Gene Therapy for Inherited Blindness Succeeds in Patients' Other Eye

Science Daily  — Gene therapy for congenital blindness has taken another step forward, as researchers further improved vision in three adult patients previously treated in one eye. After receiving the same treatment in their other eye, the patients became better able to see in dim light, and two were able to navigate obstacles in low-light situations. No adverse effects occurred.

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Neither the first treatment nor the readministered treatment triggered an immune reaction that cancelled the benefits of the inserted genes, as has occurred in human trials of gene therapy for other diseases. The current research targeted Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a retinal disease that progresses to total blindness by adulthood.

Scientists from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania led the study, recently published in Science Translational Medicine.

"Patients have told us how their lives have changed since receiving gene therapy," said study co-leader Jean Bennett, M.D., Ph.D., F.M. Kirby professor of Ophthalmology at Penn. "They are able to walk around at night, go shopping for groceries and recognize people's faces -- all things they couldn't do before. At the same time, we were able to objectively measure improvements in light sensitivity, side vision and other visual functions."

Other objective results came from brain signals seen in neuroimaging. When a dimly flickering checkerboard pattern flashed in front of a patient's recently treated eye, an area in the brain responsible for vision lit up during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)."This finding is telling us that the brain is responding to the eye's sensitivity to dim light," said radiology researcher Manzar Ashtari, Ph.D., of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the study's co-leader.

LCA is a group of hereditary retinal diseases in which a gene mutation impairs production of an enzyme essential to light receptors in the retina. The study team injected patients with a vector, a genetically engineered adeno-associated virus, which carried a normal version of a gene called RPE65 that is mutated in one form of LCA.

The researchers in the current study previously carried out a clinical trial of this gene therapy in 12 patients with LCA, four of them children aged 11 and younger when they were treated. Exercising caution, the researchers treated only one eye -- the one with worse vision. This trial, reported in October of 2009, achieved sustained and notable results, with six subjects improving enough to no longer be classified as legally blind.

The Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics (CCMT) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia sponsored both the initial clinical trial and the current study, and manufactured the vector used to carry the corrective gene. Katherine A. High, M.D., a co-author of both studies, is the director of the CCMT, and a pioneering gene therapy researcher.

The research team's experiments in animals had showed that readministering treatment in a second eye was safe and effective. While these results were encouraging, the researchers were concerned that readministering the vector in the untreated eye of the patients might stimulate an inflammatory response that could reduce the initial benefits in the untreated eye.

"Our concern was that the first treatment might cause a vaccine-like immune response that could prime the individual's immune system to react against a repeat exposure," said Bennett. Because the eye is "immune-privileged" -- relatively isolated from the body's immune system -- such a response was considered less likely than in other parts of the body, but the idea needed to be tested in practice.

As in the first study, retina specialist Albert M. Maguire, M.D., a study co-author, injected the vector into the untreated eyes of the three subjects at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The patients had been treated one and a half to three years previously.

The researchers continued to follow the three patients for six months after readministration. They found the most significant improvements were in light sensitivity, such as the pupil's response to light over a range of intensities. Two of the three subjects were able to navigate an obstacle course in dim light, as captured in videos that accompanied the published study.

There were no safety problems and no significant immune responses. There was even an unexpected benefit -- the fMRI results showed improved brain responses not just in the newly injected eye, but in the first one as well, possibly because the eyes were better able to coordinate with each other in fixating on objects.

The researchers caution that follow-up studies must be done over a longer period and with additional subjects before they can definitively state that readministering gene therapy for retinal disease is safe in humans. However, said Bennett, the findings bode well for treating the second eye in the remaining patients from the first trial -- including children, who may have better results because their retinas have not degenerated as much as those of the adults.

Furthermore, Bennett added, the research holds promise for using a similar gene therapy approach for other retinal diseases. Ashtari said that fMRI may play a future role in helping to predict patients more likely to benefit from gene therapy for retinal disease.

DNA Sequencing Helps Identify Cancer Cells for Immune System Attack

The immune system relies on an intricate network of alarm bells, targets and safety brakes to determine when and what to attack. The new results suggest that scientists may now be able to combine DNA sequencing data with their knowledge of the triggers and targets that set off immune alarms to more precisely develop vaccines and other immunotherapies for cancer. (Credit: Image courtesy of Washington University in St. Louis)

Science Daily — DNA sequences from tumour cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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The research, in mice, appears online Feb. 8 in Nature.

The immune system relies on an intricate network of alarm bells, targets and safety brakes to determine when and what to attack. The new results suggest that scientists may now be able to combine DNA sequencing data with their knowledge of the triggers and targets that set off immune alarms to more precisely develop vaccines and other immunotherapies for cancer.

"We already have ways to identify specific targets for immunotherapy, but they are technically challenging, extremely labor-intensive and often take more than a year to complete," says senior author Robert Schreiber, PhD, the Alumni Professor of Pathology and Immunology at the School of Medicine and co-leader of the tumor immunology program at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. "These difficulties have stood in the way of developing personalized immunotherapies for cancer patients, who often require immediate care for their disease. To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to show that the faster methods provided by DNA sequencing can help. That opens up all kinds of exciting possibilities."

Scientists have long maintained that the immune system can recognize cancer as a threat either on its own or with the help of vaccines or other immunotherapeutic treatments, which help alert the immune system to the danger posed by cancers. Once the cancer is recognized, the immune system should develop the capacity to attack growing cancer cells until either the tumor is eradicated or the immune system's resources are exhausted.

Schreiber and his colleagues have shown that interactions between the immune system and cancer are more complex. Their theory, called cancer immunoediting, suggests that some of the mutations in tumor cells are very easy for the immune system to recognize as a threat. If the immune system detects these mutations in cancer cells, it attacks until they are destroyed.

At that point, the cancer may be eliminated. But it's also possible that the cancer can be "edited" by the immune system, resulting in the removal of all the cells containing the critical easily recognized mutations. The remaining tumor cells can continue to grow or enter into a period of dormancy where they are not destroyed but are held in check by the immune system.

For the new study, Schreiber and his colleagues wanted to define the genetics of tumors that had yet to interact with the immune system. To do so, they induced tumors in mice with disabled immune systems. They collaborated with Washington University's Genome Institute scientists, who sequenced the cancer cells' genes.

"Until very recently, this work would have been impractical because of the costs involved," Schreiber says. "But the technology has improved and prices have come down, and now it's possible to obtain this genetic information for a few thousand dollars instead of a million."

By comparing genetic data from cancer cells and normal cells, scientists identified 3,743 mutations in the genes of the tumor cells. Next, they turned to an online database of protein sequences likely to be recognized by a key immune system sensor. This helped them narrow their focus to a few mutated genes whose altered proteins seemed most likely to trigger immune system attacks. One of these mutated proteins, an altered form of spectrin-beta2, was present in all tumor cells that were attacked by the immune system and in none of the cells that were ignored.

Researchers cloned this mutant gene and put it into other mouse tumor cells that lacked the mutation. When transplanted into mice with normal immunity, the tumor cells that made the mutant spectrin-beta 2 protein were attacked and eliminated by immune cells.

"Many of the cancer genome projects now under way are looking for the 'driver' mutations, or the mutations that cause the cancers," Schreiber says. "Our results suggest there may be additional information in the sequencing data that can help us make the immune system attack cancers."

Schreiber calls the spectrin-beta2 mutation identified in the study "low-hanging fruit," noting that it's such a red flag to the immune system that its presence normally leads the immune system to assault cancer cells without any prompting from immunotherapy.

He and his colleagues are currently sequencing DNA in tumors grown from mice with normal immune systems to see if they can identify mutations that are not as readily discernible to the immune system.

"The idea would be to make a vaccine that helps the immune system recognize and attack six or seven of these mutated proteins in a cancer," he says. "Therapeutically, that could be very helpful."

Simple names win more favours

THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

A study by Dr Simon Laham at the University of Melbourne and Dr Adam Alter at New York University Stern School of Business has found that having a simple, easy-to-pronounce name is more likely to win you friends and favour in the workplace. In the first study of its kind, published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers analysed how the pronunciation of names can influence impression formation and decision-making. In particular, they demonstrated “the name pronunciation effect,” which occurs when people with easy–to–pronounce names are evaluated more positively than those with difficult-to-pronounce names. The study revealed that: People with more pronounceable names were more likely to be favoured for political office and job promotions Political candidates with easy-to-pronounce names were more likely to win a race than those without, based on a mock ballot study Attorneys with more pronounceable names rose more quickly to superior positions in their firm hierarchies, based on a field study of 500 first and last names of US lawyers Lead author, Dr Simon Laham said subtle biases that we are unaware of affect our decisions and choices. “Research findings revealed that the effect is not due merely to the length of a name or how foreign-sounding or unusual it is, but rather how easy it is to pronounce,” he said. Dr Adam Alter who conducted the law firm analysis, said this effect also exists in other industries and in many everyday contexts. “People simply aren’t aware of the subtle impact that names can have on their judgments,” Dr Alter said. Dr Laham said the results had important implications for the management of bias and discrimination in our society.  “It’s important to appreciate the subtle biases that shape our choices and judgments about others.  Such an appreciation may help us de-bias our thinking, leading to fairer, more objective treatment of others,” he said. Researchers conducted studies both in lab settings and in a natural environment using a range of names from Anglo, Asian, and Western and Eastern European backgrounds. This research builds on Dr Alter’s earlier work, which suggests that financial stocks with simpler names tend to outperform similar stocks with complex names immediately after they appear on the market. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

‘Dire future’ awaits big trees

JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY

Already declining worldwide, big trees face a dire future according to James Cook University’s Distinguished Professor William Laurance. Writing in New Scientist magazine, Professor Laurance said that the world’s "biggest and most magnificent" trees face a range of threats. Reviewing research from forests around the world, he said that there was evidence of their decline due to habitat fragmentation, selective harvesting by loggers, exotic invaders, and the effects of climate change. He said their demise will have substantial impacts on biodiversity and forest ecology, while worsening climate change. "To persist, big trees need a safe place to live and long periods of stability," Professor Laurance said. "But time and stability are becoming very rare commodities in our modern world." Giant trees offer critical habitat and forage for wildlife, while transpiring massive amounts of water through their leaves, contributing to local rainfall. Old trees also lock up massive amounts of carbon — in some forests they can account for more than a quarter of living biomass. “But their ability to sequester carbon and render other ecosystem services is threatened by human activities. Some of the world's largest trees are particularly targeted by loggers. The oldest trees are among the most valuable and therefore the first to be cut in ‘virgin’ forest areas,” he said. “Big trees are also sensitive to habitat fragmentation, which exposes them to stronger winds and drier conditions.” Professor Laurance's own work in the Amazon has shown substantial die-off of canopy giants in small forest fragments. “Their susceptibility seems counter-intuitive given big trees' life histories, which invariably include periods of drought and other stress,” he said. "All around the tropics, big canopy and emergent trees are succumbing to strong droughts. "That's been a surprise to me and many other ecologists, because big, ancient trees would have had to survive many droughts in the past." Professor Laurance said that forest giants may suffer disproportionately from climate change. "According to one popular theory, trees get a double-whammy when the thermometer rises. During the day, their photosynthesis shuts down when it gets too warm, and at night they use more energy because their metabolic rate increases, much as a reptile’s would do when it gets warmer. “With less energy being produced in warmer years and more being consumed just to survive, there is less energy available for growth. “This hypothesis, if correct, means tropical forests could shrink over time. The largest, oldest trees would progressively die off and tend not to be replaced,” Professor Laurance said. “Alarmingly, this might trigger a positive feedback that could destabilize the climate: as older trees die, forests would release some of their stored carbon into the atmosphere, prompting a vicious circle of further warming, forest shrinkage and carbon emissions.” Professor Laurance said that climate change was also having less direct impacts on forests, including creating conditions for exotic pathogens to thrive. For example, pathogens such as Dutch Elm Disease, introduced by trade or circumstance, have devastated trees in many parts of the world. “All told, the outlook for big trees is not good,” he said. "The decline of big trees foretells a different world where ancient behemoths are replaced by short-lived pioneers and generalists that can grow anywhere, where forests store less carbon and sustain fewer dependent animals. “It’s a place where giant cathedral-like crowns could become a thing of the past." Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Smoking dads: leukemic kids

LOUISA FREW, SCIENCENETWORK WA

“Oxidative damage to the DNA is the main type of damage seen as a result of smoking in sperm." Image: Stratol/iStockphoto Research from Western Australia’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research finds that heavy smoking by fathers around the time of conception greatly increases the risk of the child developing Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer. Published in the prestigious American Journal of Epidemiology, the study investigated the association between parental smoking and the occurrence of ALL in offspring. “The first step towards the development of leukemia is thought to occur in utero in a lot of cases,” lead author Dr Elizabeth Milne says. “So we look at prenatal exposures as it has to be something to do with what’s happening before the baby’s born.” “Tobacco is a known carcinogen and, in terms of childhood leukemia, there’s a plausible biological pathway whereby paternal smoking could actually contribute to disease risk in the offspring,” she says. In a comprehensive exposure questionnaire distributed nationwide to 388 families with cases of ALL and 868 control families, the group asked mothers and fathers to state where they lived, their occupation and how many cigarettes they smoked for every year of their life from the time they were 15. “Using this information and knowing the year the child was born, we were then able to look at smoking levels around the time of conception,” Dr Milne says. “The results indicated that the risk of ALL, when compared with dad’s who did not smoke during the year of conception, increased by 35% when fathers smoked more than 15 cigarettes a day around the time conception.” The effect was only apparent amongst heavier smokers, with fathers who smoked less than 15 cigarettes, as well as former heavy smokers, not showing any increased risk. Based on evidence from laboratory studies of sperm, the group believe that paternal smoking may cause adverse changes in sperm DNA structure that may then go on to effect the development of the baby. “Oxidative damage to the DNA is the main type of damage seen as a result of smoking in sperm,” Dr Milne says. Dr Milne cautions against implying blame, stating the cause of ALL is likely to be multifactor and that research efforts are about prevention in the future. “The key message is that this is something that fathers and potential fathers should be informed of,” she says. The group hope to further this research by looking at the paternal and offspring genotype in terms of DNA repair mechanisms to assess if there may be effect-modification by genotype. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Climate raises risk of dengue

ROB PAYNE, SCIENCENETWORK WA

The Asian tiger mosquito is known to carry several viruses, including dengue fever. Image: flubydust/iStockphoto According to climate modelling for 2050, northern sections of WA could present ideal conditions for dengue fever. At present the receptive region for the mosquito Aedes aegypti—a vector for the disease—is confined to the northern part of Australia with sporadic incidences in Queensland. But in a high-emissions temperature scenario, this zone could spread along the coast from the Northern Territory border as far south as Carnarvon. These findings were part of Professor Anthony McMichael’s Australian Academy of Science (AAS) public lecture Pestilence, pandemics and climate change, presented at Shine Dome, Canberra. Sometimes known as ‘bone-break fever’, dengue symptoms include elevated temperature, joint ache, severe headaches, weakness and skin rashes. Five per cent of cases are fatal. In the first quarter of 2011, 166 cases were reported in WA, up from 85 in 2010. These originated overseas, with 80 percent traced to Indonesia. According to Prof McMichael, changes in temperature and rainfall patterns will influence the emergence and spread of infectious diseases across Australia. “These particularly include dengue fever and Ross River Virus as well as the major causes of gastroenteritis or food poisoning,” he says. “There is also an increased likelihood of new infectious diseases emerging.” In his lecture, Prof McMichael traces the ebb and flow of pestilence, pandemics and climate change, linking periods of global warming and cooling to spikes in infectious disease. He notes that small changes in climate can have high impacts. During the Justinian Plague of 542, a three to four degree cooling event combined with unusual rain levels resulted in conditions rife for the proliferation of the xenopsylla cheopsis flea—carrier of the bubonic plague. Similarly, during the Black Death, a 1 degree C rise in spring temperatures correlated to an increase in human plague outbreaks by 63 percent. As our temperatures rise, WA, like the rest of Australia, should be prepared for rapid ecological change. “In terms of food yields, any departure from average climate conditions will put a strain on food species—plant and animals,” says Prof McMichael. He notes bats infected with the Hendra virus in Asia have moved closer into peri-urban settings due to loss of habitat caused in part by temperature change and altered rainfall patterns. By logical conjecture, similar migrations could affect WA, including incidences of Ross River Virus (RRV) and Barmah Forest Virus (BFV), which are transmitted through intermediary animals. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Bionic eye trials ready in 2013

MONASH UNIVERSITY

Over 50,000 people in Australia are considered clinically blind while the number globally exceeds 160 million. Image: [name here]/iStockphoto Monash University researchers say they will have a bionic eye implant ready for human trials in 2013. “We have made significant progress since beginning last year and are confident we will have a device that could treat the majority of patients who are clinically blind,” said Professor Arthur Lowery, Director of the Monash Vision Group (MVG). Over 50,000 people in Australia are considered clinically blind while the number globally exceeds 160 million. “Our device will directly stimulate the brain’s vision centre using a miniaturised implant. The implant is fed with signals from a camera that have been processed to extract the most useful information, depending on what the user needs. “The implant has many tiles, each with 45 electrodes, designed to give over 650 pixels in all. Due to the powerful and adaptable signal processing, we believe this number of electrodes can provide invaluable situational awareness to the user. The device can also be tuned for use in different environments, both indoors and outdoors,” Prof Lowery said. The MVG approach has a number of advantages over other bionic eye technologies, in that it does not require a functioning eyeball or optic nerve or visual pathways from the eye to the brain. Prof Jeffrey Rosenfeld, chief surgeon on the project from The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, believes that this approach will suit patients who have lost their sight through traumatic injury or tumours, and will also be suitable for many patients with diseases affecting the eye itself, such as glaucoma and retinal disorders. “Our implant features an array of electrodes inserted into the surface layers of the brain at the back of the head where the V1 vision region resides. The V1 region has a relatively large surface area compared with the retina, so can potentially provide better resolution than other approaches,” Prof Rosenfeld said. Established in April 2010, with an $8 million grant from the Australian Research Council, MVG consists of more than 20 leaders in physiology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical and materials engineering, mathematics and immunology.  The MVG’s key partners include Monash University, Grey Innovation, Alfred Health and MiniFab, with the group also exploring the potential to collaborate with other leading researchers and engineers from Australia, the US and UK. Editor's Note: More information about the research can be found here.

Spicy Indian Foods Very Hot (கவனம்....நாக்கு சுட்டுட போகுது...!!!! )

The photographer caught this special moment, what a privilege to see!

 .IT'S HARD TO SAY WHICH IS MORE AMAZING... THE ANIMALS OR THE PHOTOGRAPHY!!!

"Be who you are and say what you feel...

Because those that matter...

don't mind...
And those that mind....

don't matter."

Adolescents suffering from depression more likely to be bullied

 

A new study provides evidence that adolescents who suffer from depression are more likely to develop difficulty in peer relationships including being bullied at school.

It's often assumed that being bullied leads to psychological problems, such as depression, but the study doesn't support this line of thought.

"Often the assumption is that problematic peer relationships drive depression. We found that depression symptoms predicted negative peer relationships," said Karen Kochel, Arizona State University School of Social and Family Dynamics assistant research professor. "We examined the issue from both directions but found no evidence to suggest that peer relationships forecasted depression among this school-based sample of adolescents."

The new research is published in the journal Child Development. The article, Longitudinal Associations among Youths' Depressive Symptoms, Peer Victimization, and Low Peer Acceptance: An Interpersonal Process Perspective, was authored by: Arizona State University School of Social and Family Dynamics Professor Gary Ladd; Karen Kochel, who conducted the study for her dissertation; and Karen Rudolph of the University of Illinois.

Being depressed in fourth grade predicted peer victimization in fifth grade and difficulty with peer acceptance in sixth grade, according to the research.

The researchers examined data from 486 youths from fourth to sixth grade. Parents, teachers, peers and students themselves provided information through yearly surveys. Data was collected as part of a large-scale longitudinal study that began in 1992 and continued for nearly two decades.

"Adolescence is the time when we see depressive symptoms escalate, particularly in girls," Kochel said. This may be due to the onset of puberty or interpersonal challenges, such as emotionally demanding peer and romantic relationships, which are often experienced during adolescence.

Teachers and parents were asked to identify classic signs of depression – crying a lot, lack of energy, etc. - when determining which children suffered from the malady. They defined peer victimization as bullying that was manifested physically, verbally, or relationally, such as hitting someone, saying mean things, talking behind someone's back or picking on someone.

"Teachers, administrators and parents need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of depression and the possibility that depression is a risk factor for problematic peer relations," Kochel said.

Research shows that having positive peer relationships is crucial for adapting to certain aspects of life such as scholastic achievement and functioning in a healthy manner psychologically, Kochel said.

"If adolescent depression forecasts peer relationship problems, then recognizing depression is very important at this particular age. This is especially true given that social adjustment in adolescence appears to have implications for functioning throughout an individual's lifetime," Kochel said.

School may be the best place to observe and address adolescent signs of depression since students typically start spending more time with their friends and less with their parents as they become adolescents, according to the social scientists.

"We studied peer relationships within the school context. Parents tend not to observe these relationships," Kochel said. "Because depression has the potential to undermine the maturation of key developmental skills, such as establishing healthy peer relationships, it's important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of adolescent depression."

Provided by Arizona State University

"New study: Adolescents suffering from depression more likely to be bullied." February 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-adolescents-depression-bullied.html

 

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Is it ever ok to hug your doctor?

To hug or not to hug, that really is the question. We’ve all had those awkward moments. Should I go in for the hug? I’m not a hugger, what should I do? What about in the medical setting? Is it ever OK to hug your doctor?

There is something very unique about the patient/physician relationship. It’s a delicate relationship that can only thrive on open, trusted communication, yet there needs to be clear-set boundaries. This delicate balance often can result in some gray areas.

“Even in our current high-tech medicine age, it is clear that the relationship between the patient and caregiver is of therapeutic benefit. Still, professional boundaries need to be established. A simple matter such as hugging is complex because being a doctor or a nurse is a complex role that combines job skills and one’s very being,” said Mark Kuczewski, PhD, director of the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, Loyola University Chicago.

A clinical setting can be a place of highly charged emotions. This is where life-and-death information is discussed and exchanged. Just being in this environment can have strong emotional implications and a patient may need reassurance, comfort and support.

Kuczewski said that when encountering these awkward moments, there are a few things to take into consideration.

First, context is key. Professional distance is important in the physician/patient relationship. If a doctor has an objective, neutral tone it creates a judgment-free environment where a patient feels free to discuss any topic.

“There are emotionally charged situations that can happen in a clinical setting. If a patient has developed a rapport with a caregiver, they may reach out for a sign of support such as a hug. If it seems natural and unforced, it may be helpful and probably of no real concern,” Kuczewski said.

Second, it is important that the person who initiates the hug is the less-powerful person.

“When people who are very ill come to see a physician, they are extremely vulnerable. They feel their health and well-being lies in the hands of this physician and they don’t want to offend him or her. This can make it hard for a patient to decline a hug for fear of it impacting their care,” Kuczewski said.

Still, at times the physician may be the less powerful person or just feel uncomfortable accepting a hug from a patient. In those instances Kuczewski recommends trying to inject a handshake before the person moves in for a hug. If caught early enough, both physician and patient will feel the professional boundaries have not been crossed, but there still has been a comforting connection.

“While it might seem awkward at the moment, setting such boundaries immediately is far less uncomfortable than having to dispel the patient’s misconceptions later on,” Kuczewski said.

He offers some additional ways physicians can still show concern for their patients without a hug. Doctors should:

Use body nonverbal cues that one is paying attention, such as leaning forward, facing the patient when talking and making eye contact.

Touch an elbow or forearm. This is less invasive than a hug.

Use verbal cues to show expressions of support such as, “We’re in this together,” if the patient is receiving bad news.

“What’s important is solidifying the patient/physician relationship, showing support in a non-threatening way,” Kuczewski said.

These situations are most difficult when the nature of the affection might be misunderstood by the patient or physician.

“When in doubt, substitute a handshake or other sign of support, and doubt early and often. Any time you question a hug, don’t do it. You can graciously and easily deflect the momentum toward a hug by extending a hand for a handshake or providing a comforting word,” Kuczewski said. “Still, in the right context and with the right people, a hug might be just what the doctor and the patient ordered. We don’t want to deny a patient or physician a moment that can bring healing."

Provided by Loyola University Health System

"Is it ever ok to hug your doctor?." February 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-doctor.html

 

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek