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News Release Archive

Current News Releases

Released: December 28, 2017


In a study of medical records gathered on hundreds of thousands of African-American women, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have evidence that women with a common form of hair loss have an increased chance of developing uterine leiomyomas, or fibroids.
Released: December 20, 2017

Higher “mutational burden” predicts which cancer types will respond to therapies known as checkpoint inhibitors


The “mutational burden,” or the number of mutations present in a tumor’s DNA, is a good predictor of whether that cancer type will respond to a class of cancer immunotherapy drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors, a new study led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers shows. The finding, published in the Dec. 21 New England Journal of Medicine, could be used to guide future clinical trials for these drugs.

Released: December 18, 2017


In a study using genetically engineered mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have uncovered some new molecular details that appear to explain how electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) rapidly relieves severe depression in mammals, presumably including people. The molecular changes allow more communication between neurons in a specific part of the brain also known to respond to antidepressant drugs.
Released: December 15, 2017


Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University report statistical evidence that children exposed to airborne coarse particulate matter — a mix of dust, sand and non-exhaust tailpipe emissions, such as tire rubber — are more likely to develop asthma and need emergency room or hospital treatment for it than unexposed children.

Released: December 14, 2017


Scientists at Johns Hopkins have used supercomputers to create an atomic scale map that tracks how the signaling chemical glutamate binds to a neuron in the brain. The findings, say the scientists, shed light on the dynamic physics of the chemical’s pathway, as well as the speed of nerve cell communications.

Released: December 14, 2017


Two Johns Hopkins prostate cancer researchers found significant disparities when they submitted identical patient samples to two different commercial liquid biopsy providers. Liquid biopsy is a new and noninvasive alternative to tumor tissue sequencing, and it is intended to specifically detect and sequence tumor DNA circulating in patients’ blood. The results are used to help guide doctors to tailor the best treatment for patients at each point of their disease.

Released: December 12, 2017


An analysis of 16 audiotaped conversations between parents of infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and clinicians found that medical staff routinely downplay quality of life issues and leave families more optimistic about their babies’ prognoses than the clinicians intended.

Released: December 11, 2017


Kevin W. Sowers, M.S.N., R.N., F.A.A.N., a distinguished clinician, educator and academic health care leader has been appointed president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine, an $8 billion academic medical center and health system. He is the second person to hold this role.
Released: December 11, 2017


Citing uncertainties about the risks and benefits of an experimental therapy for fetuses whose kidneys do not develop, bioethicists at Johns Hopkins and a team of medical experts are calling for rigorous clinical trials in the use of a potential treatment, known as amnioinfusion.

Released: December 6, 2017

Modern New Zealand reptile may be a close relative


Using modern research tools on a 155-million-year-old reptile fossil, scientists at Johns Hopkins and the American Museum of Natural History report they have filled in some important clues to the evolution of animals that once roamed land and transitioned to life in the water.
Released: December 5, 2017


Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers demonstrated that mice with ovarian cancer that received drugs to reactivate dormant genes along with other drugs that activate the immune system had a greater reduction of tumor burden and significantly longer survival than those that received any of the drugs alone.

Released: December 4, 2017


Results of a national survey of more than 800 physicians suggest that their experiences with patients, family members and friends with breast cancer are linked with their recommendations for routine mammograms. Specifically, physicians who reported knowing at least one patient, family member or friend with a poor breast cancer prognosis and who had not been screened were more likely to recommend routine screening for their younger and older patients, age groups where routine screening is controversial.

Released: December 1, 2017


Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a streamlined method and accompanying efficiency “rules” for introducing new DNA sequences into cells after using the gene-cutting tool known as CRISPR. The scientists say the method, which they based on tests with mouse embryos and thousands of human cells, could improve consistency and efficiency of genome editing.

Released: November 30, 2017


Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers and colleagues have identified a novel drug combination therapy that could prime nonsmall cell lung cancers to respond better to immunotherapy. These so-called epigenetic therapy drugs, used together, achieved robust anti-tumor responses in human cancer cell lines and mice.

Released: November 30, 2017


To commemorate World AIDS Day this year, the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research, which is affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is hosting the World AIDS Day Symposium. Topics of discussion include the state of HIV research during the past year and newly released research.

Released: November 29, 2017


World AIDS Day: New Research and Experts Available from Johns Hopkins Medicine
Released: November 27, 2017


In a small study using data from daily electronic patient diaries, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have found a link between negative emotions, such as sadness and anxiety, and higher opioid use in people with sickle cell disease whose pain levels were self-reported as relatively low.
Released: November 22, 2017


A study of more than 400 adults with prehypertension, or stage 1 high blood pressure, found that combining a low-salt diet with the heart-healthy DASH diet substantially lowers systolic blood pressure — the top number in a blood pressure test — especially in people with higher baseline systolic readings.

Released: November 20, 2017


By analyzing data from randomized clinical trials comparing blood transfusion approaches, Johns Hopkins experts, along with colleagues at Cleveland Clinic and NYU Langone Medical Center, endorse recommendations for blood transfusions that reduce blood use to improve patient safety and outcomes. Publishing this week in JAMA Internal Medicine, the report also provides a how-to guide for launching a patient blood management program.

Released: November 20, 2017


Johns Hopkins scientists report they have successfully used two separate gene technologies to assemble the most complete genome sequence to date of Triticum aestivum, the most common cultivated species of wheat used to make bread.