BU finds concerns about other painkillers contributed to opioid crisis

Patients with chronic pain caught between cardiovascular concerns about non-opioid analgesics and addiction risks of opioids, likely causing significant unmet need for pain relief. A new Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) study published in JAMA Network Open shows that the decline in prescriptions of non-opioid analgesics–largely NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors–in the early 2000s…

Increasing transparency in the healthcare sector: More might not be better

INFORMS Journal Operations Research New Study Key Takeaways: Increasing quality transparency in the short-term typically improves social welfare and reduces inequality among patients. Increasing transparency in the long-term can decrease social welfare and increase inequality. The best solution is to target public reporting to specific patient populations and incentivize hospitals. CATONSVILLE, MD, December 11, 2019…

Teams of microbes are at work in our bodies. Here’s how to figure out what they’re doing

In the last decade, scientists have made tremendous progress in understanding that groups of bacteria and viruses that naturally coexist throughout the human body play an important role in some vital functions like digestion, metabolism and even fighting off diseases. But understanding just how they do it remains a question. Researchers from Drexel University are…

Hyperactive FOXA1 reprograms endocrine-resistant breast cancer to become metastatic

A team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School has unveiled a novel mechanism that helps explain how endocrine-resistant breast cancer acquires metastatic behavior, opening the possibility of new therapeutic strategies. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study shows that hyperactive FOXA1 signaling, which previously…

Training the brain: resilience program helps student-athletes adjust to college life

Imagine the impact on first-year college student-athletes in highly competitive programs if you could teach them resilience – if they learned skills to cope with high expectations, challenging academic courses, rigorous training and physical injuries, homesickness and even the stressors of life beyond college. In newly published research, a unique and expanding program at the…