Medical School News and Research

RSS

New KidsMD Alexa skill device allows parents to get easier to access medical information

"My child has a fever of 101. Should I be concerned?" Through a new skill created for Amazon Alexa-enabled devices, parents will now be able to ask Alexa a variety of questions around fever and other common symptoms. The KidsMD Alexa skill was developed by the Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator team at Boston Children's Hospital and launched today.

13 Apr 2016

Novel biochemical method can extend lifetime of implantable medical devices

Blood-contacting implantable medical devices, such as stents, heart valves, ventricular assist devices, and extracorporeal support systems, as well as vascular grafts and access catheters, are used worldwide to improve patients' lives. However, these devices are prone to failure due to the body's responses at the blood-material interface; clots can form and inflammatory reactions can prevent the device from performing as indicated. Currently, when this occurs, the only solution is to replace the device.

13 Apr 2016

WHO global diabetes report shows Australia must lift its game

Australia should do more to prevent diabetes and provide better care for those living with the disease, according to an author of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) first ever global diabetes report.

13 Apr 2016

Stanford study reveals that smokers remain unemployed longer compared to nonsmokers

A one-year longitudinal study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine strongly suggests that smokers remain unemployed longer than nonsmokers. And when smokers do find jobs, they earn substantially less than nonsmokers.

12 Apr 2016

Inexpensive paper tape can help prevent incidence and frequency of foot blisters

Ten years ago, Grant Lipman, MD, an emergency medicine physician, was working as a doctor for endurance athletes who were running 25 to 50 miles a day in various parts of the world, from China to Antarctica to Chile.

12 Apr 2016

Lung ultrasound may be highly effective, safe for diagnosing pneumonia in children

Lung ultrasound has been shown to be highly effective and safe for diagnosing pneumonia in children and a potential substitute for chest X-ray, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Results are currently published in the medical journal Chest.

12 Apr 2016

$New sensitive detection method could help measure subfractions of HDL$

New sensitive detection method could help measure subfractions of HDL

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is often referred to as good cholesterol: high levels of HDL are associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease. But many clinical outcome trials for drugs that raise HDL levels have failed to show significant benefits for trial participants.

12 Apr 2016

Low-level exposures to air pollution may affect normal lung function in children

Dramatic improvements in air quality in U.S. cities since the 1990s may not be enough to ensure normal lung function in children, according to new research published in the April 15 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, a journal of the American Thoracic Society.

12 Apr 2016

Increased expression of VEGF-A promotes three common aging-related eye conditions

A Massachusetts General Hospital investigator has found that increased expression of the angiogenic factor VEGF-A promotes three common aging-related eye conditions - both versions of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and also cataracts - in an animal model.

12 Apr 2016

Research suggests new pathway for preventing optic nerve damage in KPro recipients

Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School have identified inflammatory factors that cause optic neuropathy in the back of the eye following implantation of a keratoprosthesis (KPro) — similar to what glaucoma patients experience, without the rise of pressure in the eye — and have shown that blocking one of those factors, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa), successfully halts the development of optic nerve damage in a mouse model.

11 Apr 2016

Researchers link alcohol, cocaine misuse with future suicide attempt

In a general sense, medical studies support the popular intuition -- a staple of movies and literature -- that suicidal behavior and substance misuse are linked. But the relationship between the two is not so simple. A new study of hundreds of suicidal emergency department (ED) patients from around the U.S. found that the significance of the link varied with age, gender and race. Across the board, however, the use of cocaine and alcohol together was a red flag.

11 Apr 2016

Transcranial direct current stimulation can allow faster comprehension of meaningful word combinations

How the human brain processes the words we hear and constructs complex concepts is still somewhat of a mystery to the neuroscience community. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can alter our language processing, allowing for faster comprehension of meaningful word combinations, according to new research from the department of Neurology the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The work is published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

11 Apr 2016

New GHz-class NMR magnet and probe technologies introduced by Bruker at ENC 2016

At the 57th Experimental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Conference (www.enc-conference.org), Bruker announced new GHz-class NMR magnet and probe technologies to enable expanding frontiers in structural biology, membrane protein and intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) research.

From Bruker BioSpin Division 11 Apr 2016

Long-term medication use reduces risk of relapse and improves symptoms in BDD patients

People with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) fare better and are less likely to relapse when treated with medication on a long-term basis, according to researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

11 Apr 2016

Novel metabolic pathways help cancer cells thrive under certain conditions

Scientists at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have identified a novel metabolic pathway that helps cancer cells thrive in conditions that are lethal to normal cells.

7 Apr 2016

Respiratory filter mask helps reduce impact of pollution on people with heart failure

The use of a respiratory filter mask, a common practice in China and Japan, among other countries, helps minimize the impact of pollution on people with heart failure during rush-hour traffic in cities such as São Paulo, Brazil.

7 Apr 2016

New immune-suppressing therapy leads to longer survival for cross-species heart transplant

A new immune-suppressing therapy has led to the longest survival yet for a cross-species heart transplant, according to new research conducted in part by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

7 Apr 2016

Study shows epidermal growth factor negatively regulates shedding of epithelial cells

The lining of the intestine is the most rapidly-renewing tissue in the body. Routine shedding of epithelial cells from this lining is a key element of tissue turnover, and is thus essential to maintaining optimal health. Altered shedding is associated with multiple disorders, ranging from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to colorectal cancer.

6 Apr 2016

Study explores two new antibodies believed to cause myasthenia gravis

A study of patients from across the nation with myasthenia gravis is helping determine the incidence of two new antibodies believed to cause the disease, and whether these patients need different treatment strategies.

6 Apr 2016

Liraglutide drug makes highly desirable foods less appealing to people

Understanding the motivations that drive humans to eat is an important consideration in the development of weight loss therapies. Now a study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center helps explain how the diabetes and weight loss drug liraglutide acts on brain receptors to make enticing foods seems less desirable.

5 Apr 2016

Medical School News and Research

New KidsMD Alexa skill device allows parents to get easier to access medical information

Novel biochemical method can extend lifetime of implantable medical devices

WHO global diabetes report shows Australia must lift its game

Stanford study reveals that smokers remain unemployed longer compared to nonsmokers

Inexpensive paper tape can help prevent incidence and frequency of foot blisters

Lung ultrasound may be highly effective, safe for diagnosing pneumonia in children

New sensitive detection method could help measure subfractions of HDL

Low-level exposures to air pollution may affect normal lung function in children

Increased expression of VEGF-A promotes three common aging-related eye conditions

Research suggests new pathway for preventing optic nerve damage in KPro recipients

Researchers link alcohol, cocaine misuse with future suicide attempt

Transcranial direct current stimulation can allow faster comprehension of meaningful word combinations

New GHz-class NMR magnet and probe technologies introduced by Bruker at ENC 2016

Long-term medication use reduces risk of relapse and improves symptoms in BDD patients

Novel metabolic pathways help cancer cells thrive under certain conditions

Respiratory filter mask helps reduce impact of pollution on people with heart failure

New immune-suppressing therapy leads to longer survival for cross-species heart transplant

Study shows epidermal growth factor negatively regulates shedding of epithelial cells

Study explores two new antibodies believed to cause myasthenia gravis

Liraglutide drug makes highly desirable foods less appealing to people

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Latest News