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Older Kidney Transplant Patients Should More Often Consider Live Donors
Almost half of kidney transplant candidates older than 60 who are put on the waiting list for a deceased-donor organ will die before getting a transplant, according to new findings from the University of Florida, Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University.

Work Status Changes More Common Among Women Receiving Chemotherapy For Breast Cancer, Study Says
Women with breast cancer who receive chemotherapy appear more likely than those treated with radiation therapy to experience a major change in work status, according to a study published in the journal Cancer, Reuters reports. For the study, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researcher Michael Hassett and colleagues used a large health insurance claims database to identify 3,233 women who were first diagnosed with breast cancer between 1998 and 2002. All of the women were younger than age 64, insured, and working full time or part time as of diagnosis. About 54% of the women received chemotherapy, and 58% received radiation therapy.Hassett said that most of the women did "not experience a significant change in their employment after cancer diagnosis and treatment." However, of the 6.6% who experienced such a change, those who received chemotherapy had a 1.8-fold greater risk of leaving work, retiring or going on long-term disability leave in the subsequent year. Sixty-seven percent of women who experienced a change went from full-time employment to early retirement, while the rest went from full-time employment to long-term disability or retirement, or their status was unknown. Although the study looked at many factors, only chemotherapy and older age were associated with an increased likelihood of a change in employment. Hassett said that most of the participants in the study worked for large employers that offered health insurance. He added that further research is needed to evaluate the effect of cancer diagnosis and treatment on work status for women who are self-employed or work for smaller companies (Hendry, Reuters, 6/30).
News of the day
Update Of Patient Experience PSA Scores, UK
The following statistics were released by the Department of Health: Patient experience PSA scores update based on data up to and including 2008 patient surveys. This publication updates the patient experience scores previously published on 24 November 2008. The patient experience PSA has been rolled forward as one of the indicators against "PSA delivery agreement 19: Ensure better care for all" for 2008-11. These figures report initial progress against the PSA target for sustained improvement in patient experience for the 2008-11 spending review period. Results are updated to include scores derived from survey results published by the Care Quality Commission in 2008. There are new data points for "adult inpatients" and "emergency department service users".
Oncology

Academy Publishes New Volume Of Essays Examining The Use Of fMRI To Recognize Deceit

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has published a new collection of essays, "Using Imaging to Identify Deceit: Scientific and Ethical Questions," examining the scientific support for using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to recognize deception. The seven essays, authored by scholars of neuroscience, law, and philosophy, also consider the legal and ethical concerns raised when machine-based means are employed to identify deceit. "The pace of scientific discovery and the subsequent applications of new technology create questions that extend beyond the boundaries of science," says neuroscientist Emilio Bizzi, President of the American Academy and Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "This adaptation of medical technology generates unique legal and ethical concerns that benefit from the thoughtful opinions of this diverse collection of scholars." The authors of express a dim view of lie detection based on fMRI technology. They also consider the widely used polygraph and conclude that both it and fMRI are unreliable. Using Imaging to Identify Deceit: Scientific and Ethical Questions includes the following essays: * "Imaging Deception" Emilio Bizzi, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Steven E. Hyman, Provost, Harvard University and Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School * "An Introduction to Functional Brain Imaging in the Cortex of Lie Detection" Marcus E. Raichle, Professor of Radiology, Neurology, Neurobiology and Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis * "The Use of fMRI in Lie Detection: What Has Been Show and What Has Not" Nancy Kanwisher, Ellen Swallow Richards Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology * "Lying Outside the Laboratory: The Impact of Imagery and Emotion on the Neural Circuitry of Lie Detection" Elizabeth A. Phelps, Silver Professor of Psychology and Neural Science, New York University * "Actions Speak Louder than Images" Stephen J. Morse, Ferdinand Wakeman Hubbell Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology and Law in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania * "Neural Lie Detection in Courts" Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Professor of Philosophy and Hardy Professor of Legal Studies, Dartmouth College * "Lie Detection in the Courts: The Vain Search for the Magic Bullet" Jed S. Rakoff, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York * "Neuroscience-Based Lie Detection: The Need for Regulation" Henry T. Greely, Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law and Professor, by courtesy, of Genetics, Stanford University Leah Gourley American Academy of Arts and Sciences


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