Health
-
How HIV research has reshaped modern medicine
Decades of scientific work turned the tide on a fatal disease and yielded insights into immunity, vaccines, and more
-
Use of new diet drugs likely to mushroom
Study estimates over half of Americans eligible to take them based on conditions, underscoring need to ensure equity of access.
-
Rapid relief for the severely depressed? There’s a catch.
Ketamine carries risks, say researchers. Yet for some patients, it’s ‘the only thing that works.’
-
New frontiers in cancer care
In podcast, experts discuss breakthroughs in treatment, from genomic sequencing to AI, and how close we are to personalized vaccines
-
Too much sitting hurts the heart
Even with exercise, sedentary behavior can increase risk of heart failure by up to 60%, according to study
-
Is cheese bad for you?
Nutritionist explains why you’re probably eating way too much
-
Low-fat dairy foods may help reduce risk of type 2 diabetes
“Our study found that men consuming higher levels of dairy products, especially low-fat dairy foods, had a significantly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes during a 12-year period,” says…
-
T cell misfits may spell autoimmunity
For a would-be T cell, the journey from cradle to grave is likely to be brief. After leaving the bone marrow, the immature immune cell travels directly to the thymus,…
-
Antibiotics do not prevent heart attacks; New findings from the PROVE IT-TIMI 22 clinical trial
Christopher P. Cannon, M.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, noted that the fact that many patients do not exhibit identifiable risk…
-
Routine HIV screening recommended for most
Researchers at Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Yale University have shown that routine screening for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, could increase survival, prevent transmission of the disease, and…
-
TB susceptibility gene identified
As many as one out of three people in the world are infected with the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, public health experts estimate. That could lead to a global plague…
-
Blood test can accurately diagnose heart failure in emergency patients
“We found that testing with the NT-proBNP assay was an extremely accurate way to identify or exclude heart failure in patients with shortness of breath,” says James Januzzi Jr., M.D.,…
-
Stronger evidence found linking Epstein-Barr virus and risk of multiple sclerosis
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, Kaiser Permanente, and a team of collaborators have found further evidence implicating the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as a possible contributory cause to…
-
Spread of common day care illnesses caused by misconceptions about illness transmission
A Harvard Medical School study found that only two-thirds of parents believed that contact transmission was important for the spread of colds, and fewer than half believed it was important…
-
Low-dose aspirin shown to reduce risk of first stroke in women
The Women’s Health Study is a large, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial funded by both the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute to evaluate the benefits…
-
MTV, Harvard Web study reveals adolescent disconnect: Unaware of hearing peril, yet willing to listen
While many adolescents and young adults expose themselves to loud music for entertainment, the researchers hypothesized that these individuals might not be aware that over-exposure could result in hearing loss.…
-
New findings about protection against pneumococcal disease
Before the advent of the pneumococcal vaccine, known as Prevnar, S. pneumoniae caused millions of ear infections each year, half a million episodes of bacterial pneumonia, and life- threatening cases…
-
Joslin Diabetes Center scientists find genetic defects in immunological tolerance
The genetic defect keeps the body from properly dealing with “errant” immune cells that it normally eliminates by a process called immunological tolerance. These immune cells then attack the insulin-producing…
-
Researchers find better way to predict stroke risk in sickle cell anemia patients
Researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Harvard Medical School have developed a novel…
-
High cholesterol levels accelerate growth of prostate cancer
The findings, published in the April 1, 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, are in keeping with population studies that have linked prostate cancer with high cholesterol levels.…
-
Explosion of child obesity predicted to shorten U.S. life expectancy
A review by obesity researcher David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital Boston, epidemiologist S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues concludes that obesity now reduces average…
-
Preventive removal of both breasts reduces chance of breast cancer in women at elevated risk
“Prophylactic mastectomy appears very effective in preventing breast cancer but choosing this procedure is a complex decision,” said Ann M. Geiger, PhD, lead author of the study. “Prophylactic mastectomy prevents…
-
Weight status of children ages 8 to 15 predicts obesity and high blood pressure in adulthood
“We have known that kids who are overweight or obese have a higher risk for being overweight or obese as adults. But in this paper, we show that even children…
-
Largest twin study of age-related macular degeneration finds genetics and environment play large role in disease
Researchers led by Johanna M. Seddon, M.D., at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health conducted the largest study of twins of…
-
Protein packages activate genes
It’s all in the packaging. How nature wraps and tags genes determines if and when they become active, according to researchers from Harvard and M.I.T. They did the largest, most…
-
Poor prenatal nutrition permanently damages function of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas
To understand the increased risk factor, the researchers mated ordinary mice and separated the mothers into a control group that ate as much chow as they wanted throughout their pregnancies…
-
Urine test tracks deadly birthmarks
Although not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, results from simple urine tests are already being used to guide treatment of children with disfiguring birthmarks and adults with…
-
Key to dental enamel formation found
Scientists at Harvard-affiliated Forsyth Institute have found and replicated a key aspect of the mechanism by which dental enamel is formed. The findings, published in the Feb. 14 Journal of…
-
Schepens scientists regenerate optic nerve for the first time
In earlier research, Dr. Dong Feng Chen, lead author of the study, assistant scientist at Schepens Eye Research Institute and an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical school, and…
-
How often should women get mammograms?
With screening guidelines and financial coverage varying among health systems and insurers – sometimes dramatically – a new mathematical model provides quantitative predictions of the mortality benefits, on average, in…
-
Long-term Celebrex use increases cardiovascular event risk
The findings prompted the suspension of Celebrex within the Adenoma Prevention with Celecoxib (APC) Trial, in which participants were to take celecoxib or placebo for three years. “These data suggest…
-
Older doctors less likely to follow current standards of care
The study included a review of previously published papers with a large sample size of doctors. These studies included measures of physician knowledge or quality of care as well as…
-
Food ingredients may be as effective as antidepressants
Researchers report that omega-3 fatty acids and uridine, two substances in foods such as fish, walnuts, molasses, and sugar beets, prevented depression in rats as effectively as antidepressant drugs. “Giving…
-
Phobic anxiety increases risk of sudden cardiac death in women
According to lead author Christine M. Albert, M.D., M.P.H., an epidemiologist at BWH and an electrophysiologist and cardiologist at MGH, “Phobic anxiety is associated with coronary heart disease risk factors.…
-
Weight and weight gain may predict breast cancer survival
The study included 5,204 women with invasive breast cancer who were between the ages 30 to 55 when enrolled in the study in 1976. The researchers found that women who…
-
Scientists discover “master switch” that triggers insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
“We zeroed in on a factor called NF-kB,” said principal investigator Steven E. Shoelson, M.D., Ph.D., Helen and Morton Adler Chair and head of the Section on Cellular and Molecular…