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Longer looks: A jack-of-all-trades surgeon takes care of Nantucket; Psychiatrist's controversial effort to use brain scans to diagnose mental problems

Dr. Tim Lepore, 67, is a jack-of-all-trades general surgeon, tending to the 10,000 full-time residents of the Massachusetts island of Nantucket and to the many thousand more rich and famous summer-dwellers. Dr. Lepore has dealt with everything from poison ivy and tick-borne illnesses to narcolepsy and toe tourniquet syndrome (when a mother's hair wraps around a baby's toe, cutting off circulation). He counsels alcoholics, and allows patients to barter for health care. He once accepted oatmeal cookies from an immigrant worker who had no money for treatment.

17 Aug 2012

Insight into neural basis of human consciousness

Which areas of the brain help us to perceive our world in a self-reflective manner is difficult to measure. During wakefulness, we are always conscious of ourselves. In sleep, however, we are not. But there are people, known as lucid dreamers, who can become aware of dreaming during sleep. Studies employing magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) have now been able to demonstrate that a specific cortical network consisting of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the frontopolar regions and the precuneus is activated when this lucid consciousness is attained.

30 Jul 2012

Jersey Shore continues to provide outstanding cardiac surgery services

The 2012 Cardiac Surgery in New Jersey report, recently released by the New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services (NJDHSS), shows Jersey Shore University Medical Center continues to provide outstanding cardiac surgery services, building on its exceptional track record in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery mortality rates.

24 Jul 2012

Low serum albumin associated with higher risk of graft failure in pediatric kidney transplants

For children receiving kidney transplants, a potentially correctable blood condition present in about one in four recipients is associated with a moderately increased risk of the graft's later failure, suggesting that clinicians should weigh whether transplant is advisable when the condition is present, according to UC Davis research presented today at the 24th International Congress of the Transplantation Society in Berlin.

20 Jul 2012

U.S. News names Dana-Farber/ BWH Cancer Center among 2012 America's Best Hospitals

U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals guide has ranked Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center the top cancer center in New England and fifth overall in the country.

19 Jul 2012

Studies provide evidence of connections between MCI and negative health outcomes

Two studies presented today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 (AAIC 2012) in Vancouver provide evidence of connections between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and negative health outcomes – increased isolation and death.

17 Jul 2012

Gait disturbances could indicate a decline in cognitive function

Gait disturbances – such as a slowing of walking pace or a more variable stride – could indicate a decline in cognitive function, according to new research studies reported today at the Alzheimer's Association's International Conference 2012 (AAIC 2012).

16 Jul 2012

FDA approves Capricor’s IND application for myocardial infarction study

Capricor, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on regenerative medicine, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved initiation of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the ALLSTAR study, which will use allogeneic cardiac-derived stem cells (CDCs) to treat patients following large myocardial infarctions (MI).

9 Jul 2012

Study illuminates key step in the journey of inflammation-producing immune cells

Like detectives seeking footprints and other clues on a television "whodunit," science can also benefit from analyzing the tracks of important players in the body's molecular landscape. Klaus Ley, M.D., a scientist at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, has done just that and illuminated a key step in the journey of inflammation-producing immune cells.

2 Jul 2012

To complete unfinished child survival agenda, focus on reaching most marginalized children

"As the international community engages in a last push to decrease child deaths annually from 12 million in 1990 to four million by 2015, world leaders met for the 'Child Survival -- Call to Action' Summit in Washington, D.C., earlier this month to set an even more ambitious goal of 'ending all preventable child deaths' down to two million by 2035," Kul Chandra Gautam, former deputy executive director of UNICEF, writes in this post in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

26 Jun 2012

Upcoming Supreme Court ruling: GOP as 'dog that caught the car'; Growing concerns about mandate

[T]he GOP may be positioning itself to become the dog that caught the car. Political and policy uncertainty is perhaps inevitable given the range of what the Court could do. But the Republicans need a more coherent strategy. ... An orderly unwinding of ObamaCare was always going to be difficult. But based on its disarray and confusion so far, the GOP may be making it harder.

19 Jun 2012

Longer looks: Battling HIV in Washington; Adderall use among U.S. high schoolers

On a recent day not far from Capitol Hill and the White House, about a dozen HIV outreach workers toting bright yellow duffle bags stuffed with condoms and prevention information stood outside of the Anacostia Metro station. ... After a couple of hours, they had handed out hundreds of packs of condoms -- and had persuaded 21 people to take an HIV test with an oral swab in a Chevy van parked nearby. "You have to know your status, man. I'd rather be safe than sorry," said Alvern Harris, 25, as he waited for his results.

15 Jun 2012

Stress troubles women’s hearts

Women experience more myocardial stress than men, regardless of arterial hemodynamic function and cardiac geometry and output, research shows.

12 Jun 2012

Electronic nose and optoacoustics improve diagnosis of prostate cancer

Chances of survival of prostate cancer depend strongly on the stage at which the disease is diagnosed. Now scientists have developed new methods relying on an electronic nose and optoacoustics to improve the diagnosis techniques and avoid fatal treatment delays

2 Jun 2012

Study identifies several proteins as new therapeutic targets and biomarkers for kidney cancer

Using blood, urine and tissue analysis of a unique mouse model, a team led by UC Davis researchers has identified several proteins as diagnostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for kidney cancer. Subject to follow-up validation testing, inhibition of these proteins and several related pathways holds promise as a form of therapy to slow the growth of kidney tumors.

2 Jun 2012

People afraid of dying badly rather than actually dying

"What people are afraid of is dying badly rather than actually dying". I-aki Olaizola has observed how Basque society feels about euthanasia and the process of dying, and how the perception has changed since the 1970s.

30 May 2012

New imaging device can better diagnose chronic ear infections

Doctors can now get a peek behind the eardrum to better diagnose and treat chronic ear infections, thanks to a new medical imaging device invented by University of Illinois researchers. The device could usher in a new suite of non-invasive, 3-D diagnostic imaging tools for primary-care physicians.

30 May 2012

MRI provides early indication of breast tumor's response to pre-surgical chemotherapy

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides an indication of a breast tumor's response to pre-surgical chemotherapy significantly earlier than possible through clinical examination, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

23 May 2012

Study uses brain data to predict how large populations will respond to ads

Advertisers and public health officials may be able to access hidden wisdom in the brain to more effectively sell their products and promote health and safety, UCLA neuroscientists report in the first study to use brain data to predict how large populations will respond to advertisements.

26 Apr 2012

Merkin Family Foundation pledges new commitment to the Broad Institute

The Merkin Family Foundation today announced a commitment to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT to establish the Merkin Institute Fellows, a program that will support some of the most promising and ambitious scientists pursuing bold research at the Broad Institute.

19 Apr 2012