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GW SMHS takes applications for spring 2014 Bachelor's Degree Program in Emergency Health Services

The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Emergency Health Services program is now taking applications for the spring 2014 semester for the bachelor's degree in Emergency Health Services Management. The online program focuses on management competencies and is aligned with the competencies developed by the National EMS Management Association and the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education program.

19 Nov 2013

Breast biopsies can affect short-term quality-of-life in younger patients

Breast biopsies can adversely affect short-term quality-of-life, and the effects are more pronounced in younger patients, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

19 Nov 2013

Study examines two surgical approaches for treatment of severe ischemic mitral regurgitation

The Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network, whose Data and Clinical Coordinating Center is at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is reporting for the first time evidence on whether or not there is any significant difference between the two current surgical approaches to treat patients with severe ischemic mitral regurgitation -- mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement.

19 Nov 2013

Women & Infants gets $3M grant to identify infants at greatest risk for developmental impairment

Advances in technology and medical care have dramatically improved survival for infants born prior to 30 weeks gestation and weighing less than three pounds. However, up to 50 percent of these infants may develop physical, cognitive, language and/or behavioral impairments that require extensive health care, educational and psychosocial community resources through adulthood. At this time, there is no reliable method to identify those infants who will go on to develop impairments and those who will not.

19 Nov 2013

TOPCAT trial results of spironolactone presented at AHA Scientific Sessions

A late-breaking clinical trial, known as the Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist trial, to be presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, November 18, 2013, demonstrates that spironolactone did not reduce the primary outcome of cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization, nor surviving a cardiac arrest in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (pump function). However, spironolactone did reduce the major burden faced by these patients-the risk of repeated hospitalizations for heart failure.

19 Nov 2013

BIDMC pilot study shows promise for age-related cognitive disorders

It's well known that the brains of meditators change, but it's not entirely clear what those changes mean or how the changes might benefit the meditator. A new pilot study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center suggests that the brain changes associated with meditation and stress reduction may play an important role in slowing the progression of age-related cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

18 Nov 2013

Researchers take close look at medicine's highest volume activity

Laboratory testing is health care's single highest volume activity, with over 5 billion tests performed each year in the U.S.

18 Nov 2013

Oxford scientists use nanoparticles to study mechanisms underlying 'mystery' cases of infertility

A way of using nanoparticles to investigate the mechanisms underlying 'mystery' cases of infertility has been developed by scientists at Oxford University.

18 Nov 2013

Mount Sinai biologist wins NIH Director's New Innovator Awards for High-Risk, High Reward Research

Arvin Dar, PhD, structural and chemical biologist in oncological sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is one of 41 national recipients of the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's New Innovator Awards for High-Risk, High Reward Research. The award will support Dar's research into Ras-dependent cancers, specifically investigating how to combat mutations in Ras, a protein implicated in at least one of every five cancers.

16 Nov 2013

Protein shed by HIV-infected brain cells alters synaptic connections between networks of nerve cells

A protein shed by HIV-infected brain cells alters synaptic connections between networks of nerve cells, according to new research out of the University of Minnesota. The findings could explain why nearly half of all patients infected with the AIDS virus experience some level of neurocognitive impairment.

16 Nov 2013

Obama nominates Harvard hospitalist, early health law supporter to be surgeon general

President Obama nominated Dr. Vivek Murthy, a hospitalist at Harvard and an early supporter of the health law, to be the nation's surgeon general.

16 Nov 2013

Human Treg responses allow sustained recombinant adeno-associated virus-mediated transgene expression

Successful gene therapy is based on the effective delivery and maintained expression of healthy copies of a gene into tissues of individuals with a disease-associated genetic mutation.

16 Nov 2013

Cardiovascular Institute researchers to showcase 22 abstracts at upcoming AHA Scientific Sessions

Researchers from the Cardiovascular Institute at Rhode Island, The Miriam and Newport hospitals will present 22 abstracts, both poster and oral presentations, at the upcoming American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, to be held in Dallas November 16-20, 2013. Scientific Sessions is the foremost cardiovascular research meeting in the U.S., with more than 18,000 cardiovascular experts from more than 105 countries in attendance.

16 Nov 2013

Errors in medication common on admission to mental health services, shows study

A recent study, published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, involving Aston University (UK), South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT) and the University of East Anglia (UK) found medication errors were common on admission to mental health services.

16 Nov 2013

InControl Medical supports urinary incontinence awareness effort of Women's Health Foundation

According to a new survey endorsed by the Women's Health Foundation, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing education, funding and research to the field of women's pelvic health, seven out of ten (69%) American women ages 45 or older may not recognize that incontinence may be a signal of a bladder health problem. To raise awareness of this issue among women everywhere, the Foundation has declared November to be Bladder Health Awareness Month.

16 Nov 2013

Mass. Eye and Ear's OGSH launches new collaboration to care for people ENT diseases

Rates of death and disability stemming from ear, nose and throat conditions continue to rise in developing countries like Uganda, but despite the need, fewer than 15 operating ear, nose and throat surgeons serve Uganda's 33.4 million and growing population. Only two ENT residency programs exist in this country, but many trainees do not remain in the country after graduation. Mass. Eye and Ear's Office of Global Surgery and Health is launching a new collaboration with Mbarara University Science and Technology School of Medicine and Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital to help address the need for more trained physicians to care for the ENT diseases and conditions of this population and to help encourage those who are ENT trained to stay in the country to care for those who need them.

16 Nov 2013

Collaborative initiative set up to create precision medicine treatment pathways for advanced cancers

The Joint Center for Cancer Precision Medicine, a collaborative initiative among Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, has been established to create "precision medicine treatment pathways" for patients with advanced cancers and to speed the development of personalized therapies.

16 Nov 2013

Bleach solution could provide new way to treat skin damage

Processes that age and damage skin are impeded by dilute bleach solution, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

16 Nov 2013

iPads play increasing role in making late-speaking autistic children develop language

New research indicates that children with autism who are minimally verbal can learn to speak later than previously thought, and iPads are playing an increasing role in making that happen, according to Ann Kaiser[peabody.vanderbilt.edu], a researcher at Vanderbilt Peabody College[peabody.vanderbilt.edu] of education and human development.

16 Nov 2013

MGH investigators identify molecule that plays key role in the breakdown of kidney filter

One of the most devastating side effects of diabetes is kidney failure, and one of the earliest signs of kidney damage is a disruption of the organ's filtering capacity. Diabetes patients who develop kidney failure must go on dialysis, seriously limiting their quality of life and placing them at significantly increased risk of death. The incidence of kidney disease is increasing with rising rates of obesity-associated type 2 diabetes, but very little progress has been made towards protecting the kidney's filter barrier during the past 50 years.

16 Nov 2013

Medical School News and Research

GW SMHS takes applications for spring 2014 Bachelor's Degree Program in Emergency Health Services

Breast biopsies can affect short-term quality-of-life in younger patients

Study examines two surgical approaches for treatment of severe ischemic mitral regurgitation

Women & Infants gets $3M grant to identify infants at greatest risk for developmental impairment

TOPCAT trial results of spironolactone presented at AHA Scientific Sessions

BIDMC pilot study shows promise for age-related cognitive disorders

Researchers take close look at medicine's highest volume activity

Oxford scientists use nanoparticles to study mechanisms underlying 'mystery' cases of infertility

Mount Sinai biologist wins NIH Director's New Innovator Awards for High-Risk, High Reward Research

Protein shed by HIV-infected brain cells alters synaptic connections between networks of nerve cells

Obama nominates Harvard hospitalist, early health law supporter to be surgeon general

Human Treg responses allow sustained recombinant adeno-associated virus-mediated transgene expression

Cardiovascular Institute researchers to showcase 22 abstracts at upcoming AHA Scientific Sessions

Errors in medication common on admission to mental health services, shows study

InControl Medical supports urinary incontinence awareness effort of Women's Health Foundation

Mass. Eye and Ear's OGSH launches new collaboration to care for people ENT diseases

Collaborative initiative set up to create precision medicine treatment pathways for advanced cancers

Bleach solution could provide new way to treat skin damage

iPads play increasing role in making late-speaking autistic children develop language

MGH investigators identify molecule that plays key role in the breakdown of kidney filter

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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