Blood test for depression? Found to accurately distinguish depressed patients from healthy controls “Traditionally, diagnosis of major depression and other mental disorders has been made based on patients’ reported symptoms, but the accuracy of that process varies a great deal, often depending on the experience and resources of the clinician conducting the assessment,” says George […]

Triumphs against smallpox, polio, AIDS Harvard researchers led pivotal breakthroughs against many diseases In 1926, Harvard Medical School faculty members George Minot (pictured) and William Murphy tackled pernicious anemia, which often killed sufferers within three years. Their study showed that a diet heavy in raw liver improved the sufferers’ condition. Later studies isolated the active […]

Decoding keys to a healthy life 74 years young, Harvard study continues to yield a treasure trove of data “We used to think that if you had relatives who lived to a ripe old age, that was the best predictor” of a long life, said Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, […]

High triglyceride levels found to independently predict stroke risk in older women. A Stronger Link than Cholesterol Levels to Ischemic Stroke. February 2, 2012— (BRONX, NY) — In a surprising finding with significant implications for older women, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and NYU School of Medicine have found that high levels […]

Facebook application aims to raise awareness, prevent cervical cancer An estimated 11,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and more than 4,000 women die from the disease annually, according to data from the National Cervical Cancer Coalition. In an effort to reduce these figures, the Cervical Cancer-Free Kentucky Initiative introduced a new Facebook application to raise […]

Aging research comes of age Eight years ago I wrote an article about particles. More precisely, I wrote about how, when it comes to lipoprotein particles like the notorious LDL and the vaunted HDL, the bigger and fluffier the better from a health standpoint. In the course of researching the article I telephoned Nir Barzilai, MD, of Yeshiva University’s Albert […]

Paul F. Glenn Laboratories for the Biology of Aging at Stanford University The Glenn Foundation for Medical Research has awarded a $5 million grant to Stanford University to launch a new center on the Biology of Aging. This center is the fourth in the country to be funded by the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research whose goal […]

Heartening developments: Stanford expert discusses innovations in cardiac care February is American Heart Month, and to mark the occasion I sat down with Robert Robbins, MD, chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery (and director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute), to ask him about innovations in cardiac care and what the future holds. My Q&A was recently posted on the Stanford Hospital & […]

Inaugural event for new research center probes how to slow the aging process Once seen as a ticket to obscurity, the field of aging research is coming of age. This can be seen in the convergence of thinking demonstrated at the Jan. 31 Frontiers in Aging symposium at the Clark Center auditorium. Stanford’s Thomas Rando […]

More evidence that chronic stress may increase children’s risk of obesity The more ongoing stress children are exposed to the greater the odds they will struggle with their weight as adolescents, according to a study recently published in Pediatrics. The findings (subscription required) support past research showing molecules released when a person is stressed may unlock the body’s fat cells, […]