Category: News

Press Release: Efforts Underway to Eliminate Harmful Race-Based Clinical Algorithms

(Boston)—Increased attention to harmful race-based clinical algorithms—equations and decision-making tools that misuse race as a proxy for genetic or biologic ancestry—has led to the reconsideration of these algorithms in many medical specialties. While most of these algorithms were developed or endorsed by medical specialty societies, ensuring their widespread use, the American Medical Association (AMA) has […]

Press Release: Study Reveals Social Media Usage Impacts the Desire to Undergo Cosmetic Procedures

Findings help explain the increased frequency with which patients have sought these treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic (Boston)—Social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram have been pivotal in perpetuating “selfie” culture, whereby an individual takes and shares a photo of themselves. Globally, social media usage has been increasing, with at least 3.5 billion using […]

Press Release: Lower Risk of Death, Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Hyperthyroid Patients Treated with Surgery than with Medication

Results provide better evidence to patients and providers when selecting a treatment for hyperthyroidism. Boston—Hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid, happens when your thyroid gland makes more thyroid hormones than your body needs. Excessive thyroid hormones from hyperthyroidism elevate cardiovascular risks. While hyperthyroidism can be treated with anti-thyroid drugs, radioactive iodine ablation or surgery, evidence comparing long-term […]

Press Release: Calcium Crystal Deposits in the Knee Contribute to Joint Damage

Targeting calcium crystal deposits could help relieve pain (Boston)— Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting approximately 600 million people worldwide and 34 million people in the U.S. There are no treatments available that prevent its progression to date. Recommended pharmacological treatments for symptoms have either small-to moderate effects or short-term […]

Press Release: Integrating Engineering Philosophy into Medical Education will Empower Future Physicians”

Transformation in medical training will contribute to a higher caliber of physicians, increase the quality of healthcare (Boston)—Traditional medical school curriculum consists of two years spent learning basic science followed by two years learning to apply such knowledge in the clinical realm. Though effective at delivering a massive volume of information in a short time, […]

Press Release: BU & Howard Study Finds Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status May Play an Important Role in Suicides

(Boston)— Attempted suicide is one of the most significant predictors of completed suicide, which is becoming a leading cause of mortality in the U.S., especially among young adults. While prior research has focused mainly on individual-level risk factors for suicide–-such as psychiatric diagnoses, impulsiveness, substance use, previous suicide attempts—there is little information on risk factors […]

Press Release: For the First Time, BU Researchers Show a Clear Relationship Between the Amount of CTE Pathology and Severity of Symptoms

Findings provide crucial insights into diagnosing CTE in the living. (Boston)—Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease defined by hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) protein accumulating in a particular pattern in specific regions of the brain. Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed at autopsy. Like similar brain diseases, the clinical symptoms in life of people diagnosed […]

Press Release: Researchers Identify Critical Pathway Responsible for Melanoma Drug Resistance

Findings may have far-reaching implications for the responsiveness of cancers to epigenetic therapies (Boston)—One of the major challenges in cancer research and clinical care is understanding the molecular basis for therapeutic resistance as a major cause of long term treatment failures. In cases of melanoma, the main targeted therapeutic strategy is directed against the mitogen-activated […]

Press Release: BU Professor to Serve on the National Academies’ New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Program

(Boston)—Sabrina A. Assoumou, MD, MPH, the inaugural Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Professor of Medicine, and an associate professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, has been selected to serve in the 2024-2026 cohort of New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at the National Academies. Participants are selected in recognition […]