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Atrium Health, Wake Forest Baptist Health and Wake Forest University today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to create a next-generation academic healthcare system. This enables three visionary healthcare organizations to invest in the health and well-being of people throughout the region, as well as contribute ground-breaking research and innovation to the world. Included in the announcement are plans to build on the excellence of Wake Forest School of Medicine and develop a second state-of-the-art campus in Charlotte. By signing a Memorandum of Understanding, the organizations have agreed to start a period of exclusive negotiations, with the goal of entering into a final agreement later this year.

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A new study conducted by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Health found that African-Americans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) lived longer than Caucasians with ALS, even though the disease is more common in whites.

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An inexpensive weight-loss drug approved 60 years ago for only short-term use also may be safe and effective for longer-term treatment, according to a study conducted by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Health and the Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning (PORTAL) network. The study is published in today’s issue of the journal Obesity.

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There’s currently no good way to tell when – or even if – congenital heart defects will become apparent. Even defects that are identified and treated in childhood can resurface and cause problems in adulthood.

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Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Health have been awarded $3.9 million from the National Institutes of Health to determine if a procedure used to treat Parkinson’s patients can improve age-related cognitive abilities and counteract the effects of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.

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Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) scientists have created such a mobile skin bioprinting system – the first of its kind – that allows bi-layered skin to be printed directly into a wound.

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“Addiction is something we’re all going to encounter no matter what kind of medicine we end up practicing,” said Shane Stone, a fourth-year student at Wake Forest School of Medicine who led the effort to establish a student interest group in addiction medicine at the school.

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Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Health have identified a novel mechanism and potential new therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

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Researchers in Finland recently found that lifestyle choices can help older adults stay mentally sharp. Now scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine hope to find confirmatory evidence this is indeed the case by coordinating a large, national clinical trial sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association through a $28 million grant.

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Intensive control of blood pressure in older people significantly reduced the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a precursor of early dementia, in a clinical trial led by scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine, part of Wake Forest Baptist Health.

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Thousands of young athletes seek medical treatment every year for elbow and shoulder injuries, with many occurring among baseball pitchers, according to the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

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A diagnosis of prediabetes should be a warning for people to make lifestyle changes to prevent both full-blown diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine.

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UT Health San Antonio researchers, collaborating with the Mayo Clinic and the Wake Forest School of Medicine, are the first to publish results on the treatment of a deadly age-related disease in human patients with drugs called senolytics. The findings were posted Jan. 4 by the journal EBioMedicine, which is published by The Lancet.

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Therapy dogs provide comfort and affection to people in a variety of settings, from hospitals and nursing homes to airports and disaster sites. They are not service animals or emotional support animals, which serve one specific person. Therapy dogs interact with lots of different – and usually unfamiliar – people.

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The high head impact and concussion rates in football are of increasing concern, especially for younger players.

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The often-misunderstood specialty employs low doses of radioactive materials and advanced imaging technologies to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases.

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Why do orally-administered drugs for diabetes work for some people but not others? According to researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine, bacteria that make up the gut microbiome may be the culprit.

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“The increase in diabetes in our society is almost certainly driven by the increase in obesity,” says Alain Bertoni, M.D., of Wake Forest School of Medicine. “But not everybody who has diabetes is obese and not everybody who is obese has diabetes. There are definitely other factors at work.”

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Enjoying good times around the holiday table can sometimes be difficult for people with food allergies.

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Ultrasound-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation for thyroid conditions is a minimally invasive procedure that is quick and cost-effective, with side effects about the same as those of a flu shot.

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The relationship between the gut microbiome and human health is widely accepted in the medical community. Now, new research shows that the breast gland also has a microbiome, and like the gut microbiome, it too can be affected by diet, according to scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine.

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A relatively new accelerated diagnostic protocol is effective in identifying emergency department patients with acute chest pain who can be safely sent home without being hospitalized or undergoing comprehensive cardiac testing, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

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The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center two five-year grants, each worth approximately $1.5 million, to participate in two nationwide clinical trial networks.

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Ever wonder why some people seem to feel less pain than others? A study conducted at Wake Forest School of Medicine may have found one of the answers – mindfulness.

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Chiggers, redbugs, harvest mites – whatever you call them, they are pesky little bugs whose bites cause really itchy rashes, usually around the ankles and waistline.

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The National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded Wake Forest School of Medicine researchers a five-year grant worth more than $18 million to study the connections between heart health and brain health among participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

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With the support of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine have been working to find a safe, non-addictive pain killer to help fight the current opioid crisis in this country.

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Probiotics seem to be everywhere these days – in yogurt, pickles, bread, even dog food. But there’s one place that may surprise you: There are probiotics in dirty diapers.

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In addition to following a balanced diet, young competitors need to know when to eat what types of food to allow enough time for the digestion and absorption of the nutrients they need to perform at their best.

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New research from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) scientists into the health risks of space radiation exposure shows a potential greater risk than previously thought.

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Although immunotherapy is seen as a very promising treatment for cancer, currently only 20 to 30 percent of patients respond positively. Being able to identify the people most likely to benefit from the costly therapy is a Holy Grail for oncologists.

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Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have shown that gene expression analysis of blood samples taken from the recipients of transplanted kidneys can be used to better understand the mechanisms that promote repair and regeneration of the transplanted organs.

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Recognizing your limits, knowing where you’re going and what you might encounter there, and being aware of the environment you’re in are the best ways to avoid the bites, stings, cuts, sprains and other mishaps that can spoil outdoor activities

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $8 million to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center to study cognitive decline and impairment in older adults with type 2 diabetes who are overweight or obese.

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The majority of skin problems – including the most common, acne – occur in people of every ethnicity and skin color. However, the amount of melanin, which is the pigment that gives skin its color, an individual has can greatly influence their risk of and reaction to many different conditions.

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Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) scientists have developed a 3-D brain organoid that could have potential applications in drug discovery and disease modeling.

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Sessions with patient actors give medical students and other prospective providers the opportunity to develop both clinical skills and “bedside manner” before they begin to practice medicine for real.

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Here’s another reason to eat a Mediterranean-type diet: It’s good for your gut.

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People who are 30 pounds or more overweight may want to slim down a bit even if they don’t have high blood pressure or any other heart disease risk, according to scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

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Peer support specialists are people with a history of substance use disorder or mental illness who are in recovery and have been trained to provide personal, experience-based guidance and assistance to others with similar problems.

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Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the University of Southern California (USC) have demonstrated the successful implementation of a prosthetic system that uses a person’s own memory patterns to facilitate the brain’s ability to encode and recall memory.

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People with heart and vascular conditions have benefited from technologies and treatments introduced in recent years. But traditional qualities such as expertise and teamwork are essential in making the most effective use of new products and procedures, says David Zhao, M.D., chief of cardiovascular medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

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Say ordering a cancer screening test was as easy as booking a hotel room online. Would that improve screening rates?

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One major problem in treating cancer is identifying the location of small tumors and treating them before they metastasize.

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For the first time, scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have been able to measure a specific molecule indicative of osteoarthritis and a number of other inflammatory diseases using a newly developed technology.

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Although obesity has been considered a risk factor for more-severe cases of the flu, a new study found that it is not a risk factor for severe acute respiratory illnesses, including the flu, in children or adults.

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Police officers rarely use force in apprehending suspects, and when they do they seldom cause significant injuries to those arrested, according to a multi-site study published in the March issue of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

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Scientists have developed the most sophisticated mini-livers to date. These organoids can potentially help scientists better understand certain congenital liver diseases as well as speed up efforts to create liver tissue in the lab for transplantation into patients.