New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) finds that a genetic risk factor for pulmonary fibrosis, an uncommon but deadly lung disease, may be effective in identifying individuals at risk for this disease.
Check out the first post written by BWH President, Dr. Nabel, "Celebrating Haiti's New Teaching Hospital".
Sugary Beverages Associated with Increased Kidney Stone Risk
New research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital finds that some beverages may be more helpful than others when it comes to preventing recurrent kidney stones. In a new study researchers report that the consumption of sugar sweetened soda and punch is associated with a higher risk of stone formation.
New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) reports that synthetic silicate nanoplatelets (also known as layered clay) can induce stem cells to become bone cells without the need of additional bone-inducing factors.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) is dedicating its upcoming BluePrint Bash on May 9 to honor those first responders, caregivers, Marathon runners and so many others at BWH who played a critical role during and after the Marathon bombings. Originally planned as a donor appreciation event to celebrate the hospital’s history, the BluePrint Bash has been transformed into an event to honor those who helped save lives and supported each other during this difficult time.
BWH received 39 individuals who were injured at the marathon, 23 of them within 45 minutes of the attack. All but three have been released; those who remain at the hospital are listed in good condition. Hundreds of hospital personnel played a role in the incredible response. More than 700 people are expected at the Bash.
BWH's face transplant surgeon, Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, performs a successful face transplant on recipient Carmen Blandin Tarleton.
Millions of Americans are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, yet the exact causes of diabetes still puzzle scientists. Now, new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) finds that the amount of melatonin a person secretes during sleep may predict their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Statins have a great track record for lowering cholesterol and helping heart disease patients live longer, but about half of those taking statins stop taking the drugs at some point -- often due to side effects. Now a Brigham and Women’s Hospital study suggests that more than 90 percent of patients who go back on statins don’t have the same troubles the second time around.
A report of the recommendations, led by Robert C. Green, MD, MPH, a medical geneticist at BWH, outlines for the first time a minimum list of genetic conditions, genes and variants that laboratories performing clinical sequencing should seek and report to the physicians that ordered the testing -- regardless of the original reasons for which the test was ordered.
Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) demonstrate that some variants in our genes that contribute to a person's risk for inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease or rheumatoid arthritis, have been the target of natural selection over the course of human history.
A new study led by Dennis Selkoe, MD, co-director of the Center for Neurologic Diseases in the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) Department of Neurology, provides specific pre-clinical scientific evidence supporting the concept that prolonged and intensive stimulation by an enriched environment, especially regular exposure to new activities, may have beneficial effects in delaying one of the key negative factors in Alzheimer's disease.
New research expands the understanding of how one type of immune cell - known as a T helper 17, develops, and how its growth influences the development of immune responses. By figuring out how these cells are "wired," the researchers make a surprising connection between autoimmunity and salt consumption, highlighting the interplay of genetics and environmental factors in disease susceptibility.
Carmen Blandin Tarleton, a Vermont woman whose face was disfigured after her estranged husband doused her with industrial strength lye, has received a face transplant.Doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston say 44-year-old Tarleton underwent the surgery earlier this month. A team worked 15 hours to transplant the facial skin, including the neck, nose, lips, facial muscles, arteries and nerves.
New research finds no association between the total intake of antioxidants and a lower risk of certain brain diseases.
A new study finds that the complication rate is similar to other minimally invasive technique, but higher comes at a higher cost.
BWH researchers found that patients who used a web-based tool were more likely to have important family and lifestyle factors documented
Researchers announced today the selection of solanezumab as the first therapeutic drug to be evaluated in the Anti-amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease (A4) prevention clinical trial.
A new BWH study finds that women who suffer from migraines with visual effects called aura may face an increased risk for heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. Only high blood pressure was a more powerful predictor of cardiovascular trouble, the researchers said.
Teams using checklists were 74 percent less likely to miss key life-saving steps in care during emergency situations than those working from memory alone.
Is it the Flu or the Norovirus? How to Tell the Difference:
Dr. Joshua Kosowsky, vice chair and clinical director of BWH’s emergency department, told the Boston Globe that the flu is an upper respiratory infection that causes sore throat, chills, body aches, runny nose, and coughing. Norovirus is a gastrointestinal illness that causes diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea.
New Tool to Help Brain Surgeons
A new tool that could allow for faster, more comprehensive testing of brain tissue during surgery successfully identified the cancer type, grade and tumor margins in five brain surgery patients, according to a new Brigham and Women's Hospital and Purdue University study.
The Confusion of Pill Coloring
Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital have found that changing the color of a person’s pills — by switching to a generic from a brand name drug, for example — sharply reduces the chances that the patient will continue to take it.
Research Gives New Insight into How the Brain Processes Pain
Treating and studying chronic pain is complex and presents many challenges. Scientists have long searched for a method to objectively measure pain and a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital now advances that effort.
Stem Cell Research Shows ALS May Be Treatable
Results from eleven independent ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) research studies are giving hope to the ALS community - showing for the first time that the disease may be treatable by targeting new mechanisms revealed by neural stem cell-based studies.
The Birth of New Cardiac Cells
Recent research has shown that there are new cells that develop in the heart, but how these cardiac cells are born and how frequently they are generated remains unclear. In new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), researchers use a novel method to identify these new heart cells and describe their origins.
Emergency Physician’s Loss Sparks Advocacy
After his mother’s death, Dr. Jonathan Welch encourages hospitals to involve patients and families in efforts to improve safety.
Global Healthcare Breakthrough
A $5 million grant from Greif Packaging Charitable Trust will enable The Ohio State University and the Global Health Delivery Partnership (GHDP) to join forces in establishing a program to change healthcare training and delivery in developing nations. The GHDP is comprised of Brigham and Women's Hospital's Division of Global Health Equity, Harvard Medical School's Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, and Partners In Health (PIH).
Brigham Doctors Implant Less Invasive Heart Devices
Two months after federal regulators approved the first defibrillator that can be placed under the skin instead of connecting directly to the heart, doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital implanted three of the new devices Monday in patients at risk of cardiac arrest. The procedures marked the first New England implantations of the subcutaneous heart defibrillator.
Discontinued Medications Continue to be Dispensed
More than 85,000 medications are discontinued each year, yet while physicians share this information with their patients; it is not always shared with the pharmacists. This newly identified communication gap represents an important patient safety concern.
Researchers to Invent a Device that can Detect, Capture and Release Rare Cancer Cells
A research team at Brigham and Women's Hospital has developed a novel device that may one day have broad therapeutic and diagnostic uses in the detection and capture of rare cell types, such as cancer cells, fetal cells, viruses and bacteria.
Daily Multivitamin Use Does Not Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Men
Brigham and Women’s Hospital study is the first to examine the long-term affect of multivitamins on cardiovascular disease. They found that daily multivitamin use does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in men. A similar BWH study, announced last month, found daily multivitamin use can reduce a man's risk of cancer by 8 percent.
New Quick-Release Medical Tape
Researchers from BWH have desigend a new quick-release medical tape that minimizes neonatal injuries.
The Future of Cancer Treatment
Researchers describe the design and effectiveness of a first-of-its-kind, self assembled, multi-functional, NIR responsive gold nanorods that can deliver a chemotherapy drug specifically targeted to cancer cells and selectively release the drug in response to an external beam of light while creating heat for synergistic thermo-chemo mediated anti-tumor efficacy.
Blood Hormone Levels Can Predict Long-term Breast Cancer Risk
Blood hormone tests can predict a woman's risk for developing postmenopausal breast cancer for up to 20 years, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Daily Multivitamins Reduce Risk of Cancer in Men
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital are the first to examine the long-term affect of multivitamins on a major chronic diseases.
Mercury Exposure in Womb Linked to ADHD Symptoms
In a new study, researchers report that children who are exposed to higher levels of mercury in the womb are more likely to exhibit attention problems, hyperactivity, and other ADHD symptoms when they're 8 years old.
Benefits Seen in Hormone Use Early in Menopause
A new study shows that women who start low-dose hormone therapy in the first few years of menopause get relief from hot flashes and improve their mood and sexual health, without raising their blood pressure or harming their arteries.
Researchers Discover Genetic Risk for Uterine Fibroids
Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover a genetic risk allele (an alternative form of a gene) for uterine fibroids in women using an unbiased, genome-wide approach. This discovery will pave the way for new screening strategies and treatments for uterine fibroids.
Learning to Live on Mars
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have developed and tested a fatigue management program which is successful at controlling space-age jetlag.
Hospital Observation Units Could Save the Health Care System $3.1 Billion
New research suggests that maximizing the potential of observation units in hospitals could result in significant cost savings for the both the hospital and the healthcare system.
Physicians Wary of Studies Funded by Pharmaceutical Industry
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have found that pharmaceutical industry sponsorship of a research study negatively influences physicians’ perceptions of the study and their willingness to believe and act on the research findings.
Pain Relievers Increase Hearing Loss Risk
According to a new study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), women who took ibuprofen or acetaminophen two or more days per week had an increased risk of hearing loss.
Provocative Essay Calls for a New Approach to Combating the Global Tuberculosis Epidemic
Each year, nearly 2 million people die from tuberculosis - a treatable disease that has been brought under control in the United States, but continues to ravage other parts of the world. This health inequity should prompt a complete rethinking of the way tuberculosis is fought on a global level, argue Salmaan Keshavjee, MD, PhD, and Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH).
New Research Finds Quality and Cost Equally Important in Health Care Reform Efforts
In a first of its kind study, researchers from BWH and the Harvard School of Public Health, examine new methods for compensating doctors and hospitals that encourage accountability for not only the cost of care but also for the quality of care they provide to their patients.
BWH Enrolls First Patient in Landmark Study of Novel Approach to Treat Resistant Hypertension
This month, cardiologists at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) enrolled their first patient in the Renal Denervation in Patients with Uncontrolled Hypertension (SYMPLICITY HTN-3) study.
BWH Researchers Initiate Major Cardiovascular Inflammation Reduction Trial
Researchers announce the launch of a new randomized clinical trial, funded by the NHLBI to determine whether lowering inflammation with a common anti-inflammatory drug will in turn reduce rates of recurrent heart attack, stroke, death.
Cardiac Benefits of Statins Outweigh Diabetes Hazard
New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital finds that the cardiovascular and mortality benefits of statin therapy exceed the small diabetes hazard, even among those with the highest risk for developing diabetes.
Good News for Patients Who Suffer From Migraines
According to new research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), migraines are not associated with cognitive decline.
Researchers Discover Blood Biomarker for Lou Gehrig's Disease
Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover that changes in monocytes (a type of white blood cell) are a biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease.
BWH Doctors Make Remarkable Discovery in AIDS Research
Two BWH patients with longstanding HIV infections no longer have detectable HIV in their blood cells following bone marrow transplants.
New Research Finds the Longer You're Awake, the Slower You Become
A team of researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have discovered that regardless of how tired you perceive yourself to be, that lack of sleep can influence the way you perform certain tasks.
New Study Announced That it Will Use Genetics to Test for Alzheimer’s Risk
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital are offering genetic testing and Alzheimer's risk estimates for people who are experiencing mild cognitive impairment.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Ranks Among Top 10 Hospitals in the Nation
BWH is once again recognized as one of the nation's top hospitals, ranking ninth in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals.
Chemicals in Personal Care Products May Increase Risk of Diabetes in Women
A new study finds an association between increased concentrations of phthalates in the body and an increased risk of diabetes in women. Phthalates are endocrine disrupting chemicals that are commonly found in personal care products such as moisturizers, nail polishes, soaps, hair sprays and perfumes.
Major Phobias Might Hasten Aging
A new study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) shows that a common form of anxiety, known as phobic anxiety, was associated with shorter telomeres in middle-aged and older women. The study suggests that phobic anxiety is a possible risk factor for accelerated aging.
Researchers Design Unique Cancer-Treating Nanomedicine with Reduced Toxicity
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to report a new approach that integrates rational drug design with supramolecular nanochemistry in cancer treatment.
Newly Discovered Immune System Molecule Could Stop Melanoma Growth
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have made a groundbreaking discovery that will shape the future of melanoma therapy.
BWH Part of Major New Whole Genome Sequencing Project
New research funding will enable scientists to obtain whole genome sequences on the largest cohort of individuals related to a single disease- Alzheimer's.
Could When You Eat Be as Important as What You Eat?
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This page was last modified on 5/23/2013