Patients who loathe appearance often get better, but it could take years A new study by Brown University psychiatrists finds evidence that given enough time, patients with body dysmorphic disorder frequently recover and rarely relapse. The surprisingly high rate may be related to patients in prior studies having had especially severe cases of the disease. […]

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Human protein improves muscle function of muscular dystrophy mice Now headed toward human trials, biglycan significantly slows the weakening of muscles in mice with the genetic mutation that causes muscular dystrophy. Biglycan causes utrophin, a natural muscle-building protein prevalent in young children, to collect in muscle cell membranes. PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A novel […]

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Malaria-infected cells stiffen, block blood flow A team of researchers at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has completed the first modeling, followed by experiments, of how red blood cells are infected by a malarial parasite that attacks the brain. The researchers report that infected cells stiffen by as much as 50 times […]

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Hospice care increasing for nursing home patients with dementia More nursing home patients with dementia are seeking hospice care and using it longer, according to a new study by gerontologist Susan Miller and colleagues. Their findings appear online in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias. Susan Miller Nursing home residents with dementia […]

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Insight offers new angle of attack on variety of brain tumors A research team led by scientists at Brown University and the University of California–San Francisco have associated a mutation found in many kinds of brain tumors with a molecular process that affects metabolism genes. The discovery may open the door to developing new treatments […]

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New survey device gets better information on teenage sexual behavior Brown University sociologists have developed a low-cost, easy-to-use device that is helping researchers in Ethiopia obtain more reliable answers when they ask teenagers about stigmatized sexual behaviors. Their findings are published in the December issue of Studies in Family Planning. PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — […]

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Study suggests that quitting smoking improves mood Christopher Kahler and colleagues at Brown and USC tracked symptoms of depression in people who were trying to quit smoking. They found that people were never happier than when they were kicking the habit and remaining free from smoking. Results of the study were published online Nov. 24, […]

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Brown faculty experts on the future of HIV/AIDS World AIDS Day 2010 sees some hopeful signs — and speculation that the global public health fight against HIV/AIDS may have turned a corner. PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Recent, hopeful developments in the global fight against HIV/AIDS have spurred speculation, especially around World AIDS Day Dec. […]

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Researchers report data on head impacts in college football Joseph Crisco, professor of orthopaedics, and Russell Fiore, Brown’s head athletic trainer, have measured the frequency and location of head impacts in college football, position-by-position. Defensive linemen take the most hits; quarterbacks are the only players to be hit mostly from behind. Crisco, Fiore, and their […]

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Research provides new leads in the case against drug-resistant biofilms Films of bacteria that form around foreign materials in the body can be very difficult to defeat with drugs, but research led by Brown University biologists has identified a couple proteins that play a key role in building these “biofilms.” This pair could prove to […]

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