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Kessler Foundation study may simplify cognitive assessment for MS in clinical settings

Kessler Foundation scientists found that the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) predicted performance of activities of daily living using Actual Reality (AR). The article, "Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) and performance of everyday life tasks," was published in Multiple Sclerosis Journal.

25 Sep 2015

Matchmaker Exchange platform launched for uncovering rare disease genes

In a special issue of Human Mutation, a team including investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital has announced the launch of the Matchmaker Exchange - a way for the rare disease community to share information and find new connections. Matchmaker Exchange connects databases of genetic information and symptoms that physicians and investigators can "match" with a patient's rare disease.

25 Sep 2015

HSCI researchers find surprising similarities between SMA and ALS

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers studying spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have found what they term "surprising similarities" between this childhood disorder that attacks motor neurons and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

25 Sep 2015

Experts raise questions about FDA’s use of expedited development, approval pathways for new drugs

Two studies carried out by US researchers and published by The BMJ today raise questions about whether most new drugs are any more effective than existing products or whether they have been adequately assessed before approval.

24 Sep 2015

Feeling dizzy after standing up may signal serious conditions, increased risk of death

People who get dizzy several minutes after standing up may be at risk of more serious conditions and even an increased risk of death, according to new research published in the September 23, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Sep 2015

Terminally ill patients with certain subtypes of delirium show higher probability of imminent death

In cancer patients nearing the end of life, certain subtypes of delirium—specifically, hypoactive and "mixed" delirium—are a strong indicator that death will come soon, reports a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

24 Sep 2015

Stanford researchers successfully defeat C. difficile bacteria

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists successfully defeated a dangerous intestinal pathogen, Clostridium difficile, with a drug targeting its toxins rather than its life.

24 Sep 2015

Study uses genome- and epigenome-editing tools to determine disease-causing variants

A paper receiving advance online release in Nature Medicine describes a strategy for meeting one of today's most significant challenges in genomic medicine - determining whether a specific DNA variant in the non-protein-coding genome is the actual disease-causing variant of an associated disease risk.

24 Sep 2015

Innovative new device improves breast cancer treatment

A surgeon with the Breast Health Center at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is among the first in New England to adopt an innovative new device that improves the treatment of breast cancer by more precisely targeting radiation treatment and providing for better follow-up exams.

23 Sep 2015

Matricellular proteins may be key therapeutic targets for common ocular disorders

A special issue of Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics highlights the latest research on matricellular proteins, which play a critical role in inflammation and blood vessel formation in the eye and therefore making them key targets for new therapies to treat common ocular disorders such as glaucoma, dry eye disease, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

23 Sep 2015

Older pneumonia patients can benefit from ICU admission

When an older person gets hospitalized for pneumonia, where's the best place to care for them? New research findings about deaths and health care costs in such patients fly in the face of conventional wisdom - and could change where doctors decide to treat them.

23 Sep 2015

Study demonstrates potential of FCPCs as new source for cartilage regeneration

The self-repair of injured cartilage is difficult for several reasons, foremost of which is the lack of blood supply to the tissue. Therapeutic efforts aimed at cartilage repair are often not optimal. Surgical repair techniques often lead to the formation of fibrocartilage, which is weaker and less durable. Although cell transplantation aimed at cartilage repair has been carried out using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), varying outcomes have resulted, despite the propensity of MSCs to proliferate and differentiate.

23 Sep 2015

Prashant Mahajan awarded $5.76 million grant to study how febrile infants can avoid invasive procedures

Prashant Mahajan, M.D., professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, chief of the Division of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at Wayne State University and Children's Hospital of Michigan, has been awarded a five-year, $5.76 million grant (1R01HD085233) by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

23 Sep 2015

Study: National school-based mental health program improves behavioral and academic outcomes in students

A national school-based mental health program that is now reaching almost one quarter of all elementary school students in Chile appears to have produced significant improvements in both behavioral and academic outcomes, such as attention problems and school attendance, among participating students.

22 Sep 2015

FDA approves LONSURF for treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Taiho Oncology, Inc. (U.S.), a subsidiary of Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Japan), today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved LONSURF (trifluridine and tipiracil), formerly known as TAS-102, for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who have been previously treated with fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapy, an anti-VEGF biological therapy, and if RAS wild-type, an anti-EGFR therapy.

22 Sep 2015

Researchers find novel connection between choroid plexus and complex regional pain syndrome

Aalto University neuroscientists, in collaboration with researchers at Helsinki University Hospital and Harvard Medical School, have found a novel connection between the size of the choroid plexus in the brain and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

22 Sep 2015

Outbreak of Bordetella parapertussis occurred in Southeastern Minnesota in 2014: Study

Study reports that an outbreak of Bordetella parapertussis occurred in 2014 in Southeastern Minnesota, in the months of October through December. This research is presented at ASM's 55th Interscience Conference of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC/ICC).

22 Sep 2015

Novel study provides new information on acute effects of TBI on cognition

Researchers published results of a novel study of the functional activation patterns of working memory after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study, the first to enroll subjects during their initial evaluation in the emergency room, provides new information on the acute effects of TBI on cognition.

22 Sep 2015

New Medicare payment model reduces use of low-value services

In the first large-scale study to assess the effects of the Affordable Care Act's reforms to physician and hospital payments on the use of wasteful health care services, researchers have found that a new Medicare payment model reduced the number of times patients received services providing little or no health benefit.

22 Sep 2015

BWH, DFCI researchers receive $10 million to test effectiveness of aspirin in women with breast cancer

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have received a $10 million Breakthrough Award from the Department of Defense's Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program to test whether aspirin helps women with breast cancer avoid recurrence and live longer.

22 Sep 2015

Medical School News and Research

Kessler Foundation study may simplify cognitive assessment for MS in clinical settings

Matchmaker Exchange platform launched for uncovering rare disease genes

HSCI researchers find surprising similarities between SMA and ALS

Experts raise questions about FDA’s use of expedited development, approval pathways for new drugs

Feeling dizzy after standing up may signal serious conditions, increased risk of death

Terminally ill patients with certain subtypes of delirium show higher probability of imminent death

Stanford researchers successfully defeat C. difficile bacteria

Study uses genome- and epigenome-editing tools to determine disease-causing variants

Innovative new device improves breast cancer treatment

Matricellular proteins may be key therapeutic targets for common ocular disorders

Older pneumonia patients can benefit from ICU admission

Study demonstrates potential of FCPCs as new source for cartilage regeneration

Prashant Mahajan awarded $5.76 million grant to study how febrile infants can avoid invasive procedures

Study: National school-based mental health program improves behavioral and academic outcomes in students

FDA approves LONSURF for treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Researchers find novel connection between choroid plexus and complex regional pain syndrome

Outbreak of Bordetella parapertussis occurred in Southeastern Minnesota in 2014: Study

Novel study provides new information on acute effects of TBI on cognition

New Medicare payment model reduces use of low-value services

BWH, DFCI researchers receive $10 million to test effectiveness of aspirin in women with breast cancer

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

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A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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