IMAGE:Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for, or are more prevalent among women,... view more Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers New Rochelle, NY, February 23, 2015--Even as more women are pursuing careers in academic medicine, and now comprise 20% of full-time faculty in medical schools, they are not rising to senior leadership positions in similar numbers as men. The National Faculty Study evaluated the gender climate in academic medicine and identified several factors related to the current work environment that are contributing to this disparity, and these are described in an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website until March 23, 2015. Coauthors Phyllis Carr, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA), Christine Gunn and Samantha Kaplan, MD, Boston University School of Medicine, Anita Raj, PhD, University of California, San Diego, and Karen Freund, MD, Tufts University School of Medicine (Boston, MA), found a lack of gender equality in the following areas: fewer women achieving leadership positions, disparities in salary, more … Continue reading →

Researchers find link between burden of genetic risk factors and reduction of cardiovascular death and heart attacks with statin therapy Research has demonstrated that the risk for developing coronary heart disease depends on a host of risk factors that are related both to lifestyle and genetics. In a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), researchers tested whether a composite of genetic variants could identify the risk of cardiovascular death and heart attacks as well as identify individuals who derived greater clinical benefit from statin therapy. Researchers found that a genetic risk score identified individuals at increased risk for cardiovascular death or a heart attack, both in individuals with and without known coronary disease, with individuals in the highest genetic risk score group having more than a 70 percent increase in the risk of cardiovascular death or a heart attack compared to the lowest risk group. Moreover, the individuals with the highest burden of genetic risk had the largest benefit with statin therapy in terms of reducing the risk of cardiovascular death or heart attacks, with three times the absolute risk reduction seen in the low … Continue reading →

White Houses move to develop customized care prompts worries about data security and informed consent Credit: Thinkstock/ImageSource A new effort to create tailor-made medicine for patients around the U.S. is getting a boost from a $215-million presidential initiative. Its an ambitious undertaking fraught with concerns about patient privacy, funding and how such data would be stored. But because its such an innovative idea, there are few blueprints to work with. The broad federal effort, first announced during Pres. Barack Obamas State of the Union address and then fleshed out with a few more details and a presidential East Room address last week, would create a personal health care information database of more than a million individuals. In addition to patient histories the endeavor would include genetic data and information from devices like wearable health monitors, and the collection of bacteria, fungi and viruses in and on the body called the microbiome. Armed with reams of such data scientists hope they could one day offer more personalized medical care, or precision medicine, that would differ from person to person based on their unique genetic makeups and other factors. The end result of the initiative, according to Obama, will be delivering the … Continue reading →

The order in which genetic mutations are acquired determines how an individual cancer behaves, according to research from the University of Cambridge, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Most of the genetic mutations that cause cancer result from environmental 'damage' (for example, through smoking or as a result of over-exposure to sunlight) or from spontaneous errors as cells divide. In a study published today, researchers at the Department of Haematology, the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research and the Wellcome Trust/Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute show for the first time that the order in which such mutations occur can have an impact on disease severity and response to therapy. The researchers examined genetically distinct single stem cells taken from patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a group of bone marrow disorders that are characterised by the over-production of mature blood cells together with an increased risk of both blood clots and leukaemia. These disorders are identified at a much earlier stage than most cancers because the increased number of blood cells is readily detectable in blood counts taken during routine clinical check-ups for completely different problems. Approximately one in ten of MPN patients carry mutations in both the … Continue reading →

(Boston)--A new genetic discovery in the field of Huntington's disease (HD) could mean a more effective way in determining severity of this neurological disease when using specific treatments. This study may provide insight for treatments that would be effective in slowing down or postponing the death of neurons for people who carry the HD gene mutation, but who do not yet show symptoms of the disease. The work was led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and currently appears in BMC Medical Genomics. HD is a fatal, inherited neurological disease that usually manifests between 30 and 50 years of age. The disease is caused by a genetic defect that is passed from parent to child in the huntingtin gene. Having too many repeated elements in the gene sequence causes the disease and an increasing number of repeats leads to earlier onset and increased severity of the disease. The researchers studied the brains of people who died from HD and those who died of other, non-neurological diseases and identified a very specific genetic signal that strongly correlates disease severity and extent of neuronal, or brain cell death. The genetic signal, also called a microRNA, silences certain genes in … Continue reading →

CHICAGO -- The International Society for Stem Cell Research's 13th annual meeting will take place June 24-27, 2015 at the Stockholmsmssan Exhibition and Convention Center in Stockholm, Sweden. The meeting will bring together approximately 4,000 stem cell scientists, bioethicists, clinicians and industry professionals from over 50 countries to present and discuss the latest discoveries and technologies within the field. "The ISSCR is excited to bring its annual meeting to Stockholm, a city that shares our passion and reputation for great scientific research and collaboration," said ISSCR President Rudolf Jaenisch, M.D., Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. "We look forward to learning more about the strong work being done in Sweden and across Europe." The meeting will open with the Presidential Symposium on June 24 from 1:15-3:15 p.m. local time. The symposium sets the stage for the meeting with world renowned speakers, including Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka. It is also the platform for the formal recognition of the 2015 recipients of the McEwen Award for Innovation and the ISSCR Public Service Award. Another prestigious award, the ISSCR-BD Biosciences Outstanding Young Investigator Award, will be presented during Plenary VI on June 27 from 9-11:20 a.m. and followed by an award lecture. "I … Continue reading →