Latest Clinical & Research News
Three members from the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital were among the featured presenters at the 2021 World Medical Innovation Forum. Their “First Look” talks showcased promising new gene and cell therapies targeting glioblastoma and other tumors with unmet need.
Lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be remarkably diverse in their pathologies and the ways in which patients respond to treatment. To better understand diseases such as COPD, pulmonary vascular disease and interstitial lung disease, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital created the Applied Chest Imaging Laboratory (ACIL). The lab leverages the power of imaging and hypothesis-driven modeling to create algorithms that empower clinical and genetic research.
For patients with endometriosis, fibroids and uterine anomalies, finding the right care can be difficult. In some cases, physicians discount or misdiagnose their concerns and symptoms. In other cases, patients have a hard time finding the right provider — someone who will look beyond an individual symptom and also take their wishes and goals into account when designing a treatment plan.
For over three decades, Dennis Selkoe, MD, co-director of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has studied protein abnormalities that occur in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the mid-1980s, he and his colleagues at the Brigham were among the first scientists to discover that neurofibrillary tangles associated with AD were made of the tau protein. In the early 1990s, he was instrumental in developing the amyloid hypothesis, which links excess amyloid β (Aβ) in the brain to the initiation of AD, and his lab made several discoveries supporting the concept.
Developments in robotic surgery are enabling procedures in minimally invasive thoracic surgery that previously were not feasible. At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a team that includes thoracic surgeons and pulmonologists along with experts in vascular surgery, anesthesiology and intensive care has facilitated the increased use of these procedures for many different medical conditions. Read More
Results of an invasive cardiopulmonary exercise test (iCPET) explain why patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS), also known as long-haul COVID, suffer from fatigue, shortness of breath and lightheadedness when exerting themselves. A recent study published in the journal CHEST found that PACS patients without cardiopulmonary disease demonstrate a marked reduction in aerobic activity and impaired systemic oxygen extraction, along with an exaggerated hyperventilatory response during exercise.
Discrimination based on factors like race, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status are widely pervasive throughout society. The medical field is no exception.
From her revolutionary work using ultrasound for prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies and gynecologic disorders to her discovery that linked nuchal thickening to an increased risk for fetal Down syndrome, Beryl Benacerraf, MD, has changed the way medicine is practiced.
Treating patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries has significant challenges, in large part because of the potentially severe and life-altering effects these injuries can have. Despite recent progress in finding the best way to treat spinal cord damage, many patients are left with profound disabilities. Additional research, both in the lab and the clinic, is vital.
Once a problem primarily in developed, Western nations, atherosclerosis is on the rise in developing countries and has become a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. As the burden of atherosclerosis has shifted geographically and socioeconomically, the way in which the disease is approached and treated has shifted as well. Peter Libby, MD, a cardiovascular medicine specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has helped drive the latter of these changes.