Tag: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
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Health
Lifestyle culprit in increase in cardiovascular disease
Despite the perception that cardiovascular disease is a problem of industrialized countries, it is the leading cause of death everywhere except Africa, where it is eclipsed by the raging AIDS…
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Health
An unusual collection: A brain tumor tissue bank
Five years ago, as she was walking into Caritas Holy Family Hospital and Medical Center in Methuen, Mass., Patricia Fay saw a priest she knew and cornered him. “I’m like…
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Health
Spinal fusion protein associated with complications, higher costs
In the United States, back pain continues to be a leading cause of disability and one of the most common reasons to see a physician for evaluation. Among various treatment…
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Health
Low blood sugar in hospital linked to higher death risk
Harvard researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) found that diabetics hospitalized for noncritical illnesses who develop hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) during hospitalization have an increased likelihood of remaining hospitalized…
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Health
Common ECG finding may indicate serious cardiac problems
A common electrocardiogram (ECG) finding that has largely been considered insignificant may actually signal an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (a chronic heart rhythm disturbance), the future need for a…
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Health
Older adults found to fare better under sleep deprivation than younger adults
In a recent sleep study testing alertness and performance in sleep-deprived adults, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) determined that healthy older adults handle sleep deprivation better than younger…
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Health
Smokers get help with the use of electronic health record
Although the dangers of smoking are well known, tobacco still remains the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that physicians…
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Health
Majority of new cases of diabetes in older U.S. adults could be prevented
Even as science searches for more clues about the causes of diabetes and medications to prevent it, the vast majority of new cases of the disease in older adults could…
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Health
Electronic system may reduce adverse drug events
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General hospitals report that using a computerized application to record and track patients’ medications could decrease the occurrence of potentially harmful medication discrepancies.…
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Health
Chylack and Dowling named ARVO Fellows
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) has named Harvard Professor of Ophthalmology Leo T. Chylack Jr., and Gordon and Llura Gund Professor of Neurosciences John E. Dowling…
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Health
A more direct delivery of cancer drugs to tumors
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) has demonstrated a better way to deliver cancer drugs…
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Health
HMS professor devises single test for cancers
Imagine visiting a doctor’s office five years from now and, as a routine part of your annual physical, getting an accurate test that can tell whether you have cancer long…
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Health
Universal coverage may narrow gaps in health outcomes
Health care disparities in the United States have long been noted, with particular attention paid to the gaps separating racial and economic groups. And while some research has looked at…
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Health
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,…
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Health
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.
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Science & Tech
Countway marks development of ‘the pill’
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…
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Health
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…
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Science & Tech
Link found between religious belief, intensive medical care at end of life
In a new study of terminally ill cancer patients, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that those who draw on religion to cope with their illness are more likely to…
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Health
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…
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Health
Blood type study sheds light on biology of pancreatic cancer
Offering a novel clue about the basic biology of pancreatic cancer, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have confirmed a decades-old discovery of a link between blood type and the risk…
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Health
End-of-life conversations associated with lower medical expenses
Few physicians are eager to discuss end-of-life care with their patients. Yet such conversations may result in better quality of life for patients and could lower national health care expenditures…
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Science & Tech
Researchers find potential cause of heart risks for shift workers
Harvard researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and colleagues have identified the potential cause of the increased risk for cardiovascular and metabolic disease in shift workers. The researchers found…
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Health
Vitamin B and folic acid may reduce risk of age-related vision loss
Harvard Medical School (HMS) researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have found that taking a combination of vitamins B6 and B12 and folic acid appears to decrease the risk of…
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Health
Patients are untapped resource for improving care, study finds
A 15-month study of 21,860 patients and 110 primary care physicians at 11 Harvard Vanguard health centers found that patients who received mailed reminders that they were due for colorectal…
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Health
Surgical safety checklist drops deaths and complications by more than one-third
A group of hospitals in eight cities around the globe has successfully demonstrated that the use of a simple surgical checklist during major operations can lower the incidence of deaths…
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Health
Drug trial shows dramatic reduction in risks posed by hidden heart disease
A Harvard-led study shows that the risk of heart attack and stroke among subjects with “silent heart disease” — and normal cholesterol levels — can be dramatically reduced by the use of an already widely prescribed class of drugs.
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Health
Caffeine not associated with overall breast cancer risk;
Ken Ishitani of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Japan, and colleagues report in the Oct. 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine…
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Science & Tech
Five faculty members named young innovators by Technology Review
Work on flying robots, surgical tape modeled on gecko feet, energy tips gleaned from plants, new ways to grow stem cells, and dramatically smaller medical imaging equipment has landed five…
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Health
GlaxoSmithKline and Harvard Stem Cell Institute announce major collaboration agreement
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) today announced that they have entered into a five-year, $25 million-plus collaborative agreement to build a unique alliance in stem cell…
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Nation & World
Confronting tuberculosis
In the shadow of a hill where lepers once lived, a tuberculosis hospital designed for those infected with deadly, drug-resistant strains of the disease is giving hope to a new generation of medical pariahs in the tiny African nation of Lesotho.