Tag: BWH

  • Nation & World

    Gene variants significantly increase risk for breast cancer

    Newly identified inherited variants of a single gene increase breast cancer risk for women of European ancestry approximately 20 percent if they carry one copy of the gene and by 60 percent if they carry two copies. These variants, in the FGFR2 (Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 2) gene, were found in more than half of…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    HSPH study suggests taking wraps off drug safety data

    For years, pharmaceutical companies have sought to restrict public access to drug safety data collected in clinical trials on the basis that it is proprietary information, arguing that competitors could use that information in the development of their own products. However, a number of recent cases of drugs found to have dangerous side effects after…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Common prostate cancer therapy may carry risks

    Androgen deprivation therapy – one of the most common treatments for prostate cancer – may increase the risk of death from heart disease in patients over age 65, according to a new study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and other institutions.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Web quiz helps predict women’s health

    Using data collected from more than 24,000 initially healthy American women, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have devised a new Web-based formula called the Reynolds Risk Score that for the first time more accurately predicts risk of heart attack or stroke among women. In addition to usual risk factors like cholesterol, blood pressure,…

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    New findings may increase longevity of stem cells

    Identifying the mechanisms that control cell life span is one of the more important questions facing stem cell researchers, indeed, all researchers attempting to understand normal and abnormal cell and organ development. So the recent discovery by a Harvard Stem Cell Institute team that a family of well-known transcription factors plays a major role in…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Mystery muscles make mightier mice

    Scientists have muscled in on a genetic switch that allows mice to run longer and faster. Humans possess the same switch, so the discovery might open new paths to treating muscle-wasting diseases and building better bodies.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Sengupta wins $4.1 million ‘Era of Hope’ award for breast cancer advances

    An assistant professor of medicine at Harvard has won a $4.1 million “Era of Hope” scholar award from the U.S. Defense Department’s Breast Cancer Research Program in support of his cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research aimed at fighting breast and other types of cancer.

    3 minutes