressful, and a new study out of Saint Louis University suggests that easing the pressure improves the mental health and academic work of future doctors. Published in Academic Medicine, the research examined SLU med students’ mental health before and after the school implemented a new curriculum designed to limit stress by using pass/fail grades, shortening classroom hours, and changing lesson content. Depression and anxiety rates declined significantly and student test scores improved after the changes were put in place. Dr. Stuart Slavin is the paper’s lead author.
[birth control]
Providing women with free contraception does not make them more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine. Published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, the study provided several methods of birth control at no cost to thousands of St. Louis women at high risk for unintended pregnancy. Overall, the percentage of participants who reported multiple partners declined over the course of the study. Gina Secura, Ph.D., is the first author.
[colon cancer clue]
A protein called PLAC8 plays a big part in spreading colon cancer, report researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Published in Journal of Clinical Investigation, the study revealed that PLAC8 makes cells that line the colon more mobile, enabling them to infiltrate adjacent tissues. Measuring PLAC8 levels might help doctors predict which colon cancer tumors will be most invasive. Professor Lilianna Solnica-Krezel, Ph.D., was the study’s
co-author.
By Rebecca Koenig
