Archive for Nancy Fliesler
A big step toward curbing graft-vs.-host disease after bone marrow transplant
A drug used for rheumatoid arthritis has moved a step closer to FDA approval for a desperately needed new use. The drug, abatacept, has gained FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for preventing acute, severe graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients receiving bone marrow transplants. That could help fast-track the drug to the clinic. “If we are lucky ... Read More about A big step toward curbing graft-vs.-host disease after bone marrow transplant
A nimbler way to track alcohol use: mining Twitter and Google searches
Large, survey-based studies are a slow, expensive way to collect rigorous public health data. New research, focusing on alcohol use, shows that mining Twitter and online searches could enable public health professionals to get immediate, localized insights, spot emerging trends, and even measure the effects of interventions. “Online user-generated data are fluid and nimble — ... Read More about A nimbler way to track alcohol use: mining Twitter and Google searches
‘Face blindness’ may represent a failed brain network — and could shed light on autism
People with prosopagnosia, or “face blindness,” have trouble recognizing faces — even those of close friends and family members. While some people can compensate by using clothing and other cues, face blindness often creates serious social problems. It often becomes apparent in early childhood, but, rarely, people can acquire face blindness later in life after ... Read More about ‘Face blindness’ may represent a failed brain network — and could shed light on autism
Natural language processing captures new insights on patient safety
Safety monitoring at Boston Children’s Hospital is getting even more thorough, thanks to natural language processing systems. Aided by machine-learning algorithms, these systems are capturing problems that clinicians didn’t explicitly flag through a safety reporting system, but documented in their notes. The net result is further opportunities to improve care. Natural language processing, or NLP, ... Read More about Natural language processing captures new insights on patient safety
Diet trials often amend their outcome measures as they go
Ever wonder why science can’t settle simple diet-related questions? In part it’s because most clinical trials involving diet, even those published in good journals, lack the rigor of most drug trials. They’re often small, of short duration, and unable to rigorously control subjects’ adherence to the test diets. Moreover, a study published today in JAMA ... Read More about Diet trials often amend their outcome measures as they go
High numbers of youth report using prescription opioids in the past year
A new analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health finds a surprisingly high prevalence of prescription opioid use among youth. As recently as 2015–2016, 21 percent of adolescents and 32 percent of young adults said they had used these drugs in the past year. Nearly 4 percent and 8 percent, ... Read More about High numbers of youth report using prescription opioids in the past year
Beware probiotics in ICU patients
It’s become common for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), both children and adults, to receive probiotics. Often, they are started at home to counteract diarrhea caused by antibiotics. There is also interest in using probiotics proactively in the ICU. A large multicenter clinical trial in Canada is testing whether probiotics would prevent ventilator-associated ... Read More about Beware probiotics in ICU patients
Boosting host immune defenses to treat tuberculosis
Current treatment regimens for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, are long, complex, and hard for people to sustain. Moreover, the bacteria often develop drug resistance, and many people harbor multi-drug-resistant strains. In 2018 alone, nearly 1.5 million people died from tuberculosis worldwide. Now, a study in iScience suggests a new approach that ... Read More about Boosting host immune defenses to treat tuberculosis
Unlocking antibody diversity: chromatin loops, V(D)J recombination, and class switching
A new study from the laboratory of Frederick Alt, PhD, of the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine (PCMM) at Boston Children’s Hospital reveals yet another way in which chromatin regulation — changing the configuration of our DNA and its packaging — enables our immune systems to produce its wide-ranging arsenal of antibodies. In September in the ... Read More about Unlocking antibody diversity: chromatin loops, V(D)J recombination, and class switching
CHIP-ing away at health and medicine for 25 years: A look back
In 1994, when CHIP was formed, the dotcom boom was just dawning. iPhones and social media (except for the earliest versions) were more than a decade away. Bill Clinton was president. Isaac Kohane, MD, PhD, had just completed a fellowship in endocrinology at Boston Children’s Hospital under the mentorship of Joseph Majzoub, MD. He wanted ... Read More about CHIP-ing away at health and medicine for 25 years: A look back