A new study explores whether different facets of being a strong black woman, which researchers sometimes refer to as ‘superwoman schema,’ ultimately protect women from the negative health impacts of racial discrimination — or cause more harm. «[Women] talked about every day walking out of their houses and putting on their ‘armor’ in anticipation of…

During the first wave of the pandemic, patients with COVID-19 who experienced strokes caused by blockage of blood flow to brain tissues were more likely to die or have serious complications compared with non-infected stroke patients, a study finds. Approximately one third of all patients with COVID-19 may develop neurological complications from infection, and many…

Increasing severity of sleep-disordered breathing and sleep disruption are associated with epigenetic age acceleration, according to preliminary results of a new study. Results show that each standard deviation increase in the apnea-hypopnea index, a measure of sleep-disordered breathing severity, was associated with the equivalent of 215 days of biological age acceleration. Similarly, each standard deviation…

Scientists say they have discovered a potential new target for immunotherapy of malignant brain tumors, which so far have resisted the ground-breaking cancer treatment based on harnessing the body’s immune system. The discovery emerged from laboratory experiments and has no immediate implications for treating patients. Scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the…

More than 200 genes with novel and known roles in glioblastoma — the most aggressive type of brain cancer — offer promising new drug targets. Researchers engineered a new mouse model to show for the first time how a mutation in the well-known cancer gene, EGFR initiates glioblastoma, and works with a selection from more…

Serious traumatic injuries are a health event that can begin a trajectory toward chronic health and social challenges. Research on patient outcomes following traumatic injuries establishes the pervasive nature of injuries’ long-term consequences in physical, psychological, social and economic well-being, which may persist months and even years after an injury hospitalization. In light of this…

Researchers have discovered in mice how one of the few genes definitively linked to schizophrenia, called SETD1A, likely confers risk for the illness. Mice genetically engineered to lack a functioning version of the enzyme-coding gene showed abnormalities in working memory, mimicking those commonly seen in patients. Restoring the gene’s function corrected the working memory deficit…

Analysis of data from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 CVD Registry of more than 20,000 U.S. adults hospitalized with COVID-19 through November 2020 found that, overall, COVID-19 patients had an increased risk of stroke compared with patients who had influenza or sepsis. COVID-19 patients with ischemic stroke were more likely to be older, male, Black…

A new study provides critical evidence demonstrating that using e-cigarettes daily helps U.S. smokers to quit traditional cigarettes. The report, published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research online, provides the first longitudinal data about the effectiveness of e-cigarettes for cessation from a survey that is representative of the U.S. population. The MGH team analyzed data from…

Physical exams only provide a snapshot of a Parkinson’s patient’s daily tremor experience. Scientists have developed algorithms that, combined with wearable sensors, can continuously monitor patients at home or elsewhere to estimate the severity rating of their tremors based on the way that it manifests itself in movement patterns. This approach has the potential to…