March 15, 2000
News Tips in Science, Medicine and Health from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, a major independent teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School.
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* Memory 101: Training improves memory
* Recipes for a healthy menopause
* Research support grows at Beth Israel Deaconess
* Media calendar: NIH Consensus Conference on Osteoporosis
* Media calendar: Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Symposium
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MEMORY 101: TRAINING IMPROVES MEMORY
Forget a name? Can't find your keys? Overlook your anniversary? If you worry about memory loss, you're not alone, and there's help.
"People have unrealistic ideas about how memory works across their lifespan," says clinical neuropsychologist Cheryl Weinstein, Ph.D. "Memory does not work like a camera." Weinstein directs the Center for Cognitive Remediation at Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston, where she and her colleagues evaluate problems ranging from normal age-related memory changes to mild cognitive impairment to outright memory disorders.
In a program called "Memory 101," Weinstein and her colleagues teach patients strategies tailored to their individual needs -- a hard-working college student who can't remember her reading assignment at test time, a worried man with a memory complaint linked to his HIV infection, a frustrated young mother with an attention disorder who is trying to help a child cope with the same problem, a man with longstanding reading problems exacerbated by normal aging who fears losing his job, or a depressed grandmother who cannot remember the names of her grandchildren.
One patient told them, "my memory system was wired by a non-union electrician." The program is the focus of an article in the April issue of the quarterly American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry by Weinstein and co-author Winifred Sachs, a clinical neuropsychologist at BIDMC.
Focusing on only one or two strategies works best, says Weinstein, who points to a "memory notebook" as the most important basic tool for most people. "Memory enhancement strategies are difficult skills to learn, and simply telling a patient 'here is a list of what to do' is doomed to failure," write Weinstein and Sachs. "Skill training involves laying down new pathways for behavior to compensate for neurocognitive weaknesses."
For more information, contact the Center for Cognitive Remediation at 617-632-8401.
Media contacts: Carol Cruzan Morton, BIDMC communications, 617-975-6150, [email protected].
RECIPES FOR A HEALTHY MENOPAUSE
Let's face it: Tofu does not tantalize the taste buds of the typical American. Yet, a low-fat diet rich in plant sources of estrogen may replace estrogen, reduce some symptoms of menopause, and help protect against osteoporosis, heart disease and some cancers.
Aiming to find delicious, quick and easy ways to add phytoestrogens to a daily diet, Beth Israel Deaconess gynecologist Hope Ricciotti, M.D., teamed up with her husband, Vincent Connelly, a chef and food writer, to create The Menopause Cookbook (W.W. Norton and Company, New York, 2000). "For the average American, soy is not a palatable option," says Ricciotti, also an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. "We wanted to appeal to those who don't want to touch the stuff."
In some recipes, Ricciotti and Connelly have taken a stealth approach, sneaking the creamy base of pureed silken tofu into Caesar salad dressing and gratin of potatoes, chard and roasted peppers. Tofu is flaunted in other recipes, such as linguine with tofu, flank steak, bok choy and asparagus. Some dishes avoid tofu altogether, such as the pan-seared tuna with goat cheese, leeks and basil. The book also reviews the scientific evidence linking menopause, diet and health.
Media contacts: Carol Cruzan Morton, BIDMC communications, 617-975-6150, [email protected].
RESEARCH SUPPORT GROWS AT BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS
Research is booming at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In the past year, research revenues increased to $103.9 million. Most of the money comes from the federal government, specifically the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which funds most U.S. academic medical research.
Among independent teaching hospitals, Beth Israel Deaconess ranked third nationwide in NIH funds in 1999, according to figures posted recently at http://www.nih.gov. Altogether, Boston hospitals fill the ranks of the top five NIH grants award recipients in that category, but among them, over the past five years, BIDMC's share of NIH funds has grown the fastest. Corporate funding of basic research and clinical trials accounts for a smaller but growing share of research support.
"Our researchers are helping expand understanding of the basis of disease," says Barry Eisenstein, M.D., BIDMC vice president of science and technology, "and they constantly are raising the bar for clinical care by translating knowledge into new approaches for prevention, treatment and cure." Areas of research strength include vascular and cardiovascular biology; cancer biology; immunology, inflammation and transplantation; AIDS; metabolic diseases, such as obesity; and neuroscience.
Media contacts: Carol Cruzan Morton, BIDMC communications, 617-975-6150, [email protected].
MEDIA CALENDAR: NIH Consensus Conference on Osteoporosis
March 27-29 -- To clarify the factors associated with prevention and better diagnosis and treatment among health care providers and the public, the National Institutes of Health has called a Consensus Development Conference on Osteoporosis. Researcher Mary Bouxsein, Ph.D., from the Beth Israel Deaconess orthopaedic biomechanics lab, will present an overview of the biomechanics of osteoporotic fractures. The consensus panel will present its draft statement to the public at 9 am Wednesday, March 29. The conference concludes with a press conference at 1 pm.
The agenda is available at http://consensus.nih.gov/. Media contact: John Bowersox, NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research, 301-496-4819, [email protected].
MEDIA CALENDAR: Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Symposium
Tuesday, May 9 -- At the third annual Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Symposium, prostate cancer survivors and their families, health care professionals and others can learn the latest developments in prostate cancer therapies and research. Speakers include BIDMC oncologist Glenn Bubley, M.D., and other prostate cancer specialists. Prostate cancer survivor Len Dawson, former National Football League quarterback, is the keynote speaker. Sponsored by BIDMC, the Mass. Department of Public Health, the American Cancer Society and others, the symposium runs from 8 am to 4 pm at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough, Mass.
Media contact: Bill Schaller, communications, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 617-975-6152, [email protected].
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More BIDMC news
www.bidmc.harvard.edu/pressreleases/home.asp
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Communications
375 Longwood Ave., Fourth floor
Boston, MA 02215
617-975-6140; fax 617-975-6160
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Beth Israel Deaconess is a major independent
teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School.
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