A follow-up study has shown that these peripheral lesions, which are not detected by traditional eye imaging, correlate very closely with the loss of retinal blood flow called retinal “non-perfusion” caused by loss of small blood vessels or capillaries.
Williams College responds to call for leadership on climate change with ambitious plan to reduce carbon emissions, invest in renewable energy projects and create investment options in "green" or low-carbon funds.
New initiative will help rural communities in different geographic locations demonstrate how artistic expression leads to community-wide empowerment and how the assets of local culture can develop economic sustainability.
This week, Babson College welcomes the undergraduate Class of 2019 to campus. The Class of 2019 is noteworthy, not only because it's Babson's Centennial class, but because women make up the majority of the most applied for, and selective, class to date.
A protein known to play a role in transporting the molecular contents of normal cells into and out of various intracellular compartments can also turn such cells cancerous by stimulating a key growth-control pathway.
In the breast, cancer stem cells and normal stem cells can arise from different cell types and tap into distinct yet related stem cell programs, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. The differences between these stem cell programs may be significant enough to be exploited by future therapeutics.
Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center found that one strain of mice which were genetically prone to become obese became resistant to excess weight gain after their populations of gut microbiota were transformed simply by an sharing an environment with other mice.
Tufts University’s first-year class of 1,360 students is once again one for the record books. Whittled down from 19,062 applicants, only 16 percent were offered admission, setting a fifth consecutive record for selectivity; yield on those offers was a record 44 percent, the sixth consecutive increase in that critical index.
A study measuring blood lipid levels of a diverse sample of Boston area schoolchildren found that reducing SSB intake by at least one serving a week was associated with a greater increase in HDL-cholesterol over 12 months. Higher SSB consumption was also linked to lower fruit and vegetable intake.
Vision researchers in Boston have published the second paper of a study designed to determine if a driver who suffers from loss of central vision is able to detect pedestrians in a timely manner when driving. Central visual field loss, a scotoma or blind area in central vision, is found most commonly in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Patients with AMD may drive provided their visual acuity at least meets the requirements for a restricted license. However, the size and location of the blind area are usually not considered when making licensing decisions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate how much these blind areas delayed responses to pedestrian hazards in the safe environment of a driving simulator.
Upsetting the balance between protein synthesis, misfolding, and degradation drives cancer and neurodegeneration. Recent cancer treatments take advantage of this knowledge with a class of drugs that block protein degradation, known as proteasome inhibitors. Widespread resistance to these drugs limits their success, but Whitehead researchers have discovered a potential Achilles heel in resistance. With such understandings researchers may be able to target malignancy broadly, and more effectively.
First-year students from the Babson College Class of 2018 raised more than $18,000 for local social service agencies through the college’s award-winning Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship (FME) course that requires all first-year undergraduate students to start and run a business, and donate profits to charity.
In its first clinical trial, a breakthrough antibody therapy produced at least partial remissions in a third of patients with multiple myeloma who had exhausted multiple prior treatments, investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other organizations report.
Investigators at the Joslin Diabetes Center now have shown that eyes with diabetic retinal lesions predominantly in peripheral areas of the retina that are seen in UWF images but not in traditional retinal photographs show surprisingly higher risks of progressing to advanced stages of vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy.
In the 40 years between 1970-2010, the proportion of patients with diabetes undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) escalated from 7% to 37%. The results of a large study from Cleveland Clinic just published in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the official publication of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), documents the five-fold increase in the proportion of patients with diabetes undergoing this procedure between 1970 and 2010. These patients have more postoperative complications and decreased long-term survival than those without diabetes, and represent a growing challenge to reining in healthcare costs.
By teasing apart the structure of an enzyme vital to the parasites that cause toxoplasmosis and malaria, Whitehead Institute scientists have identified a potentially ‘drugable’ target that could prevent parasites from entering and exiting host cells.
The ideal management strategy for primary cardiogenic shock is a matter of debate. After some early discouraging experiences, the use of extracorporeal life support for patients with cardiogenic shock is having a resurgence. A report from researchers in Padua, Italy finds that patients who have an acute onset of cardiogenic shock, for example following a heart attack, and are placed on extracorporeal life support, fare better than those who have a chronic cardiac pathology. In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Vivek Rao of the University of Toronto puts the findings of the study, such as a 59% survival to hospital discharge rate, in perspective.
With mounting concerns about postoperative seizures, doctors at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia placed 161 neonates who had undergone cardiac surgery on continuous EEG monitoring. They found that 8% of the neonates experienced EEG seizures and 85% of these were unrecognized clinically. Many of the seizures were severe, and the seizure group faced a higher risk of death, according to a report in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the official publication of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS).
High school students, their families, and Tufts University School of Medicine celebrated the achievements of the 26 youths from the Bay State who participated in the School’s 2015 Teachers and High School Students (TAHSS) program. Established in 1989, the program is one of Tufts’ signature initiatives to foster aspiring young doctors, health professionals and scientists of diverse backgrounds.
Today, MIT Technology Review reveals its annual list of Innovators Under 35. The list represents exceptionally talented technologists whose work has great potential to transform the world. For her work in the field of nanotechnology and materials, Canan Dagdeviren of MIT’s Koch Institute has been recognized as an inventor on the list.
Regular consumption of caffeinated coffee may help prevent the return of colon cancer after treatment and improve the chances of a cure, according to a new, large study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute that reported this striking association for the first time.
Babson has joined over 45 business schools in committing to a set of best practices that offer concrete strategies for business schools to help women succeed throughout school and in their careers
For children born with life-threatening hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), reconstructive surgeries can restore blood circulation. While the most common corrective approach is the three-stage Norwood procedure, an alternative strategy, hybrid palliation, allows deferral of the more complex reconstructions to when the child is somewhat older and better able to successfully recover from major surgery. A report in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the official publication of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), evaluates whether an arterial shunt in the hybrid palliation may be a better source for the pulmonary blood supply than the more frequently used venous shunt.
The Boston Business Journal (BBJ) has selected three recipients from Joslin Diabetes Center to receive the 2015 Healthcare Heroes Awards, which honors those who have worked tirelessly to improve the overall health and wellness of those living in Massachusetts and beyond.
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have identified a new vitamin B3 pathway that regulates liver metabolism. The discovery provides a new opportunity to purse development of novel drug therapies to address obesity, type 2 diabetes and related metabolic diseases.
About 2% of the U.S. population has mitral valve regurgitation, which left untreated, can remain mild or lead to arrhythmia or heart failure. Timing of surgery is a matter of controversy, with guidelines suggesting “watchful waiting” or medical treatment until heart failure or poor function becomes apparent. Now a report in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the official publication of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), finds that allowing patients to reach these “surgical triggers” doubles the risk of postoperative mortality and heart failure compared to those who undergo early surgery.
A sense of shared purpose energized a day of exchange between families with autosomal-dominant AD and researchers engaged in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network.
Men with metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer gained more than a year of
survival when they received both hormone-blocking medications and chemotherapy right after diagnosis, rather than delaying the chemo until the cancer worsened, according to a study led by Dana-Farber’s Christopher Sweeney published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A team led by researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University estimated global intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juices, and milk across 187 countries. Variation was identified by age, sex and region, with implications for national and global nutrition policies.
Researchers at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research are developing a tiny biochemical sensor that can be implanted in cancerous tissue during initial biopsy. The sensor wirelessly sends data about telltale biomarkers to an external “reader” device, allowing doctors to better monitor a patient’s progress and adjust dosages or switch therapies accordingly.
Joslin scientists have advanced understanding of how the cellular repair process is impaired in type 1 diabetes, which can cause cell death and lead to complications.
When people feel or act negatively toward a group, they may explain their feelings or behavior by saying, “I felt threatened.” However, new research reveals how easily people can be conditioned to feel prejudice -- and that unrecognized prejudice can be the source of a perceived threat. The study by Angela Bahns, a social psychologist and professor at Wellesley College, is published this month in the journal Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.
Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Schepens Eye Research Institute have reconstructed an ancient virus that is highly effective at delivering gene therapies to the liver, muscle, and retina. This discovery, published July 30 in Cell Reports, could potentially be used to design gene therapies that are not only safer and more potent than therapies currently available, but may also help a greater number of patients.
In two companion papers published in Cell, researchers from MIT's Koch Institute reveal why proliferating cells — including those in tumors — require mitochondrial respiration. While there are other ways to make ATP, cells can’t proliferate without access to electron acceptors provided by respiration.
New molecular tools are emerging to identify lung adenocarcinomas during pulmonary resection. The results of a proof-of-concept study suggest that lung cancer fluorescent imaging during surgery using targeted molecular agents may soon be a reality. While the methodology still needs refinement, the technique holds the possibility of precise visualization of tumor margins, detection of other tumors or metastases, localization of small malignant ground glass opacities, and accurate identification of lymph nodes containing metastatic cancer cells.
Delirium is an acute state of confusion that often affects older adults following surgery or serious illness. Now a study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center confirms that inflammation - an immune response that develops when the body attempts to protect itself from harmful stimuli - plays a role in the onset of delirium.
Researchers at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Massachusetts General Hospital have created a polymer gel that could allow for the development of long-acting devices that reside in the stomach, including orally delivered capsules that can release drugs over a number of days, weeks, or potentially months following a single administration.
A new study from researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) compared open surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm with a catheter-based procedure and found that the less invasive endovascular aortic repair has clear benefits for most patients, providing both a safer operation and a quicker recovery.
Vision researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School (HMS) Department of Ophthalmology have taken a first step in solving a vexing problem: how to preserve photoreceptor cells and avoid irreversible vision loss in patients following retinal detachment.
BOSTON – Advances in technology have spurred better outcomes for infants treated in neonatal intensive care units, but parents and physicians need to work together to avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful tests and treatments, according to new Choosing Wisely® recommendations developed by neonatologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and published online in Pediatrics, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
U.S. News & World Report ranked the Mass. Eye and Ear/Mass General Department of Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, Throat, Head & Neck) at the very top of its national 2015-16 “Best Hospitals” rankings.
This number one ranking is based on many factors, including: quality of care, patient safety and reputation among board-certified otolaryngologists. Although it consistently ranks as a top department, this is the first time since 1996 that the Mass. Eye and Ear Department of Otolaryngology achieved number one status. Last year’s survey ranked the department at #4 in the nation.
New research by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center provides the first direct evidence linking traumatic brain injury to Alzheimer's disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy -- and offers the potential for early intervention to prevent the development of these debilitating neurodegenerative diseases.
A new study by researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and Boston College provides the results of a year-long project in which medical residents reflected on their interactions with patients as a way of understanding the meaning of both their patient’s, and their own, communication.
A joint Williams College-MIT-Lowell Observatory team observed Pluto during a rare celestial event two weeks before a NASA spacecraft got a closer look at the former planet.
The MasterCard Foundation announced a gift to Wellesley College given to honor the outgoing Chair of its Board of Directors, Lois Juliber ’71, an American businesswoman and one of the first to shatter the glass ceiling for women. The MasterCard Foundation, which advances youth learning and promotes financial inclusion to catalyze prosperity in developing countries, gave $1 million to the College to endow the Lois Juliber International Internship Program at Wellesley, supporting seven internships each year that will place students with organizations in developing countries that are focused on financial inclusion, youth learning, and poverty alleviation.
The "placebo effect" is often described as events that occur when patients show improvement from treatments that contain no active ingredients. A "Perspectives" article in the July 2 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine proposes that placebo effects be more broadly defined to reflect their role as a valuable component of medical care.
BOSTON – Hospitals have made significant strides to reduce or eliminate physical harm to patients since the landmark 1999 Institute of Medicine Report “To Err is Human.” In a new paper published in BMJ, patient care leaders at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) say hospitals must now devote similar attention to eliminating emotional harms that damage a patient’s dignity and can be caused by a failure to demonstrate adequate respect for the patient as a person.
Consumption of sugary drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 adult deaths each year worldwide, according to research published today in the journal Circulation and previously presented as an abstract at the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention in 2013.
Babson College hosted the 8th annual Diana Project International Research Conference on June 8-9, 2015, providing a platform for scholars to share in a global research agenda dedicated to asking and answering questions about women entrepreneurs.