Health

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  • Long-lasting nerve block could change pain management

    Harvard researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have developed a slow-release anesthetic drug-delivery system that could potentially revolutionize treatment of pain during and after surgery, and may also have a large impact on chronic pain management.

  • For cancer cells, genetics alone is poor indicator for drug response

    In certain respects, cells are less like machines and more like people. True, they have lots of components, but they also have lots of personality. For example, when specific groups…

  • Harvard surgeons perform second partial face transplant in U.S.

    Surgeons at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital toiled for 17 hours in twin operating rooms yesterday performing the second facial transplant surgery operation in the U.S. The complex, challenging operation,…

  • Study shows waist size predictor of heart failure in men and women

    Adding to the growing evidence that a person’s waist size is an important indicator of heart health, a study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has found that larger waist circumference is associated with increased risk of heart failure in middle-aged and older populations of men and women.

  • Waist size predictor of heart failure in men and women

    Adding to the growing evidence that a person’s waist size is an important indicator of heart health, a study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has found that larger waist circumference is associated with increased risk of heart failure in middle-aged and older populations of men and women.

  • Mexican program successful at reducing crippling health care costs

    Seguro Popular, a Mexican health care program instituted in 2003, has already reduced crippling health care costs among poorer households, according to an evaluation conducted by researchers at Harvard University in collaboration with researchers in Mexico.

  • Simple bedside test improves diagnosis of chronic back pain

    A simple and inexpensive method of assessing pain, developed by Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), is better than currently used techniques for distinguishing neuropathic pain – pain caused…

  • Lighting up Parkinson’s disease research

    Most people do not think of jellyfish at the mention of Parkinson’s disease research. But, at the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MIND), researchers Pamela McLean and Bradley Hyman are…

  • Skin biology illuminates how stem cells operate

    As a girl, Elaine Fuchs borrowed her mother’s old strainers and mixing bowls to collect polliwogs, an activity she credits for her present-day career as a biologist.

  • Urban areas offer hidden biodiversity

    Urban areas around the world are places of hidden biodiversity that need to be protected and encouraged through smart urban design, said an authority in green city design.

  • Study: Key to happiness is listen to others

    Want to know what will make you happy? Then ask a total stranger — or so says a new study from Harvard University, which shows that another person’s experience is often more informative than your own best guess.

  • Development of ‘the pill’ examined

    The birth control pill, which revolutionized contraception and sparked a cultural reassessment of the purpose of sex and the sanctity of life, was developed by a Harvard fertility doctor who believed people should have children early in life — and as many as they could afford.

  • Five named Early Career Scientists

    Five Harvard researchers are among 50 young scientists nationwide who will have their work supported for the next six years by a new initiative from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

  • How stem cells find their way around

    Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have for the first time identified in mice a cellular mechanism that directs stem cells to their ultimate destination in the body.

  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center among top 100 hospitals

    Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, has been named one of the top 100 hospitals in the United States. The award is based in overall organizational performance, according to the annual study released Monday (March 30) by the health care business of Thomson Reuters. BIDMC was the only Massachusetts hospital named in the survey.

  • Modification of mutant Huntington’s protein increases its clearance from brain cells

    A new study has identified a potential strategy for removing the abnormal protein that causes Huntington’s disease (HD) from brain cells, which could slow the progression of the devastating neurological…

  • A mother’s criticism touches nerve in formerly depressed

    Formerly depressed women show patterns of brain activity when they are criticized by their mothers that are distinctly different from the patterns shown by never-depressed controls, according to a new…

  • Infant weight gain linked to childhood obesity

    As childhood obesity continues its 30-year advance from occasional curiosity to cultural epidemic, health care providers are struggling to find out why — and the reasons are many. Increasingly sedentary…

  • Angiogenesis inhibitor improves brain tumor survival by reducing swelling

    The beneficial effects of anti-angiogenesis drugs in the treatment of the deadly brain tumors called glioblastomas appear to result primarily from reduction of edema – the swelling of brain tissue…

  • Newly identified genetic variants found to increase breast cancer risk

    A large-scale effort to identify genetic markers of breast cancer has uncovered two common genetic variants that increase risk of the disease in women of European ancestry. The paper, published…

  • U.S. hospitals slow to adopt electronic health records, citing cost

     There is broad consensus that electronic health records (EHR) have the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health care providers. Yet, to date, there has been no reliable…

  • Mechanism directing stem cells to their destination identified;

    Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have for the first time identified in mice a cellular mechanism that directs stem cells to their ultimate destination in the body. The finding…

  • President Obama taps Howard Koh for Assistant Secretary for Health

    President Barack Obama announced today his intent to nominate Howard Koh, the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), to…

  • Hearing could hold key to unlocking schizophrenia mystery

    Measuring brain waves in response to hearing a variety of tones appears to be a useful way to begin understanding the underlying genetic abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, says a study…

  • Blumenthal named national coordinator for health information technology

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today (March 20) the selection of David Blumenthal as the Obama administration’s choice for national coordinator for health information technology. …

  • Study IDs human genes required for hepatitis C viral replicating

    Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers are investigating a new way to block reproduction of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) — targeting not the virus itself but the human genes the virus exploits in its life cycle. In the March 19 Cell Host & Microbe, they report finding nearly 100 genes that support the replication of HCV and show that blocking several of them can suppress viral replication in cultured cells.

  • Training the talent in trouble spots

    The Harvard Initiative for Global Health (HIGH) has begun a fellowship program with the aim of identifying and helping train bright young developing-world health professionals in remote regions of the world with the greatest global health challenges.

  • Study identifies human genes required for hepatitis C viral replication

    Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers are investigating a new way to block reproduction of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) — targeting not the virus itself but the human genes the…

  • Defibrillators may have little benefit for older, sicker patients

    Defibrillators are commonly recommended to patients with heart failure to prevent sudden cardiac death, but beyond having heart failure, there is a lack of criteria to identify the appropriate patients…

  • Glass tables: An overlooked safety threat

    Many households harbor a threat to young children that safety regulations, surprisingly, have overlooked: glass-topped tables and tables with glass panels. A review by Children’s Hospital Boston, in collaboration with…