Category: School of Medicine

Drug from Mediterranean weed kills tumor cells in mice

July 23, 2012

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, working with Danish researchers, have developed a novel anti-cancer drug designed to travel—undetected by normal cells—through the bloodstream until activated by specific cancer proteins. The drug, made from a weedlike plant, has been shown to destroy cancers and their direct blood supplies, acting like a “molecular grenade” […]

Newer technology to control blood sugar works better

July 23, 2012

Newer technologies designed to help people with type 1 diabetes monitor their blood sugar levels daily work better than traditional methods and require fewer painful needle sticks, new Johns Hopkins research suggests. The research findings, published online in the July 10 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest that even though these diabetic control […]

Nanoscale scaffolds, stem cells show promise in cartilage repair

July 23, 2012

Johns Hopkins tissue engineers have used tiny artificial fiber scaffolds thousands of times smaller than a human hair to help coax stem cells into developing into cartilage, the shock-absorbing lining of elbows and knees that often wears thin from injury or age. Reporting online June 4 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, […]

How exercise may improve heart function in diabetics

July 23, 2012

A detailed study of heart muscle function in mice has uncovered evidence to explain why exercise is beneficial for heart function in type 2 diabetes. The research team, led by scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, found that greater amounts of fatty acids used by the heart during stressful conditions such as exercise […]

Cancer and injuries more likely in people with serious mental illness

July 23, 2012

People with serious mental illness—schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and disabling depression—are 2.6 times more likely to develop cancer than the general population, new Johns Hopkins research suggests. The study’s findings, published this month in the journal Psychiatric Services, raise questions about whether patients burdened with serious mental illness are receiving appropriate cancer screenings and preventive care […]

Johns Hopkins program enables those with dementia to ‘age in place’

July 23, 2012

A Johns Hopkins research program that brought resources and counselors to elderly Baltimore residents with memory disorders such as dementia significantly increased the chance they could continue to live successfully at home, a preference for most of them. As part of the 18-month Maximizing Independence at Home (MIND) trial, a dementia care coordinator came into the […]

Diagnoses at your fingertips

July 23, 2012

Got symptoms? Two fourth-year Johns Hopkins School of Medicine students have invented a Web and mobile device application to take some guesswork out of what’s ailing you. And they recently won a significant cash prize to take their brainchild to the next level. Symcat—which stands for symptoms-based, computer-assisted triage—allows the user to enter symptoms (fever, […]

‘U.S. News & World Report’ releases new hospital rankings

July 23, 2012

In the annual rankings of U.S. hospitals released last week by U.S. News & World Report, The Johns Hopkins Hospital took the No. 1 spot in five national specialty rankings—ear, nose and throat; geriatrics; neurology and neurosurgery, psychiatry and rheumatology—and 11 other specialties were ranked nationally. The hospital, which had been consecutively ranked No. 1 […]

‘Huntington’s in a dish’ created to enable search for treatment

July 9, 2012

Johns Hopkins researchers, working with an international consortium, say they have generated stem cells from skin cells from a person with a severe, early-onset form of Huntington’s disease and turned them into neurons that degenerate just like those affected by the fatal inherited disorder. By creating “HD in a dish,” the researchers say they have […]

Study: Improve care, reduce high cost for Medicare beneficiaries

July 9, 2012

It’s well-known that a relatively small percentage of chronically ill patients accounts for a disproportionate amount of health care spending. Now, a multicenter study led by Johns Hopkins researcher Bruce Leff might provide insights into how to cut Medicare costs while improving health care for older adults suffering from chronic health conditions. Results of the […]

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