HHS Statement on Cigarette Health Warning Ruling This Administration is determined to do everything we can to warn young people about the dangers of smoking, which remains the leading cause of preventable death in America.  This public health initiative will be an effective tool in our efforts to stop teenagers from starting in the first […]

Drug offers relief for symptoms of myelofibrosis, according to multisite study including Stanford Jason Gotlib People with a blood cancer — myelofibrosis — can benefit from a drug called ruxolitinib, according to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial that included patients and researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The results of the multi-site phase-3 […]

‘Your Medical Mind’ explored Doctors tackle tough topic at John Harvard Book Celebration Lecture The third John Harvard Book Celebration Lecture at the Boston Public Library featured Harvard doctors and best-selling authors Pamela Hartzband (from left) and Jerome Groopman, who tackled the topic “Your Medical Mind: How to Decide When Experts Disagree.” Take this scenario: […]

Treating Neurological Disorders With Music Therapy PBS NewsHour Highlights Efforts at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital UCSF’s efforts to harness and understand the impact of music therapy on the brain was featured in a recent PBS NewsHour story on “The Healing Power of Music.” Heidi Clare Lambert The segment, which aired on Feb. 27, was inspired by former […]

Fighting Infections: Old Drug Reveals New Tricks UCSF-led Study Shows How Interferon Works to Suppress Virus in Patients With HIV, Hepatitis A drug once taken by people with HIV/AIDS, but long ago shelved after newer, modern antiretroviral therapies became available, has now shed light on how the human body uses its natural immunity to fight […]

Hannah Valantine: Leading the way in diversifying medicine Hannah Valantine, MD, told her colleagues at London University’s Medical School more than 30 years ago that she was interested in cardiology. In return, she got variations of the same response. “A black cardiologist who’s a woman as well? You must be mad!” Today, Valantine is one […]

Using placenta-derived stem cells for novel medical therapies … Robert Hariri at TEDMED 2011 The Cellular Therapeutics CEO talks about his research in using placenta-derived stem cells as novel therapy for Crohn’s disease, and to create new “organoids” for research and transplants. … Past research has suggested that human placentas are a rich source of […]

An encephalitis journey: A dozen doctors and 2.5 years We’re partnering with Inspire, a company that builds and manages online support communities for patients and caregivers, to launch a new series here on Scope. Once a month, patients affected by serious and often rare diseases will share their unique stories, and we’re publishing our first – written […]

NIH launches online tool providing information about the availability and scientific basis of genetic tests To make it easier to navigate the rapidly changing landscape of genetic tests, the National Institutes of Health introduced the Genetic Testing Registry (GTR) today. The free online tool was developed as a public database to assist health-care professionals to better understand patients’ diseases […]

Raising awareness about rare diseases Today is Rare Disease Day, an international event intended to raise awareness of diseases that affect fewer than 1 in 2,000 people. Treatment options for rare diseases are often poor; with few patients affected, funding research into these diseases tends to be a low priority. EURODIS, a European NGO that advocates […]