Latest Clinical & Research News
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 8 out of 10 COVID-19-related deaths in the United States have been in adults 65 years and older. As such, the novel coronavirus pandemic has had a dramatic impact on geriatric care.
E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has received a $14.5M Program Project grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for his research on glioblastoma. These NCI grants support multidisciplinary research that addresses a major scientific objective. The highly competitive grants are only awarded to a few research programs every five years.
A unique collaboration at Brigham and Women’s Hospital is helping patients with scoliosis and other complex spinal problems reclaim their quality of life. The Adult Spinal Deformity and Scoliosis Program, led by co-directors Hasan A. Zaidi, MD, Melvin C. Makhni, MD, MBA, and Yi Lu, MD, PhD, is one of the very few in the country to bring together specialists in neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery to treat patients through the entire continuum of care.
On October 1, 2020, Nawal M. Nour, MD, MPH, became the chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Upon assuming her role, Dr. Nour became the first African-American department chair at the Brigham, the first department chair of Sudanese descent and the third woman to be named to a chair role. Dr. Nour succeeded Robert L. Barbieri, MD, who served in the role for 27 years and helped establish the department as a world leader in compassionate clinical care, teaching, research, innovation and discovery.
A network meta-analysis conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital adds to the growing body of evidence favoring nonsurgical treatment (NST) for older patients with 3- and 4-part proximal humerus fractures (PHFs).
Preeclampsia occurs in up to 7 percent of all pregnancies and is the third-leading cause of maternal mortality around the world. Yet despite how common it is, surprisingly little is known about its underlying causes. This lack of information has made it difficult to develop methods for determining which women are most at risk of developing preeclampsia and to find ways to reduce that risk or effectively treat the condition after it develops.
Over the past decade, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has evolved from a high-risk procedure to one that has become a standard of care. Each year, thousands of patients undergo this minimally invasive procedure.
At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Tracy Batchelor, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Neurology, has received a Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Brigham and Women’s Hospital recently opened its innovative Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics. A joint clinical, research and education initiative, the new center brings together experts from neurology, psychiatry, neurosurgery and neuroradiology to develop innovative treatment methods for brain disorders that don’t respond to medication.
A rare genetic mutation discovered by a researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital could hold the clues to developing new management strategies for pancreatic cancer. Sahar Nissim, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Brigham’s Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy & Genetics Divisions, found the mutation in a single family with a strong history of pancreatic cancer and published his findings in Nature Genetics. He said the discovery may have broader implications for all patients with pancreatic cancer, regardless of whether or not they have the mutation.