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Daily check up: Brain injury in military personnel

Print | Comments () Posted by Chelsea Conaboy June 2, 2011 08:25 AM

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By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

A look at the morning's top health industry news.

Brain injury from blasts: Denise Grady of The New York Times reports on a study out yesterday in which researchers used special sensitive MRI scans to detect brain injuries in military personnel that were not detectable in standard MRIs or CT scans. All had a diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury. The scans showed a pattern of damage different from that found in head injuries not causes by blast, Grady reported. In an editorial that accompanied the New England Journal of Medicine article, Dr. Allan Ropper, a neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, wrote that the results are important in bringing attention to injuries resulting from exposure to mild or moderate blasts that may penetrate the skull, even when there are no visible wounds.

Reports says Medicare distribution unfair: A report from the Institute of Medicine says Medicare should change the way in calculates cost of living. Jordan Rau of Kaiser Health News says the federal program pays more to doctors in expensive geographic areas, but the institute says the calculations are imprecise and unfair. Medicare enrollees in eastern Massachusetts are among the most expensive in the country.

Cell phone concern: Globe technology reporter Hiawatha Bray shares his thoughts on cell phones, cancer and tips for taking precautions. The World Health Organization announced Tuesday that it was putting cell phones on a list of things that could potentially cause cancer.

Students caught in MCAT scam: The CBC in Canada reports on students caught in a high-tech scheme to cheat the MCAT. The test-taker used a pinhole camera to send images to a classroom where the questions where shown to students who were conned into thinking they were being tested to become an MCAT tutor. Their answers were then transmitted back to the person taking the test.

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About white coat notes

White Coat Notes covers the latest from the health care industry, hospitals, doctors offices, labs, insurers, and the corridors of government. Chelsea Conaboy previously covered health care for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Write her at cconaboy@boston.com. Follow her on Twitter: @cconaboy.

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