Scientists have known for a while that breast cancer is really four different diseases, with subtypes among them, an insight that has helped improve treatment for some women. But experts haven’t understood much about how these four types differ. A new report provides a big leap in that understanding. Matthew Meyerson, HMS professor of pathology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is one of the study’s authors.
Nearly 10% of American young people have been diagnosed with ADHD at some point in their lives and figuring out how to best help those teens can be tricky, say counselors, psychiatrists and adults with ADHD, because everyone’s situation and form of ADHD is different. Craig Surman, HMS assistant professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
Scientists have begun to tease apart how stress, social isolation, and deprivation early in life can harm children’s brains and lead to behavior and mental health problems later in life. Gabriel Corfas, HMS professor of neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital, led the study. A study by Margaret Sheridan, HMS instructor in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is also cited.
Three new studies, conducted by researchers in Boston and elsewhere, show how much sugar-sweetened beverages can expand our waistlines and provide strong evidence in favor of government policies to curb consumption of soft drinks and fruit juices in schools. David Ludwig, HMS professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, coauthored a clinical trial on obese children. Lu Qi, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is a coauthor of a study at HSPH.
Medical errors kill enough people to fill four jumbo jets a week. In this essay, a surgeon examines five simple ways to make health care safer. Jan Walker, principal associate in medicine and Tom Delbanco, HMS professor of general medicine and primary care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, are cited.
An experimental drug can improve sociability in patients with fragile X syndrome and may be helpful as a treatment for autism, according to the authors of a new study. Christopher McDougle, Nancy Lurie Marks Professor of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
Researchers have found that a computer game helped people who are visually impaired to navigate a building. The study also hints at the possibilities of using audio games to teach visually impaired people in a way that sticks better than other methods. Lotfi Merabet, HMS assistant professor of ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, was one of the developers of the game.
Third Rock Ventures LLC, a venture capital firm, announced the formation of MyoKardia Inc. with a $38 million Series A financing of the company. MyoKardia is developing a pipeline of novel small molecule therapeutics that address key clinical needs for patients with genetic heart disease. Christine Seidman, Thomas W. Smith Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Jonathan Seidman, Henrietta B. and Frederick H. Bugher Foundation Professor of Genetics at HMS, are mentioned as cofounders of the company.
Scientists are sequencing their own genes in an effort to learn how to use this flood of information as well as the benefits and downsides of sequencing. Robert Green, HMS lecturer on medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
