12/29/04 | EXERCISE COMBATS METABOLIC SYNDROME IN OLDER ADULTS
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have determined that in people age 55 to 75, a moderate program of physical exercise can significantly offset the potentially deadly mix of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes known as the metabolic syndrome. More specifically, the researchers found that exercise improved overall fitness, but the 23 percent fewer cases were more strongly linked to reductions in total and abdominal body fat and increases in muscle leanness, rather than improved fitness. |
12/29/04 | Johns Hopkins Medicine's 23rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., one of America’s foremost civil rights figures and founder and president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, will be the featured speaker at this year’s annual commemoration event, which honors the Nobel laureate and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. |
12/22/04 | "JUMPING GENE" HELPS EXPLAIN IMMUNE SYSTEM'S ABILITIES
A team led by Johns Hopkins scientists has found the first clear evidence that the process behind the human immune system's remarkable ability to recognize and respond to a million different proteins might have originated from a family of genes whose only apparent function is to jump around in genetic material. |
12/21/04 | HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGISTS TRACE OUTBREAK OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANT ORGANISM TO COMMONLY USED WOUND CARE EQUIPMENT
Device Maker Agrees to Change Product Labeling
Infection control experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital say tighter rules governing use of a hand-held, high-pressure, water-pumping tool to wash and clean wounds should be adopted to improve the safety of wound care. |
12/21/04 | Christmas Eve Caroling in the Wolfe Street Lobby of The Johns Hopkins Hospital
In one of Baltimore’s oldest holiday traditions, the Memorial Baptist Church choir will gather in the Wolfe Street Lobby of The Johns Hopkins Hospital on Christmas Eve to bring musical comfort and cheer to patients and visitors. The choir, with some members in wheelchairs, along with children and grandchildren of original choristers, will sing under the direction of Pastor Rhonda Coleman. The festivities will begin at 7 p.m. and then continue as the choir tours the hospital. Visitors are invited to join in the procession, which often includes off-duty physicians, nurses and staff. |
12/20/04 | SIZE OF MYOCARDIAL INFARCT MEASURED USING MRI
In animal studies, researchers at Johns Hopkins have effectively used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure with 94 percent accuracy the size and amount of heart muscle damaged by a heart attack, known in medical terms as a myocardial infarct, or m.i., for short. |
12/20/04 | ANIMAL STUDIES SHOW STEM CELLS MIGHT MAKE BIOLOGICAL PACEMAKER
In experiments in the lab and with guinea pigs, researchers from Johns Hopkins have found the first evidence that genetically engineered heart cells derived from human embryonic stem (ES) cells might one day be a promising biological alternative to the electronic pacemakers used by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. |
12/16/04 | SURPRISE! CELLS HAVE SECOND SOURCE OF PHOSPHATE
New Source Means New Cellular Communication
For 50 years, thousands of labs around the world have studied cells' critical internal communications, and scientists had assumed the speakers were known. But now, in the Dec. 17 issue of Science, Johns Hopkins researchers report finding not just a new participant, but a brand new conversation that has implications for treating disease and understanding biology. |
12/15/04 | NEW CLUE TO NERVE GROWTH MAY HELP REGENERATION EFFORTS
Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered how one family of proteins repels growing nerves and keeps them properly on track during development. The finding, described in the Dec. 16 issue of Neuron, might provide a chance to overcome the proteins' later role in preventing regrowth of injured nerves, the researchers say. |
12/14/04 | STATEMENT REGARDING SINGLE DOSE NEVIRAPINE STUDY IN UGANDA
As Johns Hopkins has noted in the past, no deaths, serious reactions or serious adverse events were considered likely to be related to the single dose of nevirapine used in the Uganda study. Further, subsequent reviews have validated the study results and multiple other studies have confirmed the safety and efficacy of nevirapine for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. The Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health and African physicians involved in the study all have concluded that nevirapine used as a single dose to prevent maternal to child transmission of HIV is safe, appropriate and effective in this health care setting. |
12/8/04 | STRESSED MICE QUICKER TO GET SKIN CANCER
Does stress speed up the onset of skin cancer? The answer, in mice anyway, appears to be "yes." Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say that chronic stress may speed up the process in those at high-risk for the disease. Their new study, published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, shows that mice exposed to stressful conditions and cancer-causing UV light develop skin cancers in less than half the time it took for non-stressed mice to grow tumors. |
12/8/04 | MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING HELPS DETECT BREAST CANCER BUT DOES NOT ELIMINATE NEED FOR BIOPSY
A multicenter study of 821 patients referred for breast biopsy based on prior examinations that suggested cancer finds that while magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) distinguishes between benign and malignant breast tumors better than mammography, biopsies are still needed to confirm the diagnosis. |
12/3/04 | NEW DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR TREATING CANCER TESTED IN ANIMALS
Johns Hopkins researchers led by Jean Geschwind, M.D., associate professor of radiology and radiological science, are testing a novel method for delivering chemotherapeutic agents directly into liver tumors. In the study, catheters were inserted into the femoral artery of rabbits, and tiny beads, impregnated with the anticancer drug doxorubicin, were injected into the tumors. |
12/3/04 | MAGNETIC RESONANCE COIL IMPROVES QUALITY OF MRI OF MALIGNANT LIVER OBSTRUCTION
Use of a receiver coil inserted into malignant biliary obstructions of the liver during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures enhances the image quality and may improve the diagnosis and staging of patients with liver obstructions, according to a study led by Aravind Arepally, M.D., assistant professor of radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The study, thought to be the first human trials of this new technology, allows high-resolution pictures of the liver and biliary tree not previously possible. |
12/2/04 | HOPKINS ENDOCRINOLOGIST ELECTED PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN THYROID ASSOCIATION
Paul Ladenson, M.D., professor and director of the division of endocrinology and metabolism at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been elected president of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) at its recent annual meeting in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Ladenson will serve a one-year term as head of the association, the North American professional society for physicians and researchers specializing in diseases of the thyroid gland. |
11/30/04 | SIMPLE INTERVENTION NEARLY ELIMINATES CATHETER-RELATED BLOODSTREAM INFECTIONS
As many as 28,000 patients die each year in the U.S. because of catheter-related bloodstream infections, but doctors and nurses who implement simple and inexpensive interventions can cut the number of deaths to nearly zero, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers. |
11/22/04 | STEM CELLS' REPAIR SKILLS MIGHT BE LINK TO CANCER
Johns Hopkins researchers say there is growing evidence that stem cells gone awry in their efforts to repair tissue damage could help explain why long-term irritation, such as from alcohol or heartburn, can create a breeding ground for certain cancers. |
11/18/04 | JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE SETS “IMAGINE” CAMPAIGN
Eisner Communications creates “awareness” ads to run in New York, Baltimore; events also scheduled
Johns Hopkins Medicine will launch a six-month multimedia advertising and public relations campaign in New York on Nov. 28. Designed to present the historic and celebrated institution as distinctively poised to make many of the next great advances in medical science and practice, and to bring them rapidly to patients, the campaign also will be seen in Baltimore, starting in January. |
11/18/04 | NEW PROTEIN “STOP SIGN” ALTERS BLOOD VESSEL GROWTH
In experiments with mice, a research team led by Johns Hopkins scientists has discovered an unusual protein pair that stops blood vessels’ growth in the developing back. Results of the studies, published today in the express online edition of Science, are of special interest to researchers trying to prevent blood flow that nourishes tumors or exploit the signals vessels emit during growth to help regrow damaged nerves. |
11/15/04 | NEW TOOL HIGHLIGHTS ACTIVITY OF KEY CELLULAR SIGNAL
Scientists at Johns Hopkins and the University of Texas Medical Branch have created a new tool that easily reveals when and where a key cellular signal is active. The development, described in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, should speed identification of the signal's triggers and effects in normal processes and in conditions such as asthma, allergy, inflammation, lung disease and heart disease. |
| 11/15/04 | BRAIN’S IMMUNE SYSTEM TRIGGERED IN AUTISM
A Johns Hopkins study has found new evidence that the brains of some people with autism show clear signs of inflammation, suggesting that the disease may be associated with activation of the brain’s immune system. |
11/12/04 | Partin Named New Director of Urology at Johns Hopkins
Alan Partin, M.D., Ph.D., a world-renowned expert in the study and treatment of prostate cancer, will be the new director of the Johns Hopkins Department of Urology and the Brady Urological Institute, and the new urologist in chief of The Johns Hopkins Hospital, as of Nov. 15. He succeeds Patrick Walsh, M.D., who led the department for three decades and will remain on the urology faculty devoting his full time to patient care, surgery and research. |
11/12/04 | Patients Raise $25 Million to Fight Prostate Cancer
To make sure that Dr. Patrick Walsh’s winning approach to the prevention, treatment and ultimate cure of prostate cancer will continue, a group of his former patients raised $25 million to provide funds to support the research of outstanding scientists from throughout The Johns Hopkins University. The goal of the fund is to attract the best and brightest scientists to join in the fight against prostate cancer. |
11/10/04 | NEW GENE TARGET FOUND FOR COMMON BRAIN TUMORS IN CHILDREN
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have linked a stem-cell gene to a portion of one of the most common childhood brain cancers, opening the door to tailored therapies that block the gene's tumor-promoting ability. |
| 11/10/04 | JOHNS HOPKINS-NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CENTRE IN SINGAPORE TO RELOCATE TO TAN TOCK SENG HOSPITAL
The Johns Hopkins-National University Hospital (NUH) International Medical Centre (JH-NUH IMC), currently located at the NUH, will be relocated to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore in order to facilitate the growth of JH-NUH IMC. The relocation of the new facility, called the Johns Hopkins Singapore International Medical Centre. is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2005. |
11/10/04 | STUDY SHOWS HIGH-DOSE VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENTS MAY INCREASE RISK OF DYING
Researchers at Johns Hopkins report that use of high-dose vitamin E supplements, in excess of 400 IU (international units), is associated with a higher overall risk of dying. These results should be of concern to the millions of Americans who take vitamin E supplements for perceived health benefits. |
11/10/04 | WALLFLOWER BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAY HAS PROTECTIVE ROLE IN HEART FAILURE
For more than a decade, nitric oxide-making enzymes have been recognized as key players in protecting the heart from further damage after a heart attack, but new research from Johns Hopkins reveals that the least well-studied of the three enzymes could be the most important in the heart. |
11/9/04 | American Heart Association Honors Hopkins Cardiologist
The American Heart Association (AHA) has honored Johns Hopkins cardiologist and chief of medicine Myron L. Weisfeldt, M.D., with its James B. Herrick Award for outstanding achievement in clinical cardiology. The award was scheduled to be presented to Weisfeldt at an annual dinner ceremony this evening during the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2004 in New Orleans, La. |
11/9/04 | ULTRASOUND OF CAROTID ARTERY IN NECK DETECTS EARLY SIGNS OF HEART FAILURE
Ultrasound examination of the carotid artery of the neck, plus an MRI to test heart function, can improve identification of individuals most at risk of developing heart failure, according to early study findings by researchers at Johns Hopkins. |
11/9/04 | STEM CELL THERAPY EFFECTIVELY TREATS HEART ATTACKS IN ANIMALS
Results from an animal study conducted at Johns Hopkins show that stem cell therapy can be used effectively to treat heart attacks, or myocardial infarcts, in pigs. Stem cells taken from another pig's bone marrow, when injected into the animal's damaged heart, were able to restore the heart's function to its original condition. |
11/9/04 | Innovators Combating Substance Abuse Award Lecture Scheduled
The work of our nation’s innovators in controlling and preventing addiction will be highlighted at the Second Annual Innovators Awards Program Lecture in Turner Auditorium at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 5 p.m., Nov. 10. |
| 11/9/04 | "OUTGROWN" A PEANUT ALLERGY? EAT MORE PEANUTS!
Monthly ingestion appears to boost peanut tolerance
Children who outgrow peanut allergy have a slight chance of recurrence, but researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center report that the risk is much lower in children who frequently eat peanuts or peanut products. |
11/8/04 | METHOD DEVELOPED TO REPLICATE STEM CELLS FROM THE HEART
In human and animal studies, scientists at Johns Hopkins have developed a fast and safe method for collecting heart stem cells from remarkably small amounts of biopsied heart tissue (15 mg or less), and growing the cells in the lab to get more. |
11/8/04 | JOHNS HOPKINS’ 10th ANNUAL “A WOMAN’S JOURNEY” SYMPOSIUM SLATED FOR NOV. 20.
Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., an international authority and researcher on mood disorders, author of the new book Exuberance: The Passion for Life and the New York Times best-seller “An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness” (1995), will give the keynote address to kick off Johns Hopkins Medicine’s 10 annual symposium on women’s health and medical issues. This year’s A Woman’s Journey will be held Saturday, Nov. 20, from 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel, 700 Aliceanna St. Nearly 1,000 attendees from more than a dozen states are expected to attend. |
11/8/04 | TRADITIONAL RISK FACTORS FAIL TO IDENTIFY WOMEN AT HIGH RISK OF HEART DISEASE
Traditional risk factor scoring fails to identify most women at high risk of coronary artery disease, according to an analysis by Johns Hopkins researchers. However, more women die of heart disease than do men, but women develop it on average 10 years later. |
11/7/04 | “PAINTING” TECHNIQUE SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFERS GENE THERAPY TO HEART
In experiments with pigs, scientists at Johns Hopkins have successfully used a technique called “gene painting” to target gene therapy to a specific region of the heart and change the heart’s rhythm. |
11/6/04 | GENETIC TESTING CAN IDENTIFY ISCHEMIC AND NONISCHEMIC HEART FAILURE
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that genetic testing can be effectively used to distinguish between heart failure patients who suffer from ischemic or nonischemic forms of the disease. Using groupings or clusters of a patient's gene expression to compare to a diseased "test" set that identifies the cause of heart failure, the Johns Hopkins team assembled a 90-gene profile to determine which type of heart failure had most likely developed. Results showed the test profile to be highly accurate, with 90 percent specificity. |
11/4/04 | POWERFUL "TOOLKIT" DEVELOPED FOR FUNCTIONAL PROFILING OF YEAST GENES
Johns Hopkins researchers have built a powerful "toolkit" designed to quickly uncover how yeast's genes interact with each other. |
| 11/2/04 | NATIONAL SURVEY SHOWS FEW PHYSICIANS ELECTED TO CONGRESS
The politically savvy may be aware that just eight of the current 535 members and four delegates of the 108th Congress are physicians. But a detailed statistical and biographical analysis of Congressional records by Johns Hopkins researchers reveals that since 1960, a total of only 25 physicians have served in either the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate, just 1.1 percent of 2,196 members whose records were reviewed |
| 11/2/04 | Welch Medical Library at Johns Hopkins Celebrates Its Diamond Anniversary
-- Speakers include Nobel Prize Winner Peter Agre, M.D.
Johns Hopkins will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the William H. Welch Medical Library on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004, from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the Mountcastle Auditorium, Preclinical Teaching Building, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. A series of speakers, including Nobel Prize winner Peter Agre, M.D., professor of biological chemistry at Johns Hopkins, will kick off the festivities. A reception will follow in the West Reading Room of the library. |
11/2/04 | ULATOWSKI NAMED NEW DIRECTOR OF ANESTHESIOLOGY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE AT JOHNS HOPKINS
John Ulatowski, M.D., Ph.D., a world-renowned expert on cerebral blood flow and oxygen delivery in the brain, is the new director of the department of anesthesiology and critical care medicine and the new anesthesiologist in chief of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. |
| 11/1/04 | Hopkins Joins National Program to Study Emerging Infectious Diseases
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have received one of 14 biodefense grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to study how certain viral infectious diseases trigger a response from the body’s immune system. Specifically, the program is designed to identify key regions of viruses or other infectious agents – known as epitopes – that are targeted or used by the cells of the body’s immune system to identify or attack infection. |
| COMPREHENSIVE, ONLINE GUIDE ASSISTS CLINICIANS IN THE DIAGNOSIS, MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT OF HIV/AIDS
The Johns Hopkins Point of Care Information Technology (POC-IT) Center will launch a clinical decision support tool for HIV disease (The Johns Hopkins HIV Guide, <http://www.hopkins-hivguide.org>) at ICAAC on Oct. 30. |
| SOME ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE THREAT IN HOSPITALS COULD YIELD TO HAND WASHING
Johns Hopkins researchers report potentially life-threatening hospital infections with bacteria resistant to the antibiotic methicillin can occur even if patients haven't been treated with that drug. But, they add, these infections can be stopped with one of medicine's oldest and most powerful antibacterial treatments: hand washing. |
10/28/04 | FREE CLINIC TO EXPAND HEALTH SERVICES FROM HOPKINS TO UNINSURED OF EAST BALTIMORE
The Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute has established a free clinic in East Baltimore to offer health services to people without health insurance. The official opening of the clinic will be celebrated from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 9. An estimated 25,000 area residents currently lack any form of health insurance. |
10/28/04 | GENETICS NEWS TIPS FROM JOHNS HOPKINS: TRAINEES' CONTRIBUTIONS
At the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, to be held Oct 27 to Oct. 30 in Toronto, researchers and clinicians of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins will present their latest detective work on conditions ranging from high blood pressure to cystic fibrosis and Marfan syndrome. The advances described below also reflect the important contributions of Hopkins' trainees: the predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellow who conducted the work were nominated for -- and two of them won -- research awards from the ASHG. |
10/28/04 | Expert on Hospital Infections Talks About Hand Washing, Oct. 28
A world expert in low-tech strategies for preventing hospital infections will give advice on how to prevent hospital infections to physicians attending a grand round at Johns Hopkins: "Wash Your Hands." |
10/26/04 | NEW TOOL REVEALS MOLECULAR SIGNATURE OF CANCER AND HIV
--"LigAmp" highly sensitive
Scientists have designed a new molecular tool, dubbed "LigAmp," to pinpoint DNA mutations among thousands of cells, the equivalent of searching for a single typo in an entire library of books. Preliminary studies in a small number of cell lines and body fluids show the ultra-sensitive test may help detect microscopic cancer and HIV drug resistance. |
10/25/04 | MOUSE STUDY: SIGNAL OVERLOAD IN ALZHEIMER BRAINS
In studies with mice that develop the equivalent of Alzheimer's disease that runs in families, Johns Hopkins researchers have shown that brain cells' signals confuse the movement of implanted neuronal stem cells. |
10/25/04 | "A WOMAN’S JOURNEY" NEWS TIP SHEET
Listed below are selected subjects to be discussed by Johns Hopkins faculty physicians during the annual "A Woman’s Journey" symposium, to be held on Saturday, Nov. 20. |
10/24/04 | OLFACTORY BULB STEM CELLS AND LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE
Johns Hopkins researchers have found that transplants of mouse stem cells taken from the adult brain's olfactory bulb can delay symptoms and death in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. They are scheduled to present their findings Oct. 24 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego. |
| 10/23/04 | HUMAN SPINAL CORD CELLS HELP RATS WITH LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE
Human primitive spinal cord cells delayed symptoms and paralysis by a week when implanted in the spinal cord of rats destined to develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers from Johns Hopkins report. |
10/21/04 | MOUSE STUDY: "CRITICAL" DOWN SYNDROME REGION ISN'T
After five years of work, Johns Hopkins researchers report that a particular genetic region long assumed to be a critical factor in Down syndrome isn't nearly as important as once thought. |
10/21/04 | NEW LIPODYSTROPHY CLINIC AT HOPKINS FOCUSES ON FAT AND METABOLISM PROBLEMS UNIQUE TO HIV/AIDS TREATMENT
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has established a clinic focused on the treatment of body fat and metabolic changes that profoundly affect people undergoing therapy for HIV and AIDS. Up to 50 percent of patients on HIV medications, or so-called drug cocktails, experience lipodystrophy, conditions that broadly include increased rates of diabetes and pre-diabetes; development of fat inside the abdomen, or fat loss and wasting in the buttocks, face, limbs and some areas of skin; elevated blood cholesterol levels; and osteoporosis. |
10/20/04 | ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS LINKED TO INSULIN RESISTANCE IN CHILDREN
Metabolic monitoring may be indicated for patients
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center say a group of drugs known as "atypical antipsychotics" that are commonly used to treat children with aggression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia may trigger insulin resistance, a condition that increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease later in life |
10/19/04 | EXPERT PANEL OFFERS PRELIMARY REPORT ON HEALTH EFFECTS OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
--Recommendations made for new research to settle questions
Twenty-five years after the birth of the first baby conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), there remain many unanswered questions about the health and well-being of babies born following IVF. While research exploring health outcomes for IVF has increased substantially over the last decade, differences in study design and study conclusions have sometimes led to conflicting conclusions and to confusion among patients, providers and the public. To clarify what is known and what gaps remain, Kathy Hudson, Ph.D., director of the Genetics and Public Policy Center at The Johns Hopkins University, with funding from The Pew Charitable Trust, convened an expert panel to address whether IVF babies are at increased risk for adverse health outcomes. |
10/18/04 | Grimes v Kennedy Krieger Institute: Facts About the KKI Lead Paint Study |
10/18/04 | MANIPULATION OF EPIGENOME TURNS OFF AS MANY GENES AS IT TURNS ON
Comprehensive Study Raises Questions About "Demethylation" Agents
Agents believed to selectively "restart" genes that limit cancer's growth -- a potential treatment option already in early clinical studies -- instead turn off as many genes as they turn on, a team of researchers from the National Cancer Institute and Johns Hopkins has discovered. |
10/18/04 | Three Hopkins Researchers Appointed to Institute of Medicine
Three Johns Hopkins researchers have been elected to membership in the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine (IOM). Thomas Quinn, M.D., Diane Griffin, M.D., Ph.D., and John Griffin, M.D., are among just 65 new members nationwide announced today by the IOM. Election to this prestigious body affirms their stunning contributions to medical science, health care and public health, as well as to the education of generations of physicians. Election is one of the highest honors for those in the medical profession. |
10/18/04 | Special Master of Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, Kenneth Feinberg, is Keynote Speaker at Hopkins Bioethics Lecture
The Phoebe R. Berman Bioethics Institute will host the fourth biannual Robert H. Levi Lecture in Bioethics and Public Policy at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2004, in Room 110, Hodson Hall, on the Homewood Campus of The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles St., Baltimore, Md. |
10/18/04 | Tip Sheet From the Johns Hopkins Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department for the Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Dysphagia Research Society
This tip sheet highlights research from Johns Hopkins being presented at the annual meeting of the Dyspahgia Research Society (DRS). The DRS is an international, multidisciplinary group of scientists and clinicians who study swallowing and its disorders. The meeting will take place Thursday, Oct. 14, through Saturday, Oct. 16, in Montreal, Canada. |
10/15/04 | Johns Hopkins Celebrates 75th Anniversary of Institute of the History of Medicine
The Institute of the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins was the first department of its kind in the United States and became a prototype for similar departments within leading medical schools. The institute was founded in 1929 by William H. Welch, M.D., one of the “founding four” luminaries of The Johns Hopkins Hospital, the first dean of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and first director of the institute. |
10/14/04 | "ENERGY BLOCKER" KILLS BIG TUMORS IN RATS
Building on their earlier work, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that an apparently nontoxic cellular "energy blocker" can eradicate large liver tumors grown in rats. Six months to more than a year after treatment was stopped, the rats are still cancer free. |
10/11/04 | HUNT FOR AUTISM GENES TO BE LED BY HOPKINS RESEARCHERS;
With a three-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins scientists will lead the largest hunt for genetic contributors to autism, a neuropsychiatric condition whose causes are almost as mysterious today as when the condition was first described in 1943. |
| 10/11/04 | MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING CAN MEASURE EARLY BENEFITS OF CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING DRUGS AND PLAQUE REDUCTION, NEW STUDY SHOWS
Using modified magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, researchers at Johns Hopkins have been able to detect the early benefits of a cholesterol-lowering medication much sooner than before. |
10/8/04 | STUDY LAYS DOWN GENETIC BASIS FOR SINUS DISEASE AND NASAL POLYPS
In a three-year analysis of more than 10,500 genes, one-third of the human genome, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found a starting point to establishing the genetic basis for sinus disease and the growth of nasal polyps, illnesses not well understood despite their prevalence. |
10/8/04 | $10 MILLION AWARDED TO JOHNS HOPKINS FOR STUDIES OF BREAST CANCER SPREAD Collaboration with University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center has won a five-year, $10 million government grant that will bring together national breast cancer experts to find new ways to halt metastasis, an elusive process that causes cancer cells to spread throughout the body and is the cause of death in most cancer patients. |
10/8/04 | JOHNS HOPKINS WILMER EYE INSTITUTE ESTABLISHES NEW EYE CENTER
The Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute will celebrate the dedication of The Walter J. Stark, M.D., and Margaret C. Mosher Center for Cataract and Corneal Disease on Friday, October 8, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Patz Lecture Hall in the Wilmer building. |
10/7/04 | Johns Hopkins Institutions and NIH to Celebrate Construction of Biomedical Research Center
The Johns Hopkins Institutions, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the City of Baltimore will officially celebrate their partnership on the start of construction on NIH’s new state-of-the-art Biomedical Research Center on Tuesday, October 12, 2004, from 2 to 4 p.m. on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. |
10/6/04 | Wilmer Eye Institute Named Top Program by Ophthalmology Times Ninth Consecutive Time
--Takes the lead in two of four categories –-
For the ninth year running, the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins has been named the best overall ophthalmology program in the country by Ophthalmology Times. The survey rankings, which appear in the October 1 issue, were compiled from a poll of ophthalmology department chairmen and directors of residency programs across the United States. |
10/5/04 | LOW DOSE RADIATION EVADES CANCER CELLS' PROTECTIVE "RADAR"
Kills More Cells Than High-Dose Radiation A new study shows that lower doses of radiation elude a damage detection "radar" in DNA and actually kill more cancer cells than high-dose radiation. With these findings, scientists believe they can design therapy to dismantle this "radar" sensor allowing more radiation to evade detection and destroy even greater numbers of cancer cells. |
10/5/04 | HOPKINS GENETICIST GETS $17 MILLION NIH "ROADMAP" GRANT
A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins has received a five-year, $17 million grant under the National Institutes of Health's Roadmap for Medical Research to develop new technologies to comprehensively examine proteins' interactions in systems ranging from yeast to human cells. |
10/5/04 | FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS: CHALLENGES ANDOPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVING TRANSITIONAL CARE
On Tuesday, October 5, as part of the annual Elizabeth L. Rogers, M.D. Lecture in Geriatric Medicine, guest speaker Eric Coleman, M.D., M.P.H., an expert in transitional care for the elderly, will discuss problems with current systems and ways to improve care for geriatric patients. |
10/5/04 | Louis and Nancy Grasmick Give $1 Million to Hopkins Heart Institute
When Louis and Nancy Grasmick announced their $1 million gift to the new Johns Hopkins Heart Institute they did so knowing that the ir gift was going to support something they truly believed in…and something that they truly believed had already impacted their lives. |
10/4/04 | SIBLING HISTORY PREDICTS EARLY HEART DISEASE BETTER THAN PARENTAL HISTORY
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that sibling history -- whether or not a brother or sister had early heart disease -- is a better predictor of a person's likelihood of developing coronary heart disease than parental history or traditional risk factor scoring. The results strongly suggest that physicians should pay close attention to their patients who have a sibling with an early history of coronary heart disease. |
| 10/4/04 | EPISIOTOMIES DO NOT PREVENT SHOULDER INJURY TO INFANTS STUCK IN BIRTH CANAL
A new study from Johns Hopkins suggests that routine widening of the vagina, a procedure known as an episiotomy, does not reduce the risk of injury to infants during a complicated birth, such as when a baby's shoulders are stuck in the birth canal after the head is already out. |
| 10/4/04 | ELDERLY IN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES HAVE HIGH RATES OF DEMENTIA AND OTHER PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS
Two-thirds of assisted living residents in central Maryland were diagnosed with dementia and more than one-quarter of residents had other psychiatric ailments, such as depression, anxiety disorder or psychosis, according to a Johns Hopkins study. |
9/30/04 | Merck Withdraws Vioxx, Its Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug for Arthritis, Other Acute Pain
Merck & Co., Inc. announced a voluntary withdrawal of Vioxx (rofecoxib) from the U.S. and worldwide market due to safety concerns of an increased risk of cardiovascular events (including heart attack and stroke) in patients on Vioxx. |
9/29/04 | CAFFEINE WITHDRAWAL RECOGNIZED AS A DISORDER
If you missed your morning coffee and now you have a headache and difficulty concentrating, you might be able to blame it on caffeine withdrawal. In general, the more caffeine consumed, the more severe withdrawal symptoms are likely to be, but as little as one standard cup of coffee a day can produce caffeine addiction, according to a Johns Hopkins study that reviewed over 170 years of caffeine withdrawal research. |
9/28/04 | IAN MCNIECE, PH.D. APPOINTED NEW DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES, JOHNS HOPKINS IN SINGAPORE
After an extensive international search, Ian McNiece, Ph.D., has been selected to chair the new Division of Biomedical Sciences, Johns Hopkins in Singapore (known as DJHS). Since 2003, McNiece has been based in Baltimore, Maryland, where he is Professor of Oncology, and also serves as Director of the Graft Engineering Laboratory at Johns Hopkins Medicine. DJHS is the first academic division of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine based outside Baltimore, Maryland. DJHS will be located in Biopolis. |
9/27/04 | ROBERT (BOBBY) NEALL APPOINTED CEO OF PRIORITY PARTNERS MANAGED CARE ORGANIZATION
Former Maryland Senator Robert R. (Bobby) Neall has been selected to head Priority Partners, Inc., a managed care organization for medical assistance beneficiaries owned by the Maryland Community Health System and Johns Hopkins HealthCare LLC. |
9/22/04 | Conflict of Interest in Research Is the Focus of New Study at johns hopkins
A new, government-funded study at Johns Hopkins will provide much-needed information about conflict of interest in medical research. The $3 million, four-year investigation will explore the difficult issue of how best to disclose such conflicts to potential participants in research. |
| 9/21/04 | As part of a major initiative to “revolutionize care for cardiac patients in the 21st Century,” Johns Hopkins Medicine is establishing The Johns Hopkins Heart Institute, which is scheduled to open in 2008 as part of the East Baltimore medical campus master plan. The new institute will have its own Board of Governors, headed by Arthur B. Modell, former majority owner of the Baltimore Ravens football team and former President of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. |
9/21/04 | OCTOBER 4TH CONFERENCE TO EXAMINE ISSUES IN RACE AND GENETICS
The Congressional Black Caucus and The Johns Hopkins University will host a meeting of African American leaders to examine issues in race and genetics on October 4 from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., at the Marriott At Metro Center, 775 12th Street NW, Washington, DC. Reporters, editors, producers and others are welcome to attend. |
9/20/04 | JOHNS HOPKINS RECEIVES 2004 CONSUMER CHOICE AWARD
The Johns Hopkins Hospital has again received the Consumer Choice Award from the National Research Corporation (NRC). This year, individuals surveyed in four regions: Baltimore City, Washington, D.C. (co-winner with Inova Fairfax Hospital), Bethesda, Md, and Hagerstown, Md. (co-winner with Washington County Hospital) selected Hopkins as their hospital of choice. Hopkins was one of only a few hospitals nationwide to earn top-choice status in a multi-market region, according to NRC, a firm specializing in health care performance measurement. |
9/20/04 | MORE FREQUENT MONITORING ADVISED FOR PEOPLE WITH DIABETES
A Johns Hopkins study suggests that people with type I and type II diabetes would be well advised to monitor their blood sugar levels more than the usual twice daily to make sure that levels are not elevated over 150 milligrams per deciliter for sustained periods. |
9/20/04 | PHARMACY PRACTICE NEWS NAMES HOPKINS ABX GUIDE A “MUST HAVE”
The Johns Hopkins electronic Antibiotic Treatment (ABX) Guide, currently used on personal digital assistants (PDA) and desktop computers, has been dubbed a “must have” by Pharmacy Practice News. |
9/17/04 | BEST DRESSED SALE SET FOR SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 3
Some Baltimore traditions just keep getting bigger and better. That's certainly the case with this year's Johns Hopkins Best Dressed Sale and Boutique 2004. Exclusive designer dresses and shoes, chic contemporary fashions, classic styles for children and men, accessories and enduring vintage clothing will be on the racks, waiting for a favored place in the closets of bargain-conscious shoppers. |
9/16/04 | PETER PRONOVOST, M.D., PH.D., RECEIVES NATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY AND QUALITY AWARD
Peter J. Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor and medical director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care and a national authority on patient safety, has received this year’s John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award in Research Achievement for his “creative research initiatives that have led to dramatic improvements in the safety and quality of care in intensive care units.” |
9/16/04 | Johns Hopkins Team Separates German Conjoined Twins
Surgeons at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center at 12:15 a.m. Thursday completed the separation of 13-month-old twins Lea and Tabea Block. Later in the morning, regrettably, Tabea Block died of major complications associated with the separation surgery. Lea remains stable, and is recovering in the Children’s Center’s pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). |
9/16/04 | A ONE-TWO PUNCH FOR TUMORS:
Double Drug Combo Attacks Tumor and Blood Vessel Development
Cancer researchers have long suggested that new targeted drugs may work best when paired with other therapies. In a new study published today in Cancer Research, scientists have taken some of the first steps to demonstrate this synergy in mouse and cell line models. The findings show that two different drugs may work better in a "one-two punch," targeting a cancer development process in two types of cells. The early results are so promising that preliminary testing of the drug combination in humans is now being planned. |
9/15/04 | Surgery to Separate Conjoined Twins Resumed
Surgery to separate craniopagus twins Lea and Tabea Block resumed at approximately 6 a.m. E.S.T. today. The twins are doing well. It is anticipated that surgery will run all day. |
9/12/04 | "HEDGEHOG" SIGNAL DISTINGUISHES LETHAL FROM LOCALIZED PROSTATE CANCERS
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a possible way to distinguish lethal metastatic prostate cancers from those restricted to the walnut-size organ. |
9/12/04 | Surgery to Separate Conjoined Twins Halted
The latest update regarding the separation of conjoined twins, Lea and Tabea Block:
Metabolic complications caused one twin's vital signs to become unstable, and surgery was temporarily halted at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, in order to stabilize the twins. The twins are currently stable and are being kept under anesthesia to enable their bodies to rest and heal. The team is confident that the twins are strong; surgery may resume within a week if they remain stable. A press conference tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13 has been canceled. No further media updates will be posted at this time. |
8/23/04 | THAT STINKS: PEOPLE WITH RARE OBESITY SYNDROME CAN'T SENSE ODORS
-- Loss Supports Cilia's Role in the Condition
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that many people with Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a rare, complex condition marked by an array of seemingly unconnected symptoms, including obesity, learning difficulties, eye problems and asthma, also have another, previously unreported problem: many of them can't detect odors. |
8/17/04 | ANTIDEPRESSANTS PLUS "TALK THERAPY" ARE EFFECTIVE THERAPY FOR TEEN DEPRESSION
--But talk therapy alone is no better than placebo
A new study from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and 12 other medical centers shows the most effective treatment for adolescents with major depressive disorder is a combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy. Researchers say the study's findings indicate this combination treatment may be best for both improving depression and reducing the level of suicidal thinking in adolescents. |
8/15/04 | HOPKINS SCIENTISTS USE BLOOD PROTEINS TO DETECT OVARIAN CANCER
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have designed a blood test to detect ovarian cancer using three proteins found in common in the blood of women with the disease. Their preliminary studies with the new test suggest a molecular signature exclusive to this deadly cancer, known for its ability to remain undetected and spread quickly. |
8/15/04 | LAST OF KNOWN GENES IDENTIFIED IN COMPLEX OBESITY SYNDROME
By comparing three different species' genomes and adding some good old-fashioned genetic analysis, scientists have uncovered the identity of the last of eight genes known to contribute to Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by a combination of some otherwise common problems, including obesity, learning difficulties, diabetes and asthma. |
8/11/04 | FOR KIDS WHO MAY NEVER OUTGROW BEE STING ALLERGIES: SHOTS REDUCE RISK
Although the majority of children outgrow allergies to bee, wasp and other insect stings, almost one in five who had allergic reactions when stung as children - especially those who had serious allergic reactions -- are likely to have reactions later in life, according to a study by Johns Hopkins scientists. |
8/5/04 | "SELF-RECOVERY" FROM HEPATITIS C INFECTION LINKED TO GENES THAT SUPPRESS ACTION OF KILLER IMMUNE CELLS
In a study to be published in Science online Aug. 6, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that genes involved in suppressing the body's defensive "killer" immune cells are a potential key factor in spontaneous recovery from hepatitis C. The viral infection of the liver can lead to cirrhosis, cancer and even death. This genetic factor was found in people assumed to be exposed to a low dose of virus at the time of infection. |
8/2/04 | MODERN HEART DEVICES CAN BE SAFELY USED DURING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING SCANS, NEW STUDY SHOWS
In animal and laboratory studies, scientists at Johns Hopkins have shown that modern implanted heart assist devices -- such as pacemakers and defibrillators -- can be safe for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, a diagnostic and imaging tool long ruled potentially unsafe and off-limits for more than 2 million Americans who currently have a surgically implanted cardiac device. |
8/2/04 | JOHNS HOPKINS LAUNCHES PILOT STUDY OF A FREE HOME TEST KIT FOR SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have launched the first government-sponsored study to measure the effectiveness of a Web- and community-based home test kit for common sexually transmitted diseases, such as Chlamydia and gonorrhea. |
7/30/04 | HOPKINS SCIENTISTS UNRAVEL THE DRAMA OF A DECADE OF CANCER RESEARCH
Reviewing the last 10 years of cancer research much as they might the production of a play complete with cast members, opening acts and an ever-twisting plot, two of the most cited names in science say that one of the most promising roles that newly discovered cancer genes may perform is in early detection, which likely will be as important as new treatments. |
7/29/04 | THREE AT JOHNS HOPKINS APPOINTED TO GOV. EHRLICH'S NEW MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AND HEALTH CARE ACCESS TASK FORCE
Levi Watkins Jr., M.D., associate dean of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and professor of cardiac surgery, Richard P. Kidwell, managing attorney for claims and litigation and director of risk management for the Johns Hopkins Health System, and Andrew Harris, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology/critical care medicine and gynecology/obstetrics at Hopkins and a Maryland State senator for District 7, have been appointed to a new task force established by Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to address Maryland's growing medical malpractice costs. |
7/27/04 | The Johns Hopkins Hospital was one of only two Maryland hospitals to receive one of this year's Hospital of Choice Awards from the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers (AAHCP). The award recognizes America's most customer-friendly hospitals. Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury was the other Maryland hospital selected. |
7/27/04 | SCIENTISTS SUGGEST FRAMEWORK FOR EPIGENETICS IN COMMON DISEASE
Scientists at Johns Hopkins are calling for simultaneous evaluation of both genetic and epigenetic information in the search to understand contributors to such common diseases as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Writing in the August issue of Trends in Genetics, available now online, the scientists provide a framework for systematically incorporating epigenetic information into traditional genetic studies, something they say will be necessary to understand the genetic and environmental factors behind common diseases. |
7/23/04 | ONE TASTE OF GROWTH PROTEIN AND NERVE CELLS WANT MORE
Johns Hopkins researchers report that once a growing nerve "tastes" a certain protein, it loses its "appetite" for other proteins and follows the tasty crumbs to reach its final destination. The finding in mice, reported in the July 23 issue of Cell, appears to help explain how nerves connect to their targets and stop growing once there, a process important for the normal development of mouse and man. |
7/22/04 | CANCER DETECTION METHOD OVERCOMES PROBLEM OF SAMPLES WITH FEW CELLS
Finding cancer in a tiny drop of body fluid containing relatively few cells now may be possible with a new method of analyzing multiple genes in small samples of DNA, the cellular building blocks of our genetic code. The molecular test may be especially helpful in detecting cancer cells in breast fluid. |
7/21/04 | HOPKINS HOSPITAL HONORED NATIONALLY FOR PATIENT SAFETY INITIATIVES
"Quest for Quality" Prize Rewards "Culture of Safety"
The American Hospital Association recognized The Johns Hopkins Hospital today for its leadership and innovation in quality, safety and commitment to patient care with one of its coveted Quest for Quality prizes. |
7/21/04 | Regional Health Coalition Wins $100,000 Grant for e-Data Exchange
A coalition of the Baltimore-Washington region’s major academic healthcare systems – Johns Hopkins Medicine, University of Maryland Medicine, and MedStar Health – in collaboration with private practice physicians and community hospitals has been awarded a $100,000 planning grant from the Foundation for eHealth Initiative to develop a local electronic health data exchange to improve the quality of health care delivery and reduce health care costs through the use of information technology. |
7/19/04 | EDUCATING IMMUNE SYSTEM MAY EASE FUTURE USE OF STEM CELLS
Results of laboratory experiments by Johns Hopkins scientists suggest it may be possible to "educate" the immune system to recognize rather than destroy human embryonic stem cells. Doing so could reduce the risk of rejection if the primitive cells are someday transplanted into people with conditions like Parkinson's disease, diabetes or spinal cord injuries, the researchers say. |
7/16/04 | MOLECULAR MOTOR SHUTTLES KEY PROTEIN IN RESPONSE TO LIGHT
In experiments with fruit flies, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered how a key light-detecting molecule in the eye moves in response to changes in light intensity. |
7/15/04 | DRESHER, MODELL, SHATTUCK ELECTED TO HOPKINS MEDICINE BOARD
Three new members have joined the Johns Hopkins Medicine Board of Trustees: James T. Dresher Jr., Arthur B. Modell and Mayo A. Shattuck III. |
7/15/04 | Johns Hopkins-led Research Group Receives $44.7 Million Gates Foundation Grant to Evaluate New Strategies to Fight HIV-Related Tuberculosis
The award goes to the Consortium to Respond Effectively to the AIDS-TB Epidemic (CREATE), which will conduct research on urgently needed strategies to control TB in communities with high HIV infection rates. CREATE is led by Richard Chaisson, M.D., of the Johns Hopkins Center for Tuberculosis Research, and includes researchers and health policy experts in Africa, South America, Europe, and the U.S. |
7/13/04 | NERVE CELLS' POWERHOUSE "CLOGGED" IN LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE
By studying rodent models of the relatively rare inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease and tissue samples from a patient with the condition, scientists have discovered the first evidence that damage to nerve cell powerhouses is directly responsible for these cells' death. The findings appear in the July 9 issue of Neuron. |
7/13/04 | CELL DEATH PROTEIN HAS SURPRISING ROLE IN CELL MIGRATION
By studying fruit fly ovaries, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a protein known to block cell death also has the completely independent role of enabling normal cell movement. |
7/13/04 | Statement on Stem Cell Research Issued by The Johns Hopkins University
One of the greatest discoveries in Medicine is the potential to use a single undifferentiated cell to help address the severe pain and suffering that numerous diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer inflict every day. However, The Johns Hopkins University recognizes that stem cell research raises significant ethical concerns and that public policy on stem cell research must carefully balance the ethical and medical considerations, yet enable researchers to fulfill the promise of stem cell research for providing medical therapies. |
7/11/04 | UP-FRONT COST FOR TREATING AN HIV-INFECTED PATIENT IN AFRICA IS $30 USD PER VISIT
Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Perinatal HIV Research Unit, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, have determined that the actual average cost for providing primary care to an HIV-infected patient is $30 USD per visit. |
7/10/04 | TWO COMMON ANTIRETROVIRALS ARE EQUALLY EFFECTIVE, BUT ONE HAS FEWER SIDE
In the July 14 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers from Johns Hopkins and other institutions will present results from what is believed to be the first three-year, randomized, double-blind, clinical trial comparing antiretroviral therapies for HIV infection. |
7/8/04 | Gene Therapy Alternative to Calcium Channel Blockers for Heart Disease Works in Animals
In animal studies, scientists at Johns Hopkins have developed what is believed to be the first successful gene therapy that mimics the action of calcium channel blockers, agents widely used in the treatment of heart diseases, including angina, arrhythmias, hypertension and enlarged heart. |
7/7/04 | NO ABDOMINAL INCISIONS ?? OR SCARS ?? WITH NEW SURGERY TOOLS AND TECHNIQUE
Clinical trials awaited for procedure that is less invasive than laparoscopy
Surgeries performed with specialized medical devices requiring only small incisions, called laparoscopic surgery, have many advantages over traditional open surgery, including less pain, fewer complications and quicker recoveries. Now, scientists at Johns Hopkins have created a new surgical technique that in extensive animal studies is safe and may improve even further the benefit of minimally invasive surgery by leaving the abdominal wall intact. |
7/7/04 | HOPKINS STUDY OFFERS GUIDELINES FOR FOOD ALLERGY TESTING
A blood test that measures food-specific allergy antibodies can be used to help pediatric allergists with the difficult decision of when to reintroduce a food that a child has been allergic to, say researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. |
7/6/04 | CHILDREN SEE TELEVISED VIOLENCE DESPITE PARENT MONITORING
More than half of all parents say they always limit what their children see on TV, but almost three-quarters admit their children still see televised violence at least once a week, a Johns Hopkins Children's Center researcher reports in the July issue of Pediatrics. |
7/2/04 | THE JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL TOPS U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT'S "HONOR ROLL" 14th YEAR IN A ROW
For the 14th consecutive year, The Johns Hopkins Hospital has topped U.S. News & World Report's rankings of American hospitals. This year's annual guide reports results of a survey of a hospital's reputation in 17 medical specialties among a national sample of doctors, along with analysis of objective indicators such as death rates, technology, nurse staffing, service mix and discharge planning. Hopkins again ranked in the top 10 in 16 of the 17 specialty categories listed. |
7/1/04 | STATEMENT FROM JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE REGARDING THE CHARITY AUCTION BENEFITING THE ROBERT PACKARD CENTER FOR ALS RESEARCH
Hopkins sincerely regrets the misunderstandings and miscommunications that resulted in certain bids at an auction for the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins, where proceeds were to benefit this Hopkins-associated research center. Hopkins accepts responsibility for the resulting missteps and their consequences. At Hopkins’ request, full refunds have been made. |
6/30/04 | TIPS FROM A JOHNS HOPKINS OPHTHALMOLOGIST TO PREVENT EYE INJURIES THIS FOURTH OF JULY HOLIDAY
Fireworks are a Fourth of July tradition to celebrate Independence Day, but the injuries caused by these fireworks are another, less welcome tradition of the holiday. More than 50 percent of all fireworks-related ocular injuries occur around the Fourth of July holiday, approximately 12,000 Americans are admitted to emergency rooms every year for fireworks-related injuries, and nearly 400 patients lose vision in one or both eyes because of their injuries, according to the United States Eye Injury Registry (USEIR). |
6/29/04 | HOPKINS' MCKUSICK HONORED BY NAMESAKE PROFESSORSHIP;
Dietz Named First McKusick Professor
Colleagues and friends, including many former protégés and several Nobel laureates, have created the Victor A. McKusick Professorship in Medicine and Genetics at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, honoring one of the institution's most renowned and beloved figures. Harry C. (Hal) Dietz, III, M.D., director of the William S. Smilow Center for Marfan Syndrome Research, and professor of pediatrics, medicine and molecular biology and genetics at Hopkins since 1992, has been named the first McKusick Professor of Medicine and Genetics. |
6/28/04 | NEXT UP: ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT EPIGENETICS;
Hopkins To Found First Center for Comprehensive Study of Epigenetics
With a $5 million, five-year federal grant, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is establishing what is believed to be the first university-based research center devoted to studying epigenetics, an effort that will set the stage for learning as much about our epigenetics as the Human Genome Project taught about the sequence of building blocks that make up our genes. |
6/25/04 | JEFFREY PALMER NAMED NEW CHAIR OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION AT JOHNS HOPKINS
Jeffrey B. Palmer, M.D., an expert on swallowing disorders, is the new chair for the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. |
6/23/04 | "MIGHTY MOUSE" GENE WORKS THE SAME WAY IN PEOPLE
By studying the genes of a German child born with unusually well developed muscles, an international research team has discovered the first evidence that the gene whose loss makes "mighty mice" also controls muscle growth in people. |
6/23/04 | Discovery Health Channel to Rebroadcast "Hopkins 24/7"
The Discovery Health Channel plans to rebroadcast the first four episodes of Hopkins 24/7, with updated information on patients featured in the series. |
6/23/04 | EASTON, MARYLAND, SYMPOSIUM FOCUSES ON WOMEN'S HEALTH
The latest trends in women's health care are the focus of an Eastern Shore gathering featuring Johns Hopkins experts for a regional version of the medical center's annual sell-out symposium, A Woman's Journey. |
6/22/04 | COMMON "SIGNATURE" FOUND FOR DIFFERENT CANCERS;
Discovery Yields Hope for Universal Treatment
Researchers at the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins and the Institute of Bioinformatics in India have discovered a gene-expression "signature" common to distinct types of cancer, renewing hope that a universal treatment for the nation's second leading killer might be found. |
6/21/04 | STEM CELLS COMMIT TO A FUTURE OF FAT WITH ONE SIGNAL
In the June 21 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Johns Hopkins researchers report finding a key signal in mice that tells stem cells to commit to becoming fat cells. |
6/18/04 | WORLD RENOWNED HOPKINS EYE SPECIALIST TO RECEIVE PRESIDENTIAL AWARD
Arnall Patz, director emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute and winner of a Lasker Award for his discovery of the cause t for a disease that once was the most common cause of childhood blindness, will be one of 12 recipients given this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush on Wednesday, June 23 at 4 p.m. during a special ceremony at The White House. |
6/18/04 | Cancer Gene Hunter Bert Vogelstein Receives Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award for Science
Bert Vogelstein, M.D., cancer researcher at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has been chosen for the 2004 Prince of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research. The award is recognized as one of the world’s most important lifetime achievements in science and was given to Vogelstein and investigations at four other institutions for their contributions to unraveling the mysteries of cancer genetics and pursuing novel therapies for the disease. |
6/17/04 | WORLD RENOWNED HOPKINS EYE SPECIALIST TO RECEIVE AWARD FROM STATE SOCIETY
Arnall Patz, a former director of the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute and winner of a Lasker Award for his discovery of a treatment for a disease that once was the most common cause of childhood blindness, will be presented with the 2004 Person of Vision Award from the Maryland Society for Sighth on Saturday, June 19, at 7 p.m. at Pimlico Race Track. |
6/17/04 | HOPKINS HOSTS FIRST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AT THE POINT OF CARE
New technologies that are changing clinical decision making and patient care - right at the point where that care is delivered - will be explored at a conference on June 18 in the Turner Building of Johns Hopkins' East Baltimore campus. |
6/16/04 | HOME VISITING PROGRAM FALLS SHORT OF GOAL TO PREVENT CHILD MALTREATMENT
A highly lauded and widely adopted program that relies on home visits by paraprofessionals to promote effective parenting in families at risk of child abuse succeeded in building trust, but neither prevented abuse nor reduced known risk factors, according to results of a study directed by researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. |
6/16/04 | NEW TREATMENT STOPS NASTY SIDE EFFECTS OF THYROID CANCER SURGERY, INTERNATIONAL STUDY SHOWS
A new approach to therapy can avoid most of the debilitating effects of preparing for critical, postsurgical treatment for patients with thyroid cancer, according to an international study led by researchers from Johns Hopkins and the University of Pisa. |
6/7/04 | PATIENT SAFETY LAPSES IN CHILDREN'S CARE ARE PREVALENT, DRIVE UP NATIONAL HEALTH CARE COSTS
Patient safety problems for hospitalized children occur frequently and with substantial impact on the children, as well as on the health care industry, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). |
| 6/7/04 | DOCETAXEL EXTENDS LIFE IN ADVANCED PROSTATE CANCER PATIENTS
---Should be "standard of care," researchers say
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center clinicians were among those at leading institutions that have completed a three-year international study showing that docetaxel, a drug made from yew tree needles, decreases the chance of dying by 24 percent in advanced-stage prostate cancer patients resistant to hormone therapy. Scheduled for presentation at the 40th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in New Orleans on June 7, the results spur hopes that earlier use of the drug alone or together with other agents will provide longer improvements in survival. |
| 6/5/04 | PROSTATE CANCER PILL MAY STAVE OFF DISEASE AND EASE PAIN
Recent clinical studies led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have found that a drug called atrasentan reduces the risk by 20 percent that cancer will progress in men with advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer. The results are expected to be presented at the 40th Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASC |
