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Enhancing patient empowerment in plastic surgery through social media

For patients considering or undergoing plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) procedures, using social media to gather information and answer questions can enhance patient empowerment – potentially leading to increased autonomy and better decision-making, reports a study in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

30 Mar 2024

Contraceptive content shared on social media largely not from health experts, study finds

Brigham researchers looked at tweets from 2014 to 2019 about contraceptive methods and found that only a small fraction were authored by health professionals.

29 Mar 2024

Study reveals protein structure similarities in Alzheimer's and Down syndrome

More than 90% of people with Down syndrome, the most common chromosomal disorder in humans and the most frequent genetic cause of intellectual disability, are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease by ages 55-60.

29 Mar 2024

Combining MRI and blood tests to avoid unnecessary prostate biopsies

MRI of the prostate, combined with a blood test, can help determine if a prostate lesion is clinically significant cancer, new research suggests.

29 Mar 2024

Polypills prove effective in reducing cardiovascular disease and mortality

A new study from researchers at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis bolsters previous findings that polypills are beneficial in preventing heart attacks and strokes and reducing deaths among people with cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

29 Mar 2024

Enhancing patient empowerment in plastic surgery through social media

28 Mar 2024

Mental health conditions could accelerate cardiovascular risk in young and middle-aged women

Younger women are generally thought to have a low risk of heart disease, but new research urges clinicians to revisit that assumption, especially for women who suffer from certain mental health conditions.

28 Mar 2024

New treatment paradigm focuses on reverting cancer cells to normal state

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists reversed an aggressive cancer, reverting malignant cells towards a more normal state. Rhabdoid tumors are an aggressive cancer which is missing a key tumor suppressor protein.

27 Mar 2024

Genetic predisposition to stress linked with higher heart attack risk

People with specific genetic traits and those who have anxiety or depression have a significantly higher heart attack risk during periods of social or political stress than at other times, according to a new study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session.

27 Mar 2024

Delaying surgical inguinal hernia repair in preterm infants reduces risks

Delaying surgical inguinal hernia repair in preterm infants until after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit appears to reduce the likelihood of serious adverse events, according to researchers at UTHealth Houston.

26 Mar 2024

Esophageal cancer surgery: Standard and keyhole incisions show similar outcomes

New research has found no evidence of a difference between recovery time and complications when comparing standard and keyhole surgical incisions for the treatment of esophageal cancer (cancer of the gullet).

26 Mar 2024

Study reveals genetic variant linked to increased risk of leukemia in Hispanic/Latino children

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer, disproportionately affects children of Hispanic/Latino origin in the United States.

26 Mar 2024

Study explores the role of health care algorithms in racial and ethnic disparities

For years, it was harder for Black patients to secure a coveted spot on the national kidney transplant waitlist because a clinical algorithm was making Black patients appear healthier than they were.

26 Mar 2024

Leveraging cancer therapies to combat tuberculosis

What could cancer teach us about tuberculosis? That's a question Meenal Datta has been chasing since she was a graduate student.

25 Mar 2024

MUTYH gene mutation linked to increased risk of various solid tumors

A gene associated with colorectal cancer appears to also play a role in the development of other solid tumors, according to a study of over 350,000 patient biopsy samples conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Foundation Medicine.

25 Mar 2024

Novel treatment approach to halt epilepsy progression identified

Only a very small percentage of neurons show changes after an epileptic seizure in mice, but these alterations can be permanent and trigger future seizures that can affect the whole brain and lead to impaired cognition, like memory and learning, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

22 Mar 2024

Sexual harassment prevalent among new doctors in their first year, study reveals

More than half of all new doctors face some form of sexual harassment in their first year on the job, including nearly three-quarters of all new female doctors and a third of males, a new study finds.

22 Mar 2024

Researchers devise novel technique for crafting human artificial chromosomes

Human artificial chromosomes (HACs) capable of working within human cells could power advanced gene therapies, including those addressing some cancers, along with many laboratory applications, though serious technical obstacles have hindered their development.

21 Mar 2024

Study highlights global fertility decline and its implications for the future

The world is approaching a low-fertility future. Although by 2100 more than 97% of countries and territories will have fertility rates below what is necessary to sustain population size over time, comparatively high fertility rates in numerous low-income countries, predominantly in western and eastern sub-Saharan Africa, will continue to drive population increases in these locations throughout the century.

21 Mar 2024

Skin biopsy test shows promise in diagnosing Parkinson's disease and synucleinopathies

In a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), neurologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) showed that a simple skin biopsy test detects an abnormal form of alpha-synuclein, the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease and the subgroup of neurodegenerative disorders known as synucleinopathies, at high positivity rates.

20 Mar 2024