Investigators Seek to Turn Back the Clock in the Aging Immune System

Investigators discover cellular mechanisms that may impact the decline of both innate and adaptive immune functions that increase the susceptibility to various infectious agents, cancer and diseases in the elderly say experts.

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Heating, Air-Conditioning and Carpets May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Damp environments, poorly maintained heating and air-conditioning systems and carpeting may contribute to poor indoor air quality, according to experts. Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors, where they are repeatedly exposed to indoor allergens and airborne particles that can lead to respiratory symptoms and conditions.

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Researchers Present Investigational Findings on Allergic Diseases

Researchers are unveiling new data on investigational findings in nearly 450 abstracts on the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases. Key studies focus on anaphylaxis, nasal saline irrigation, egg allergy, new treatment for hereditary angioedema and a food allergy survey of school nurses.

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25th Anniversary of Pediatric Heart Transplantation Celebrated at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital is celebrating the 25th anniversary of pediatric heart transplantation. In 1984, the Hospital's surgeons performed the world's first successful heart transplant, giving the gift of life to a 4-year-old boy. In the intervening quarter century, more than 350 children have received new hearts at the Hospital, which today has among the country's top three largest pediatric heart transplant programs.

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Dr. Martha Grayson Named Senior Associate Dean of Medical Education at Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Martha S. Grayson, M.D., has been named senior associate dean for medical education at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Dr. Grayson, an alumna of Einstein, is known for developing innovative and rigorous medical educational programs and evaluation processes. She will assume her new leadership position on December 1, 2009.

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Researchers Find New Way to Attack Inflammation in Graves’ Eye Disease

A small group of patients with severe Graves’ eye disease experienced rapid improvement of their symptoms—and improved vision—following treatment with the drug rituximab. Inflammation around their eyes and damage to the optic nerve were significantly reduced. The same patients had not previously responded to steroids, a common treatment for Graves’ eye disease.

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PET Imaging Response a Prognostic Factor After Thoracic Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer

A rapid decline in metabolic activity on a PET scan after radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer is correlated with good local tumor control, according to a study presented by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting.

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New Finding Suggests Prostate Biopsy is Not Always Necessary

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that some elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men may be caused by a hormone normally occurring in the body, and are not necessarily a predictor of the need for a prostate biopsy.

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Possible Help in Fight Against Muscle-wasting Disease

A compound already used to treat pneumonia could become a new therapy for an inherited muscular wasting disease. A five-member team of researchers from University of Oregon and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry report that pentamidine might be adapted to counter genetic splicing defects in RNA that lead to type 1 myotonic dystrophy.

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