OHSU study identifies several differences in DNA methylation in people who experienced preeclampsia during pregnancy. Lead author Kent Thornburg, Ph.D., says: "People who have had preeclampsia have greater risks for cardiovascular disease after the pregnancy, and their offspring are more likely to have cardiovascular conditions and die of stroke. If we can identify DNA methylation patterns in genes associated with the disease, we will have much clearer strategies to prevent the disease. Moreover, we might be able to develop biomarkers that can help preventative intervention. Our next step is to determine which of these genes were altered before pregnancy and which are the result of the disease itself.”

Eric Roeland, M.D., co-chairs new guidelines from the American Society for Clinical Oncology on cannabis and cannabinoid use in adults with cancer. He says: “I have had multiple patients with cancer who have tried cannabis for the first time at the urging of one of their well-intentioned loved ones and then experienced bad side effects, which may even include ending up in the emergency department.”

While discussing a proposed U.S. Health and Humans Services Department rule that would require health care providers to retrofit facilities, medical equipment, websites, mobile apps, virtual care programs and more to meet the needs of patients with disabilities, Rhonda Eppelsheimer, M.S.W., notes that the draft rule contains a gray area that could still allow providers to discriminate, saying, “There are ways that are subtle, overt and covert that prevent access.”

Medpage Today reports on a new study that finds nearly 61% of physician respondents viewed private equity involvement in health care negatively, reporting less physician satisfaction and less autonomy. Jane Zhu, M.D., first author on the paper, says, "Our findings suggest that many physicians view private equity ownership with caution and with concern, particularly around influence over clinician decision-making and long-term well-being. These concerns are important to take seriously and to study carefully."

An op-ed penned by Dartmouth Health providers that counters misinformation about gender-affirming health care cites comments by Blair Peters, M.D., who says, “It is an important thing to understand with gender identity and exploration of gender identity, there's no right or wrong outcome, and there's no right or wrong destination. We should encourage people to ask questions and to find their own answers, but we shouldn't be invested in where they land or what is the most authentic version of themselves.”

At the annual American Academy of Dermatology meeting, Brian Druker, M.D., was awarded the Lila and Murray Gruber Memorial Cancer Research Award and gave the plenary lecture on research that led to the development of imatinib, a targeted cancer therapy that transformed the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. Druker says, “Breakthroughs require knowledge and seeing things differently. Everyone says, ‘You’ve got to think outside the box.’ But sometimes the answer is right there in front of you. You’ve got to say, ‘It’s a box.’”

In a Salon article exploring the burden on women to prove themselves "worthy" to have access to abortions, Alison Edelman, M.D., says, “People need to be able to choose the right health care for themselves and people have a reason that is important to them, and that's true of any health care management decision. To make that decision for somebody else, it restricts their autonomy.”

In a 3rd Act Magazine story about the importance of increasing the number of geriatricians in promoting healthy aging, Suvi Neukam, D.O., says, “When I tell people that I am a geriatrician, it is not uncommon for them to assume that I only ‘help people die.’ Sure, death is a part of geriatrics, but goodness, there is so much more to the field of aging.”

New OHSU research describes the science behind a promising technique to treat infertility by turning a skin cell into an egg capable of producing viable embryos. Shoukhrat Mitalipov, Ph.D., says, “Our technology would enable infertile patients to have genetically related children, providing a path to parenthood that is currently unavailable, even with IVF."

A study led by J. Peter Campbell, M.D., finds an artificial intelligence algorithm he and colleagues developed can accurately and independently detect 100% of severe retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP, cases. Campbell says, “ROP is the leading cause of blindness in children in the U.S. and around the world, and perhaps the most solvable problem among many in global efforts to reduce preventable blindness. Although we cannot fully prevent ROP, we can almost always prevent blindness from ROP.”