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SundayJanuary 8,

2012

Gwinnett Daily Postinside

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Preventative care: It’s free, except when it’s not

spotlight onHealtH & wellness

Staff Photo: John BohnSandra Easter of Lawrenceville, left, is monitored and advised by Judy Walters, right, while working out a bicep/tricep exercise machine at Curves in Lawrenceville. Walters is the owner of Curves.

By Keith FarnerStaff Correspondent

LAWRENCEVILLE — On the first weekday of the New Year, the Curves fitness facility in Lawrencev-ille buzzed with oldies music and a steady stream of women working off those holiday pounds.

Judy Walters, who has owned the facility for about two years, stood by the door and welcomed in her clients from the blustery early morning cold, every one hoping the flip of the calendar translates into exercise momentum.

“I love being able to work with people, and work with seeing what they are accomplishing,” Walters said. “I’m not trying to be a hot mama by any means, but I know how much better I feel.”

Curves and virtually every other gym or fitness center around is in the midst of the annual New Year’s reso-lution rush that typically lasts three weeks to three months. Most facili-ties report about a 25 percent spike in membership as clients look to add exercise in their daily routine.

“People are used to routine, so whatever they’ve done up until now is typically what they’re going to fall back into,” said Raleigh Clay, a personal trainer at BodyPlex in Su-wanee. “If they can get their minds on using exercise as part of their routine, those are the people that will stay.”

Walters said she expects 25 to 35 new members, and about 15 of those will stick it out for the whole year, while some will pay but not come. Clay said BodyPlex would add about 20 new members each month through March.

Many local fitness clubs charge about $30 to $35 per month, and Walters and Clay said the value is measured in the results. If the money continues to drain from the bank account, but changes aren’t there, the value isn’t there, Clay said.

One way to budget for a new

membership is to cut out a coffee or soda a day, or that mid-afternoon candy bar, Walters said. With the added energy from regular exercise, she said, you won’t need the sugar boost.

Walters said some changes are easier to see in inches than pounds. And she and Clay agree that goals and expectations play a role in how long a person stays.

“What’s happening, because mus-cle weighs more than fat, you might put on 10 pounds, but we measure that body fat, and it’s come down,”

Walters said. “That attainable goal, it’s a lot easier to say you lost three pounds of body fat, and five inches. Because when you start working out you lose inches.”

Fran Eckhart, a charter member of the Lawrenceville Curves, said eas-ing into a routine is the best way to avoid being discouraged.

“Don’t try to push yourself, just take it easy and let the machines help you,” she said. “Gradually work into it, because if you push yourself hard, you’re not going to want to come back, because you’re going to be disgusted with yourself because you didn’t get where you wanted to get right away. It takes a while to build up your stamina and resistance.”

The rush of fitness fanatics has

FROM FAT TO FITKeeping that resolution to lose weight easier than you think

Staff Photo: John BohnChristal Bandy of Grayson, right, works on her abdominal muscles on a glute exercise machine at Curves in Lawrenceville while under the supervision of Walters.

•See Fit, Page 2C

t‘‘I love being able to work with people, and work with seeing what they are accomplishing. I’m not trying to be a hot mama by any means, but I know how much better I feel.”

Curves owner

Judy Walters

Fitdropped some with the re-cent economic downturn, Clay said, but exercise is also used as an outlet when times are tough.

“When you exercise, you do release a lot of endorphins. Frankly, you feel better when you look better,” Clay said. “Some of it appeals to our vanity, but you also feel better when you’re in better shape, so some of it appeals to being in better shape. It’s all encompass-ing, typically the better shape you’re in, the better you look, so all around

you’re going to feel better and have more confi-

dence.”As for the victims of

the added stress, Walters said the machines take the brunt. One of Walters’ clients is an assistant principal who takes her frustrations from school to the gym, then leaves them there.

“(She) just tears these machines up. And she can go home and nobody knows that she’s had a very frustrating day,” Wal-ters said. “They can take it out on these machines. They sleep better, and usually they find out their energy level is up.”

•From Page 1A

Staff Photo: John BohnMary Wilson of Lawrenceville, performs a workout on a squat exercise machine at Curves in Lawrenceville. Wilson work out at Curves three times a week.

t‘‘When you exercise, you do release a lot of endorphins. Frankly, you feel better when you look better.”

Personal trainer

Raleigh Clay

spotlight on health & wellness

By Keith FarnerStaff Correspondent

As New Year’s resolu-tion seekers search for ways to make exercise a part of their daily routine, seasoned professionals and workout fanatics point to an old standby: the buddy system.

The more you are ac-countable to someone else, a friend or personal train-er, for example, the more likely it is a routine will be established. The account-ability and camaraderie

that comes with working out with a partner or group of people are what helps develop that routine.

“If you have a partner that will encourage you to go, it’s like, ‘I have to go because I don’t want to let my partner down,’” said Fran Eckhart, who has been a member of the Law-renceville Curves since 2003. “‘She’s waiting on me, or I’m the one that’s giving her the encourage-ment to come.’ If you have a workout partner it will help. Sometimes you’ll get

up, and say, ‘I don’t want to go, it’s too cold,’ and you get that phone call, and it’s, ‘I’ll meet you there.’”

Raleigh Clay, a person-al trainer at BodyPlex in Suwanee, said his facility designs personal training workouts around pairs and groups.

Clay said buddy refer-rals and word-of-mouth advertising represent about 85 percent of the facility’s monthly business.

“If you have a friend that you come to the gym with, we see a good bit of reten-

tion just because of that,” Clay said. “It’s big when you have people at the gym that you know. When you’re down, you have the other person to bring you along.”

The success of personal training is directly tied to the relationship between the trainer and the client, Clay said. The most suc-cessful relationships often lead to time spent away from the gym.

“They’re going out on the weekends together,” he said. “Those are the

ones that will stay longer and longer and longer be-cause they don’t want to leave. The ones that are just goal based, those are the ones that you’ll see ta-per off on personal train-ing once they reach those goals. What’s good for us is they’ll gain the weight back, and they’ll come back again.”

The New Year’s rush doesn’t only impact the new clients at the gym. The regulars often turn into cheerleaders touting the facility and the benefits

of a new routine.“If you hold still, they’ll

tell you how good it is, tell their success story,” said Judy Walters, owner of the Lawrenceville Curves.

The compounding effect of group support comes when results are reported, Walters said.

“When I weigh and mea-sure somebody and can say 55 pounds since February, and everybody applauds and you have the cheer-leaders, and she’s beam-ing as she’s going to work out,” she said.

Buddy system helps you stay true to your workout regimen

2C • Sunday, January 8, 2012 • www.gwinnettdailypoSt.com

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spotlight on health & wellness

By Tyler EstepStaff Writer

tyler.estep @gwinnettdailypost.com

SUGAR HILL — The city of Sugar Hill will host a series of free educational seminars geared toward helping residents under-stand the ins and outs of Medicare.

The sessions — which

will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 17 and again on Jan. 24 at the Sugar Hill Com-munity Center — are aimed at members of the com-munity approaching age 65 or retirement who may find themselves in need of Medicare. Dubbed “Medi-care 101,” the seminars will “provide vital information and materials about the

Medicare options available so (participants) can make educated decisions regard-ing their health care needs.”

Classes will include a 30-minute presentation, as well as question and an-swer sessions. They will begin at 7 p.m. each night.

The Sugar Hill Com-munity Center is located at 1166 Church St.

Sugar Hill to offer Medicare classes

By Tyler EstepStaff Writer

tyler.estep @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — It’s resolution time.

We’ve arrived at the time of year when every blue-blooded American vows to shed a few excess pounds, get in shape and eat healthier. For the most part, these ambitious proclamations will fall by the wayside before Valentine’s Day — but why?

Amy Tella, Gwinnett Med-ical Center’s clinical nutrition manager, said the answer is pretty simple, especially when it comes to eating better.

“With any resolution, you expect a quick fix and then when it doesn’t happen in a couple days you give up,” Tel-la said. “It takes several weeks to develop a habit whether it’s good or bad. To make lifestyle changes you need to give it a chance to work.”

In today’s world, the ex-cuses are plenty, but mostly center around one explana-tion: not enough time.

Tella, a registered dietitian who oversees all of GMC’s other dietitians, said there are simple ways to get around that. She offered several quick tips for those looking to eat healthier.

• Planning makes a differ-ence. Go to the grocery store with a list, not a willingness to buy “whatever happens to hop in your cart.”

• Set small goals. Aim for simple targets like eating more fruits and vegetables, or increasing dairy intake. You don’t have to be a health nut

to eat healthier.• Eat breakfast. Eating

breakfast gets your metabo-lism going as you start your day — and you don’t have to stick to traditional breakfast foods. “You can even do a sandwich.”

• Don’t skip meals. Just like eating breakfast starts your

metabolism, lunch and dinner keep it going throughout the day. Don’t starve yourself.

• If you have to eat out, eat smart. If you’re stuck at work and have to swing by a fast-food restaurant, eat smart. Get the single burger, not the triple. Try to get grilled chicken, not fried. Substitute fruit or even a baked potato for french fries.

Eating healthy also doesn’t have to be expensive, Tella said. She advised getting in-season fruits and vegetables fresh (they’re cheaper), and buying out of season selec-tions frozen or canned. She also said the USDA’s web-site has a helpful section for “meals on a budget.”

“It’s amazing the amount of food you can get for little money,” Tella said.

Nutritionist offers tips for eating better1. If you smoke, identify your smoking triggers, like stress or hunger and substitute something healthier like a piece of fruit or taking a quick walk.2. On average it takes a person eight tries to quit smoking. Don’t give up! Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your heart.3. Each week aim for 2 1/2 hours of moderate activity to keep your heart healthy. Your heart rate doesn’t distinguish between walking on a treadmill or taking a hike in a beautiful spot. Pick exercise you enjoy.4. Exercise, exercise, exercise. Can’t fit in a 30-minute session all at once? Break it into three segments of ten minutes each throughout the day.5. Make heart-healthy small choices throughout the day, like taking the stairs, parking farther from the store, or choosing water over soda. The human body has an incred-ible ability to reverse damage and heal itself. It’s never too late to improve your lifestyle habits with better nutrition, fitness and quitting smoking.

Provided by Gwinnett Medical Center

Heart HealtHy tips

2 pounds lean ground turkey 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root 2 fresh green chile peppers, diced 1 medium red onion, diced 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons paprika 1 tablespoon ground dry mustard 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 dash Worcestershire sauce

1. Preheat the grill for high heat. 2. In a bowl, mix the ground turkey, garlic, ginger, chile peppers, red onion, cilantro, salt, soy sauce, black pep-per, paprika, mustard, cumin, and Worcestershire sauce. Form the mixture into 8 burger patties. 3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place turkey burgers on the grill, and cook 5 to 10 minutes per side, until well done.

Spicy Turkey Burgers

1 tube refrigerated pizza crust 1⁄4 cup honey bbq sauce 1 1/2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese 1 1⁄2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast1 small red onion, finely chopped 1⁄4 cup minced cilantro1 tsp Italian seasoning 1 egg white1 Tbsp water 1⁄4 tsp garlic powder

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll curst into a 12x9 inch rect-angle; brush with bbq sauce. Layer with cheese, chicken, onion, cilantro and Italian seasoning. 2. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side; pinch seams to seal. Place seam side down on a baking sheet coated with nonstick spray.3. Beat egg white and water; brush over top. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool before slicing.

BBQ Chicken Pizza Roll Upt

‘‘It takes several weeks to develop a habit whether it’s good or bad. To make lifestyle changes you need to give it a chance to work.”

GMC’s clinical nutrition manager

Amy Tella

www.gwInnEttDAIlyPoSt.com • SunDAy, JAnuAry 8, 2012 • 3C

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spotlight on health & wellness4C • Sunday, January 8, 2012 • www.gwinnettdailypoSt.com

By Carla K. Johnsonap medical writer

cHicago — Bill dun-phy thought his colonos-copy would be free.

His insurance company told him it would be cov-ered 100 percent, with no copayment from him and no charge against his deductible. the nation’s 1-year-old health law re-quires most insurance plans to cover all costs for preventive care including colon cancer screening. So dunphy had the procedure in april.

then the bill arrived: $1,100.

dunphy, a 61-year-old phoenix small business owner, angrily paid it out of his own pocket because of what some prevention advocates call a loophole. His doctor removed two noncancerous polyps dur-ing the colonoscopy. So while dunphy was sedat-ed, his preventive screen-ing turned into a diagnostic procedure. that allowed his insurance company to bill him.

like many americans, dunphy has a high-deduct-ible insurance plan. He hadn’t spent his deductible yet. So, on top of his $400 monthly premium, he had to pay the bill.

“that’s bait and switch,” dunphy said. “if it isn’t fraud, it’s immoral.”

president Barack obama’s health overhaul encourages prevention by requiring most insurance plans to pay for preventive care. on the plus side, more than 22 million medicare patients and many more americans with private in-surance have received one or more free covered pre-ventive services this year. From cancer screenings to flu shots, many services no longer cost patients money.

But there are confusing exceptions. as dunphy found out, colonoscopies can go from free to pricey while the patient is under anesthesia.

Breast cancer screen-ings can cause confusion too. in Florida, tampa Bay-area small business owner dawn thomas, 50, went for a screening mam-mogram. But she was told by hospital staff that her mammogram would be a diagnostic test — not pre-ventive screening — be-

cause a previous mammo-gram had found something suspicious. (it turned out to be nothing.)

Knowing that would cost her $700, and know-ing her doctor had ordered a screening mammogram, thomas stood her ground.

“either i get a screening today or i’m putting my clothes back on and i’m leaving,” she remembers telling the hospital staff. it worked. Her mammogram was counted as preventive and she got it for free.

“a lot of women ... are getting labeled with that diagnostic code and hav-ing to pay year after year for that,” thomas said. “it’s a loophole so insur-ance companies don’t have to pay for it.”

For parents with sev-eral children, costs can pile up with unexpected copays for kids needing shots. even when copays are inexpensive, they can blemish a patient-doctor relationship. robin Brass-ner of Jersey city, n.J., expected her doctor visit to be free. all she wanted was a flu shot. But the doctor charged her a $20 copay.

“He said no one really comes in for just a flu shot. they inevitably mention another ailment, so he charges,” Brassner said. as a new patient, she didn’t want to start the relation-ship by complaining, but she left feeling irritated. “next time, i’ll be a little

more assertive about it,” she said.

How confused are doc-tors?

“extremely,” said cher-yl gregg Fahrenholz, an ohio consultant who works with physicians. it’s common for doctors to deal with 200 different insurance plans. and some older plans are exempt.

Should insurance now pay for aspirin? aspirin to prevent heart disease and stroke is one of the covered services for older patients. But it’s unclear whether insurers are sup-posed to pay only for doc-tors to tell older patients about aspirin — or wheth-er they’re supposed to pay for the aspirin itself, said dr. Jason Spangler, chief medical officer for the nonpartisan partnership for prevention.

Stop-smoking interven-tions are also supposed to be free. “But what does that mean?” Spangler asked. “does it mean coun-seling? nicotine replace-ment therapy? what about drugs (that can help smok-ers quit) like wellbutrin or chantix? that hasn’t been clearly laid out.”

But the greatest source of confusion is colonosco-pies, a test for the nation’s second leading cancer kill-er. doctors use a thin, flex-ible tube to scan the colon and they can remove pre-cancerous growths called polyps at the same time.

the test gets credit for lowering colorectal cancer rates. it’s one of several co-lon cancer screening meth-ods highly recommended for adults ages 50 to 75.

But when a doctor screens and treats at the same time, the patient could get a surprise bill.

“it erodes a trust rela-tionship the patients may have had with their doc-tors,” said dr. Joel Brill of the american gastroenter-ological association. “we get blamed. and it’s not our fault,”

cindy Holtzman, an in-surance agent in marietta, ga., is telling clients to check with their insurance plans before a colonoscopy so they know what to ex-pect.

“you could wake up with a $2,000 bill because they find that little bitty polyp,” Holtzman said.

doctors and prevention advocates are asking con-gress to revise the law to waive patient costs — in-cluding medicare copays, which can run up to $230 — for a screening colo-noscopy where polyps are removed. the american gastroenterological as-sociation and the ameri-can cancer Society are pushing congress fix the problem because of the confusion it’s causing for patients and doctors.

at least one state is taking action. after com-plaints piled up in oregon,

insurance regulators now are working with doctors and insurers to make sure patients aren’t getting sur-prise charges when polyps are removed.

Florida’s consumer ser-vices office also reports complaints about colonos-copies and other preven-tive care. california insur-ance broker Bonnie milani said she’s lost count of the complaints she’s had about bills clients have received for preventive services.

“‘confusion’ is not the word i’d apply to the medical offices produc-ing the bills,” milani said. “the word that comes to mind for me ain’t nearly so nice.”

when it’s working as in-tended, the new health law encourages more patients to get preventive care. dr. yul ejnes, a rhode is-

land physician, said he’s personally told patients with high deductible plans about the benefit. they weren’t planning to sched-ule a colonoscopy until they heard it would be free, ejnes said.

if too many patients get surprise bills, however, that advantage could be lost, said Stephen Finan of the american cancer So-ciety cancer action net-work. He said it will take federal or state legislation to fix the colonoscopy loophole.

dunphy, the phoenix businessman, recalled how he felt when he got his colonoscopy bill, like something “underhanded” was going on.

“it’s the intent of the law is to cover this stuff,” dun-phy said. “it really made me angry.”

Preventive care: It’s free, except when it’s notExperts offer the following tips for avoiding surprise medical bills for preventive care:• Call your insurance plan — the 800-number on the back of your insurance card — to find out whether the plan must comply with the Affordable Care Act. If your plan is “grandfathered,” it’s exempt from the law’s requirement to pay for preventive care.• When scheduling an appointment or talking with your doctor, clarify that you’re coming in for a covered pre-ventive service and you don’t expect to be charged. The doctor must be in your health plan’s network.• If you’re hit with an unexpected bill, call the doctor’s office and ask how the bill was submitted. Was it submit-ted as a preventive care service?• Complain to your state’s insurance department if you believe you’ve been billed in error.The following is a partial list of services that should be covered without copays or other cost-sharing by the patient:• Alcohol misuse screening and counseling• Aspirin use for men and women of certain ages• Blood pressure screening for all adults• Cholesterol screening for adults of certain ages or at higher risk• Colorectal cancer screening for adults, starting at age 50• Depression screening for adults• Type 2 diabetes screening for adults with high blood pressure• Diet counseling for adults at higher risk for chronic disease• HIV screening for all adults at higher risk• Flu shots and other recommended vaccines for adults and children• Obesity screening and counseling for adults and children• Tobacco use screening for all adults and cessation interventions for tobacco users• Breast cancer mammography screenings every 1 to 2 years for women over 40• Cervical cancer screening for sexually active women• Folic acid supplements for women who may become pregnant• Osteoporosis screening for women over age 60 de-pending on risk factors• Autism screening for children at 18 and 24 months• Depression screening for adolescents• Fluoride supplements for children without fluoride in their water source• Hearing screening for all newborns

Sources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Georgetown University Health Policy Institute

How to avoid costly surprisEs

The Associated PressBill dunphy poses for a photo dec. 2 in phoenix. dunphy, a 61-year-old small business owner, thought his colonoscopy would be free under the nation’s year-old health care law. But when the doctor removed two non-cancerous polyps, turning a preventive screening into a diagnostic procedure, it allowed his insurance company to bill him $1,100. “that’s bait and switch,” dunphy said. “if it isn’t fraud, it’s immoral.”

Man on the streetThe new year brings new resolutions and changes in your lifestyle. The Post walked the streets of Lawrenceville and asked residents, “What are you doing to be more healthy this new year?” Here’s a snapshot of what they said.

— compiled by staff writer Meghan Kotowski

“I’m not really doing anything healthy for the new year. I’m actually eyeballing some Mellow Mushroom right now. I guess I’m trying not to gain any extra pounds.”

— chris sollens, Gainesville

“I’m going to the gym more this year. I’m in college and I went during the semes-ter, but I stopped during the break.”

— Kelly McBrayer, lawrenceville

“I’m working out more this year — well, at least that’s my intention. I’m eat-ing lighter and becoming a vegetarian. I’m only at the mid-level (vegetarian) so far. I know if I want some-thing better, it starts with myself.”

— sheila Nyandebvu, lawrenceville

“My doctor has ordered me to lower my cholesterol, so I’m working on that. I’m continuing to exercise and not overdo it with food. I dropped 10 pounds last year and I’m trying to keep it off.”

— roger soiset, lilburn

“Something healthy? Not particularly. I’m doing some-thing healthy for my business rather than my body. I know it sounds bad, but I have to recover my store before I can work on myself.”

— Meg Earhart, lawrenceville

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spotlight on health & wellness

By Marilynn Marchione

AP Chief Medical Writer

Unhappy with today’s health care? Think of what it was like to be sick 200 years ago.

No stethoscopes, antibi-otics, X-rays or vaccines. Bloodletting was a common treatment. If you had a heart attack or a stroke, doctors put you in bed and hoped for the best. If you needed sur-gery, you got a few shots of whiskey and a bullet to bite.

Into this medical dark age, two Boston doctors brought a beacon of light. They started what is now the New England Journal of Medicine with the idea that science should guide care — not whoever argued loudest or had the most per-suasive theory.

The first 100 copies in January 1812 were deliv-ered by horseback. Today, 2 million people read the journal online every month. It is the oldest continuously publishing medical jour-nal in the world, and it has touched lives in more ways than you may know. Some examples:

• Stroke victims now get clot-busting medicine, not dark rooms to ride out their brain trauma, because a 1995 study in the journal proved its benefit.

• Heart attack patients have arteries unclogged without surgery, then go home on medicines that studies in the journal showed could prevent future attacks.

• Women with early stage breast cancer can have just the lump removed followed by radiation instead of los-ing the whole breast, thanks to a 1985 study that found the lesser surgery just as

good. • Bone marrow and organ

transplants — radical ideas when first tried half a cen-tury ago — are now routine. Even face transplants are becoming more common: three were described in last week’s issue.

• Rehydration is now rec-ognized as the main treat-ment for many diarrheal diseases. A journal article warned against bloodletting in 1832 as cholera ravaged New York City.

• People no longer suffer surgery without anesthesia, a field that grew from Henry Jacob Bigelow’s 1846 re-port on the first successful use of inhaled ether.

• Medicine is more ethi-cal, and study participants have more protections, be-cause of a 1966 report in the journal about research-ers failing to get informed consent. Another top jour-nal had rejected the article as too controversial.

The New England Jour-nal started decades before the American Medical As-sociation was founded in 1847 and is widely credited with promoting evidence-based care.

“It has been very good for society,” said Pat Thibodeau, head librarian and associate dean for the Medical Center Library at Duke University. “When I go in, I’m hoping my doctor has read the New England Journal of Medi-cine or something similar and is following that infor-mation.”

“It’s the cream of the crop,” said Dr. Barron Le-rner, a Columbia University physician and medical his-torian.

“They get the best re-search submitted to them, and they do an extremely good job of peer reviewing” to make sure it is solid, he said.

That’s what Boston sur-geon John Collins Warren

and James Jackson, who helped found Massachusetts General Hospital, hoped for the journal, which is now published weekly. It got its current name in 1928, seven years after it was bought by the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Warren’s father, John Warren, surgeon to George Washington’s troops, wrote the first article, on chest pain. Doctors had been debating whether it was caused by plaque — “the cement that builds up in arteries” — or blood clots, said Dr. Jeffrey Drazen, the journal’s editor-in-chief since 2000. Both proved correct — the “ce-ment” fractures and allows a clot to form that blocks an artery, he said.

Heart care has been a journal specialty, and two prominent doctors — Eliz-abeth Nabel and Eugene Braunwald of Brigham and

Women’s Hospital — trace its evolution in this week’s issue. Nabel is former direc-tor of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and now is president of the Boston hospital.

They describe the first hu-man cardiac catheterization — now a common diagnos-tic procedure — that Wer-ner Forssman performed on himself in 1929. Under lo-cal anesthesia, he put a cath-eter into his arm and maneu-vered it into his own heart.

For a heart attack, “it used to be that all we did was put people to bed for five weeks,” but studies in

the journal showed “that that was the worst thing you could do,” said Dr. Jerome Kassirer, its top editor from 1991 to 1999.

The journal also helped prove “germ theory” and the nature of infectious dis-eases.

“People didn’t realize you could infect people when you were using your dirty gloves or not using gloves. People didn’t realize tuber-culosis was communicable. They thought it emanated from clouds they called mi-asma, clouds of dirty smoke in cities,” said Lerner, the Columbia historian.

New England Journal celebrates 200 years of medicine

The Associated PressEditor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Jeffrey M. Drazen, holds a copy of the Journal’s 200th anniversary edition Dec. 29 in the maga-zine’s editorial offices in Boston.

This illustration made available by the New England Journal of Medicine shows a diagram of a human heart for the article “Cases of Organic Diseases of the Heart and Lungs” by John C. Warren in the April 1, 1812, issue of the journal.

8C • SuNday, JaNuaRy 8, 2012 • WWW.GWiNNettdailyPoSt.coM

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