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Financial incentive programs help smokers kick the habit, finds Penn study

Four different financial incentive programs, each worth roughly $800 over six months, all help more smokers kick the habit than providing free access to behavioral counseling and nicotine replacement therapy. Further, the way in which equally-sized payouts are structured influences their effectiveness.

14 May 2015

HHMI selects two Boston University medical students to conduct full-time biomedical research

Two medical students from Boston University have been selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to conduct full-time biomedical research in its Medical Research Fellows Program. Joseph Park and Jacqueline Estevez are two of the selected 68 top medical and veterinary students from 37 different schools in the United States to receive this honor.

14 May 2015

Major breakthrough in understanding development of type 1 diabetes

Joslin researchers have uncovered the action of a gene that regulates the education of T cells, providing insight into how and why the immune system begins mistaking the body's own tissues for targets. The gene, Clec16a, is one of a suite of genes associated with multiple autoimmune disorders, suggesting it is fundamental to the development of autoimmunity.

13 May 2015

Simple blood test could help predict effectiveness of interferon-based therapy in HCV-infected patients

A simple blood test can be used to predict which chronic hepatitis C patients will respond to interferon-based therapy, according to a report in the May issue of Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the basic science journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

13 May 2015

Researchers develop new tool to identify common genetic anomalies in cancer

Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and Thermo Fisher Scientific have developed and tested a new tool that searches for the most common genetic anomalies seen in cancer. The assay demonstrates the ability to make gene sequencing easier over a large volume of samples.

13 May 2015

New landmark study to examine role of cocoa flavanols in maintaining cardiovascular health

Recognizing that heart health is one of the world's most significant public health challenges, Mars, Incorporated, in collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is launching a five-year landmark study to examine the role of cocoa flavanols, plant-derived bioactives from the cacao bean, in helping people maintain cardiovascular health.

12 May 2015

Misperceptions about miscarriage are widespread, survey finds

A survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults has found that misperceptions about miscarriage and its causes are widespread. Results of the survey, conducted by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Health System, show that feelings of guilt and shame are common after a miscarriage and that most people erroneously believe that miscarriages are rare.

12 May 2015

New study finds that electronic reminders help raise HPV vaccination rates

A new study finds that a simple reminder via electronic health record systems may go a long way in encouraging patients to get the HPV vaccine that protects against cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine has the lowest completion rates of any other vaccine.

12 May 2015

Immune system plays surprising role in the progression of Rett syndrome

New research by investigators at the University of Massachusetts Medical School suggests the immune system plays an unsuspected and surprising role in the progression of Rett syndrome, a severe neurological disorder affecting children. Immune cells known as macrophages are unable to perform their normal function and are instead amplifying the disease.

11 May 2015

Dana-Farber/Boston Children's joins immunotherapy clinical trial for children with ALL

Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center has joined a clinical trial of immunotherapy for children with relapsed or treatment-resistant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the trial is one of several nationally that are evaluating cancer immunotherapy, a treatment approach -- hailed by Science magazine as their Breakthrough of the Year in 2013 -- that triggers a patient's immune system to attack his or her cancer cells.

11 May 2015

Scientists identify gene that causes hereditary hypertension and brachydactyly type E

Individuals with this altered gene have hereditary hypertension (high blood pressure) and at the same time a skeletal malformation called brachydactyly type E, which is characterized by unusually short fingers and toes. The effect on blood pressure is so serious that -- if left untreated -- it most often leads to death before age fifty.

11 May 2015

Walnut-enriched diet may slow colorectal tumor growth

A new animal study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, led by Dr. Christos Mantzoros, indicates that a diet containing walnuts may slow colorectal tumor growth by causing beneficial changes in cancer genes.

11 May 2015

Gynecologic oncologist awarded grant to improve quality of life for women with endometrial cancer

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Board of Governors recently awarded more than $2.7 million in contracted funding to Katina Robison, MD, a gynecologic oncologist with the Program in Women's Oncology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, for the study "Cancer of the Uterus and Treatment of Stress Incontinence."

8 May 2015

Study: Walking and cycling to work could help reduce BMI

Leaving your car at home could help shed pounds - according to new research from the University of East Anglia and the Centre for Diet and Activity Research. New research shows that making a change from driving to work to using public transport, cycling or walking could help reduce BMI over two years.

8 May 2015

Discovery opens up new avenue for development of potential therapies to treat, prevent malaria

Scientists have identified a protein on the surface of human red blood cells that serves as an essential entry point for invasion by the malaria parasite. This discovery opens up a promising new avenue for the development of therapies to treat and prevent malaria.

8 May 2015

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could delay prostate cancer growth in patients receiving ADT

Men who went on cholesterol-lowering statin drugs when they began androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer had a longer time in which their disease was under control than did men who didn't take statins, a clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators shows.

8 May 2015

GW Cancer Institute brings free, online training for oncology patient navigators

The George Washington University Cancer Institute has developed the first free, online, comprehensive training that covers the fundamentals of oncology patient navigation in the U.S. The training, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is evidence-based and supported by the GW Cancer Institute's groundbreaking research in this emerging field.

8 May 2015

Three UCR STEM students named winners of Strauss Scholarship

Undergraduates at the University of California, Riverside are on a success roll. First, two students won Goldwater Scholarships, announced last month. Now three undergraduate students have been named winners of prestigious scholarships from the Donald A. Strauss Foundation. Highly competitive, the Strauss Scholarship is a public service scholarship given to university students in California.

8 May 2015

Comprehensive stroke centers reduce mortality risk in patients treated for hemorrhagic stroke

New research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association indicates that patients who are treated for hemorrhagic stroke at a comprehensive stroke center are more likely to receive specialized treatment, reducing the risk of mortality.

7 May 2015

Study finds hospital variation in outcomes for extremely premature infants

Extremely premature infants born at 22 to 25 weeks of gestation have low rates of survival, and many of those infants who live have severe or moderate neurodevelopmental impairments. Thus, clinicians and families face the extremely difficult decision to either provide active, potentially lifesaving treatment at birth, or just provide comfort care.

7 May 2015

Medical School News and Research

Financial incentive programs help smokers kick the habit, finds Penn study

HHMI selects two Boston University medical students to conduct full-time biomedical research

Major breakthrough in understanding development of type 1 diabetes

Simple blood test could help predict effectiveness of interferon-based therapy in HCV-infected patients

Researchers develop new tool to identify common genetic anomalies in cancer

New landmark study to examine role of cocoa flavanols in maintaining cardiovascular health

Misperceptions about miscarriage are widespread, survey finds

New study finds that electronic reminders help raise HPV vaccination rates

Immune system plays surprising role in the progression of Rett syndrome

Dana-Farber/Boston Children's joins immunotherapy clinical trial for children with ALL

Scientists identify gene that causes hereditary hypertension and brachydactyly type E

Walnut-enriched diet may slow colorectal tumor growth

Gynecologic oncologist awarded grant to improve quality of life for women with endometrial cancer

Study: Walking and cycling to work could help reduce BMI

Discovery opens up new avenue for development of potential therapies to treat, prevent malaria

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could delay prostate cancer growth in patients receiving ADT

GW Cancer Institute brings free, online training for oncology patient navigators

Three UCR STEM students named winners of Strauss Scholarship

Comprehensive stroke centers reduce mortality risk in patients treated for hemorrhagic stroke

Study finds hospital variation in outcomes for extremely premature infants

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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