New Therapy for Prevention of Local Lung Tumor Recurrence
Researchers use a low-dose chemotherapeutic polymer film to deliver drugs directly to lung tissue following surgical resection of a tumor. - March 14, 2010
Breast Cancer Survivors Who Take Aspirin Have Half the Risk of Dying from the Disease
New research shows women who take aspirin after a breast cancer diagnosis lower their risk of a recurrence and death from the disease. - March 12, 2010
Brief: Researchers Identify a Means of Improving the Cryopreservation of Biological Materials
In the cryopreservation of biological materials, size, temperature and composition of a water droplet determine whether the droplet is vitrified or crystallized. - March 12, 2010
CRP Found to Have Implication for Patients After Undergoing Surgery
C-reactive protein levels predict hospital length of stay and long-term risk of death after surgery. - March 12, 2010
New Analysis of Jupiter Data Finds Statin Therapy for Apparently Healthy Women Significantly Reduced Risk for Cardiovascular Events
Women with acceptable levels of bad cholesterol but elevated high sensitivity C-reactive protein levels benefited greatly from a daily regimen of rosuvastatin. - March 12, 2010
Origin of Scar-Forming Cells in Kidney Fibrosis Identified - Brigham and Women's Hospital
New research identifies the precursors of the scar forming cells that play a major role in progressive kidney fibrosis. - February 16, 2010
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Makes Leapfrog Top Hospitals List
BWH is one of 45 hospitals recognized by the Leapfrog Group for delivering the highest quality of care in the nation while attaining the highest levels of efficiency. - February 12, 2010
Brigham and Women's Hospital Welcomes New President
As of January 1, 2010, Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, assumes position as President of Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals. - February 12, 2010
Vaccine Delivered Through Older Methods May Provide Better Immunity
New research shows that giving a vaccine through a scratch on the skin, a technique called scarification, results in a better immune response when compared to injecting the vaccine into the body, and that the amount needed is 100 times less. - February 11, 2010
Largest Study of Vitamin D and Omega-3s Now Enrolling at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Researchers are now enrolling 20,000 participants throughout the entire U.S. to determine whether vitamin D and omega-3s can prevent colorectal, breast, prostate, and other cancers, as well as cardiovascular disease. - February 11, 2010
Popp Begins as Chair of Neurosurgery
Dr. Popp will lead an accomplished team of 14 expert neurosurgeons, along with renowned researchers. - February 11, 2010
Chronic Sleep Loss Severely Degrades Nighttime Performance
A ‘Catch Up’ Night Of Sleep Not Enough to Compensate: New research shows that chronic sleep loss over a few weeks results in much slower reaction times and profoundly poorer performance. - February 11, 2010
Women May Be Better Able to Regulate Stress
Hormonal regulation of stress response in the brain differs in men and women. - February 11, 2010
New Findings from JUPITER Show Rosuvastatin Cuts Stroke Risk in Half Among Those with Elevated CRP Levels and Commonly Acceptable Cholesterol Levels
Men and women with low levels of bad cholesterol but elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein who were randomly given rosuvastatin, reduced their risk of fatal or non-fatal stroke by 48 percent. - February 11, 2010
Blood Vessels in Prostate Tumor May Indicate Aggressiveness of Cancer - Brigham and Women's Hospital
Researchers find that characteristics of blood vessels in a prostate cancer tumor may be an indicator of risk for metastasized cancer. The growth of a tumor requires a vascular network that carries blood to the developing cells and in new research published online in the Journal of Clinical... - January 21, 2010
Failure to Order Needed Tests a Leading Cause of Diagnostic Errors - Brigham and Women's Hospital
The failure to order tests, report results to patients, or follow-up with abnormal test findings, are leading types of diagnostic errors, according to a survey of primary care and specialist physicians in the United States sponsored by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Tests were... - January 21, 2010
High Levels of ‘good’ Cholesterol Linked to Lower CVD Risk in Women
High levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good” cholesterol) and apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) in women appears to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. - December 13, 2009
Specific Genetic Mutations do Not Affect Lung Function Response to Asthma Treatment
Therapy's effects on airway hyperresponsiveness, not lung function, was affected by genetic mutation. - December 13, 2009
Current Cigarette Smokers at Increased Risk of Seizures
Cigarettes increase risk of seizures, while moderate caffeine or alcohol use was found to have no association with seizures. - December 13, 2009
Pregnancy Testing as a Quality Indicator in Emergency Departments May Not Improve Care
New research demonstrates the difficulties and potential disadvantages of using national databases to develop and measure quality indicators. - December 13, 2009
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Announces New President
Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, has been named the next president. Dr. Nabel will assume her position January 1, succeeding Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA. - November 13, 2009
Fish Oil Component Shows Potential to Treat a Variety of Inflammatory Diseases
Researchers discover why fish oils produce anti-inflammatory effects, which could have major clinical implications for the treatment of a number of diseases related to inflammation. - November 13, 2009
New Process for Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation Discovered
Researchers at BWH have discovered a novel means of controlling stem cell differentiation into desired cell types. - November 13, 2009
Better Retention in Care is a Cost-Effective Way to Improve Outcomes in HIV Disease
The effectiveness of treating HIV with antiretroviral therapy is undermined by the large number of individuals who initiate treatment but do not continue regular clinic visits. - November 13, 2009
Racial and Sex Disparities in Survival Losses Due to HIV in the United States
The benefits in survival for treating HIV with antiretroviral therapy appear to differ by both gender and ethnicity. - November 13, 2009
Student Success Jobs Program Receives National Afterschool Innovator Award from MetLife Foundation
MetLife Foundation and the Afterschool Alliance today honored the Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Student Success Jobs Program (SSJP) with an Afterschool Innovator Award. - November 13, 2009
Risks of Complications by Attending Physicians Following Overnight Procedure is Significantly Reduced if Given an Opportunity to Sleep Six or More Hrs
New research finds that procedures performed the day after attending physicians worked overnight were not more likely to have an increased risk for complications if the physician had an opportunity to sleep for six or more hours. - November 13, 2009
Minimally Invasive vs. Open Radical Prostatectomy
Researchers find the minimally invasive approach results in a higher rate of genitourinary complications, incontinence and erectile dysfunction. - November 13, 2009
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Adds to State of the Art Imaging Suite
New system at BWH is the first in the world to allow the capabilities of both MRI and x-ray angiography in a single suite. - November 13, 2009
BWH Names Woodmansee Director, Clinical Neuroendocrine Program
Whitney W. Woodmansee, MD, has been named the Director of the Clinical Neuroendocrine Program in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension and the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). - October 23, 2009
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Researchers Receive NIH Awards to Encourage High-Risk Research and Innovation
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) are recipients of two of the 115 awards, presented from three innovative research programs supported by the NIH Common Fund’s Roadmap for Medical Research: the NIH Director’s Transformative R01 (T-R01) Awards, Pioneer Awards, and New Innovator Awards. - October 23, 2009
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Receives National Recognition for Exemplary Outcomes from the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has recognized Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) as one of 25 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals in the United States that have achieved exemplary outcomes for surgical patient care. - October 23, 2009
Breast Cancer Risk in Blind Women
Researchers find that reproductive differences are not responsible for the lower risk of breast cancer in blind women. - October 23, 2009
The New England Journal of Medicine and Brigham & Women’s Hospital Offer Interactive Medical Cases
New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), in partnership with Brigham & Women’s Hospital, is now offering a unique online learning tool called Interactive Medical Cases on NEJM.org. The series of cases simulate clinical encounters to enable doctors to learn best practice strategies and... - October 23, 2009
Implementation of a Rapid HIV Testing Program in an Emergency Department
Researchers share lessons learned from the experience of implementing an HIV testing program in a busy academic teaching hospital. - October 23, 2009
Office Visits for Skin Infections Remain Unchanged Since Emergence of Community-Associated MRSA
In a new study, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) sought to determine if the number of SSTI visits also increased in the larger setting of physicians' offices. - October 23, 2009
Lifetime Maternal Interpersonal Trauma May Increase Occurrence of Asthma and Allergies in Children
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and the Harvard School of Public Health found that interpersonal trauma experienced throughout the mother’s life may have an effect on her baby’s immune development during gestation. These findings are published online in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology. - October 23, 2009
Biological Bypass
Researchers identify a coronary vascular progenitor cell capable of growing new coronary arteries. - September 13, 2009
Hormonal Therapy for Prostate Cancer Increases Risk of Death
Researchers have now identified the specific underlying health conditions that increase the risk of death in men treated with hormonal therapy for prostate cancer. - September 13, 2009
Proton Pump Inhibitors Do Not Interfere with Benefit of Antiplatelet Drugs
An analysis of a large clinical trial has shown that proton pump inhibitors (a commonly prescribed antacid medication) do not interfere with the clinical benefit of the anticlotting drugs clopidogrel or prasugrel in patients after an acute coronary syndrome (heart attack or unstable angina). These... - September 13, 2009
Combination of Healthy Lifestyle Choices Can Help Lower Incidence of Hypertension in Women
As a risk factor for stroke, heart attack, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and shortened life expectancy, high blood pressure (hypertension) contributes to more excess deaths in women than any other preventable factor. - August 06, 2009
Men Undergoing Brachytherapy Alone for Aggressive Prostate Cancer May be Under-Treated
In the first and only study designed to compare a single prostate cancer treatment, brachytherapy, to a combination of treatment methods for differences in mortality rates in men with high-risk prostate cancer, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have found that a single treatment method of brachytherapy, also called seed therapy, alone is associated with higher death rates from prostate cancer. - August 06, 2009
Melatonin Delivered Through Skin Patch Successful in Improving Sleep Maintenance
Melatonin supplementation can be a viable therapy for some of the 60 million Americans battling sleep problems, including those performing shift work and those suffering from jet lag. - August 06, 2009
BWH Ranked in Top Ten of Nation’s Hospitals by U.S. News and World Report
Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) has again earned high marks on the U.S. News & World Report annual Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals, ranking tenth among the 21 hospitals on the list. 2009 marks the 17th consecutive year that Brigham and Women's Hospital has appeared on the Honor Roll. - August 06, 2009
Common Allergy Drug Reduces Obesity and Diabetes in Mice
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have found that two common over-the-counter allergy medications may reduce both obesity and type 2 diabetes in mice. The medications, called Zaditor and cromolyn, stabilize a population of inflammatory immune cells called mast cells. This research appears in the July issue of Nature. - August 06, 2009
Banking on Cord Blood
The Cord Blood Donation Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), sponsored jointly with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) opened in May 2009 and is the first cord blood collection program in Boston that allows parents to donate to a public cord blood bank. - August 06, 2009
Early Warning: Key Alzheimer's Brain Changes Observed in Unimpaired Older Humans
New research has uncovered an early disruption in the process of memory formation in older humans who exhibit some early brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) but show little or no memory impairment. The work, published by Cell Press in the July 30th issue of the journal Neuron, sheds light on the role of amyloid protein in memory impairment and may lead to development of strategies for predicting and treating cognitive decline in individuals who are at-risk for AD. - August 06, 2009
Healthy Lifestyle Choices May Reduce Lifetime Risk of Heart Failure
Heart failure occurs in an average 550,000 people each year in the United States. The lifetime risk of heart failure - the risk of ever developing heart failure during one’s remaining lifetime before dying from other causes - at 40 years of age is approximately one in five. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that men who followed a number of healthy lifestyle factors may reduce their risk of heart failure to one in ten. - August 06, 2009
Largest Study of Vitamin D and Omega-3s Set to Begin Soon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Researchers will collect data from 20,000 men and women throughout the U.S. on the effects of these supplements on the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease and the potential to reduce health disparities. - July 08, 2009
Healthy, Older Men Live Longer with Aggressive Prostate Cancer Treatment
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), have found that older men, who are otherwise healthy, benefit from aggressive treatment for unfavorable-risk prostate cancer. - July 08, 2009