Premature aging: Scientists identify and correct defects in diseased cells

Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and CNRS, in collaboration with scientists from the Institut Gustave Roussy and CEA, have succeeded in restoring normal activity in cells isolated from patients with the premature aging disease Cockayne syndrome. They have uncovered the role played in these cells by an enzyme, the HTRA3 protease.

Scientists turn blood into neural cells

Scientists at McMaster University have discovered how to make adult sensory neurons from human patients simply by having them roll up their sleeve and providing a blood sample.

Birth of Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds

With May being Skin Cancer Awareness Month and in tandem with yesterday’s event co-hosted with the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program, The Hazards and Allure of Indoor Tanning Beds on College Campuses we are running a series on skin cancer. Be sure to check back daily for posts on skin cancer including how you prevent and detect it. Enjoy! Eight years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college. She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease until her death at 29. My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day

A different kind of help for migraines

With the growing concern about the use of opioids, I recalled a Chronicle program from a few years ago in which Dr. Carolyn Bernstein explains other types of therapies that can help mitigate the pain and distress of migraine headaches. Here’s the link to this short segment.

Kids and codeine: Eliminating the risk, for safer pain management

Leanne Patel, clinical pharmacist and Dr. Anthony Crocco, pediatric emergency physician have led a patient safety initiative at McMaster Children’s Hospital that has eliminated the use of codeine, which can be harmful for some children, in pediatric care at the hospital. For many health care providers, codeine has been somewhat of a household name in the realm of pain management. Codeine, an opioid medication available in various forms, was commonly used to treat mild to moderate pain, and could either be prescribed or purchased without a prescription in some combination products behind the pharmacy counter. In order for codeine to do its work in relieving pain, it first needs to be converted by our bodies into morphine. But not everyone processes codeine the same. For some, the

How our gut changes across the life course

Scientists and clinicians on the Norwich Research Park have carried out the first detailed study of how our intestinal tract changes as we age, and how this determines our overall health.

In their own words

As the country moves toward ever greater concentration of market power in hospital systems, it is worthwhile to look back to the “mother” of all mergers, the creation of Partners Healthcare System in the 1990s. This event should provide a warning to other parts of the country, as it resulted in substantially higher rates for this health care system compared to others in the state. For those who think that creation of ACOs, as encouraged by federal legislation, is likely to reduce costs to insurance companies and consumers, think again.This kind of market dominance often comes with a plausible sounding–but deeply flawed–rationalization by those who achieve it. As an example, here is a video of the president of Massachusetts General Hospital describing why their