Latest Clinical & Research News
Fainting is a fairly common reaction to painful or emotional stimuli. It is especially common in young children, but most people eventually grow out of it or are able to manage the occasional occurrence. For a small group of people, however, neurocardiogenic syncope becomes debilitating, with fainting spells happening every couple of weeks, often without any provoking factors.
When new clinical care guidelines are issued, it often can take years before they are widely inculcated among practicing physicians. However, in the case of new asthma care guidelines issued in 2020, Brigham and Women’s Hospital has been implementing the recommended new treatment approaches for several years.
Clinical studies for new drugs and vaccines, including the recent trials that led to the approval of COVID-19 vaccines, generally exclude women who are pregnant or lactating. For that reason, little is known about how hormonal changes affect drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
As part of its continuing mission to innovate safer, more effective treatments, the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital has introduced a new version of a minimally invasive procedure for people with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (Afib). The procedure, which currently uses the WATCHMAN™ FLX device, extends the option of left atrial appendage (LAA) closure to patients who may not have qualified for it before.
A team that includes investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University School of Medicine is one of three multidisciplinary groups that recently received funding from the Henrietta B. and Frederick H. Bugher Foundation to develop breakthroughs related to hemorrhagic stroke. The over $11 million gift, which the American Heart Association is overseeing, aims to improve prevention, treatment and health outcomes for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.
Many countries in Africa are facing a severe shortage of clinicians in many specialties, including neurosurgery. Although efforts are underway to train more young clinicians and expand access to neurosurgical care across the continent, another gap must also be addressed: the lack of collaboration between neurosurgeons and technical experts.
Hospitals across the country pushed the pause button on elective surgeries and non-emergency procedures during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, patients requiring lifesaving organ transplants couldn’t wait. To meet these patients’ urgent needs, the transplant team at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Lung Center sprang into action, quickly creating new protocols to help the sickest of the sick.
Investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have a clinical trial underway to evaluate the utility and efficacy of a novel blood test that screens women for ovarian cancer risk. Led by Kevin Elias, MD, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the trial aims to enroll 500 women who are estimated to be at increased risk of developing the disease due to a family history of cancer or a known mutation in BRCA1, BRCA2 or another gene linked to ovarian cancer.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are investigating genetic drivers of vascular disease to help prevent aortic dissection and aneurysm in patients with a familial risk. Using a simple blood draw, they are testing patients for genetic abnormalities that can cause the often-deadly condition.
Mechanical problems with the knee, which patients may describe as locking, grinding or clicking, have traditionally been associated with meniscal tears. But a new study from investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital has found that these symptoms are more often driven by cartilage damage rather than meniscal pathology.