Hydrogen peroxide marshals immune system
June 3, 2009 - Using the zebrafish as an animal model, researchers have discovered that the body uses hydrogen peroxide to sound the alarm when a tissue has been injured. As a direct result of this hydrogen-peroxide red alert, white blood cells come to the aid of the wounded site. continue reading >
Calculating preventative medicine’s return on investment
June 2, 2009 - Researchers have developed a prototype “return on investment calculator” that can calculate the value of prevention services delivered by mobile health clinics. Using a Boston-based mobile health clinic called the “Family Van” to test the tool, the team found that for the services provided in 2008, this program will return $36 for every dollar invested. continue reading >
Cancer cells need normal, non-mutated genes to survive
May 28, 2009 - Cancer cells rely on normal, healthy genes as much as they rely on mutated genes. Using a technique called RNA interference, researchers dialed down the production of thousands of normal proteins to determine which were required for cancer cells to survive. They found that cancer cells growing in a dish rely heavily on many normal proteins to maintain their deviant state. When some of these protein levels drop, cancer cells die, but normal cells often survive. continue reading >
Hospice care under-used by many terminally ill patients, study finds
May 25, 2009 - A study looking at 1,517 patients with metastatic lung cancer found that approximately half of these patients did not discuss hospice care with their physician within 4 to 7 months after diagnosis. Blacks and Hispanics were significantly less likely to discuss hospice with their physician than whites and Asians. continue reading >
Harvard Medical School and Portugal announce major initiative to foster translational research and education
April 28, 2009 - HMS and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education have entered into a long-term collaboration to expand translational research and health information across Portugal's medical schools and research laboratories. continue reading >
Universal coverage may narrow racial, ethnic and socioeconomic gaps in health outcomes
April 20, 2009 - A study examining health data for more than 6,000 adults over an eight-year period found that disparities in important health outcomes by race, ethnicity and education were substantially reduced after these adults gained universal health coverage through the Medicare program. continue reading >
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