Newsroom

An Inside Look at the Country's First Full Face Transplants

The Brigham and Women's Hospital team that performed the country's first three full face transplants describes the details of how patients were prepared for the surgeries, how the operations were executed and the early functional outcomes.

One of a Kind Operating Room Amazes Patients

The Boston Globe reports on Brigham and Women's Hospital's high-tech AMIGO operating room -- the only one of its kind in the world.

Sleep Disorders Linked to Poor Health and Reduced Occupational Performance in Police Officers

New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital finds that 40 percent of officers screened positive for a sleep disorder.

How to Eat Healthy During the Holidays

Tips from the experts at Brigham and Women's help you enjoy the holidays while eating right.

Researchers Awarded $9.6 Million to Study Whole Genome Sequencing in Clinical Settings

BWH has been awarded $9.6 million over four years from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to fund the Medical Sequencing (MedSeq) Research Project.

BWH Researchers Develop a Vaccine Prototype Stronger than Traditional Vaccines

Researchers have created a vaccine that is more potent than traditional vaccines available today. The glycoconjugate vaccine prototype is 100 times more effective than traditional glycoconjugate vaccines.

Research Using Adult Stem Cells For Heart Failure Triple Researchers’ Projections

In a BWH research study, patients suffering from heart failure due to heart attack showed an average 12 percent improvement one year after an investigative treatment that involved infusing them with their own stem cells.

BWH Faculty Shine at AHA Scientific Sessions

BWH was represented in full force at this year’s American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions Nov. 12-16 in Orlando, Fla. The event drew 20,000 attendees from more than 100 countries. BWH faculty received awards, delivered named lectures and presented late-breaking research. Many of the research findings presented made national headlines in major publications, such as The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Man Receives Bilateral Hand Transplant at BWH

Last week at BWH, a 40-person surgical team worked more than 12 hours to perform a bilateral hand transplant for Richard Mangino, 65, a quadruple amputee who had lost much of his arms and legs after contracting sepsis in 2002.

Seasonal Flu 2011- 2012

The start of flu season is around the corner and influenza vaccination remains the most effective flu prevention strategy to ensure patient safety and to protect you, your family and your colleagues from contracting the flu.  The CDC recommends influenza vaccination for all persons 6-months-of-age and older. It's especially important for high-risk patients, including pregnant women, to be vaccinated.   Brigham and Women's Hospital is hosting patient and visitor vaccination programs and employee vaccination programs at the hospital and off-campus locations.

Biomarker for Huntington’s Disease Identified

BWH and MGH researchers find transcriptional biomarker that could help monitor disease activity, evaluate potential treatments.

Older, Busier Clinicians More Likely to Adopt New Electronic Health Record Functionality

New research from BWH finds that contrary to conventional wisdom, older physicians who are clinically busier and see more complex patients were more likely to use novel EHR functionality than younger clinicians.

One Alcoholic Drink per Day Linked to Successful Aging in Women

New research finds that women who consume one alcoholic drink at midlife may be healthier when older when compared to women who do not drink at all. This research is published in the September 7, 2011 issue of PLoS Medicine.

Alzheimer’s Disease Research: Where to Next?

Dennis Selkoe, MD, discusses progress and problems in recent research on this enormously common and devastating disorder in a Perspective in Nature Medicine.

Researchers Identify Protein Essential in Transmission of Ebola Virus

Researchers identified a novel small molecule that inhibits EboV entry into cells by more than 99 percent; they found that the target of the inhibitor is the cell protein Niemann-Pick C1.

Poor sleep quality increases risk of high blood pressure

New research finds that reduced slow wave sleep (SWS) is a powerful predictor for developing high blood pressure in older men.

First Photo and Statement from Face Transplant Recipient Charla Nash is Released

BWH has released the first post-surgery photograph of Charla Nash, who received a full face transplant in late May of this year.

Multiple sclerosis research doubles number of genes associated with the disease

Critical insight provided into the disease mechanisms behind multiple sclerosis

Sleep Disordered Breathing Associated with Higher Risk of Cognitive Impairment in Older Women

New research finds that sleep disordered breathing is associated with and precedes a higher risk of cognitive impairment in older women.

New Imaging Technique Captures Brain Activity in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain

Research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) uses a new imaging technique, arterial spin labeling, to show the areas of the brain that are activated when patients with low back pain have a worsening of their usual, chronic pain.

Research Yields New Insights into Virulence and Evolution of German E. coli Pathogen

New research conducted by an international team of scientists, including Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) physician scientist, Matthew Waldor, MD, PhD, has used state of the art genome sequencing technology to rapidly determine the genome sequence of the E. coli strain responsible for the outbreak in Germany that began in May this year.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Physicians Named to U.S. News List of ‘Top Doctors’

U.S. News Media Group today announced the list of U.S. News & World Report’s Top Doctors, including 241 physicians from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH).  The directory of nearly 30,000 peer-nominated physicians from across the country builds on the Best Hospitals rankings, in which BWH placed eighth this year. 

New Imaging Technique Captures Brain Activity in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain

Research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) uses a new imaging technique, arterial spin labeling, to show the areas of the brain that are activated when patients with low back pain have a worsening of their usual, chronic pain.

BWH Ranks 8th on U.S. News & World Report List of Top Hospitals

For the 19th consecutive year, Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) secured its place on the U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals, ranking eighth. In the grading of the best hospitals, BWH ranked among the top 10 in six categories: Cancer, Cardiology and Heart Surgery, Diabetes and Endocrinology, Gynecology, Nephrology, and Rheumatology.  BWH also placed in the top 20 in these additional specialty areas: Gastroenterology, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology, and Urology.

BWH Research Lab Receives NIH Program of Excellence Award in Glycosciences

The laboratory of Robert Sackstein, MD, PhD, of the Dermatology Department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), has been granted a prestigious Program of Excellence Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support investigations in glycobiology: the discipline which studies how sugars direct biologic processes. This particular Program of Excellence Award, the “Program of Excellence in Glycosciences” (PEG), is one of only five bestowed nation-wide, and provides more than $17 million of funding over a seven year period to support research in the lab of Dr. Sackstein and his collaborators.

Overall Healthy Lifestyle Can Dramatically Lower Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in Women

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Stephanie Chiuve, Instructor in Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), have found that women who adhere to an overall healthy lifestyle significantly lowered their risk for sudden cardiac death. The findings appear in the July 6, 2011 issue the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2011 Workforce Employer of the Year Award

BWH has been selected to receive the Second Annual Workforce Solutions Group Champion Award as 2011 Workforce Employer of the Year. The Workforce Solutions Group, a group that advocates for an effective Massachusetts workforce development system, awards the Champion Award to a special employer each year, who champions workforce training. This past year, BWH served over 400 employees through their Workforce Development Initiative by offering courses ranging from ESOL and GED, PCA/CNA training and more.  The hospital employs the services of a career coach who assists employees with reaching their career and education goals. In addition to these services to employees, the hospital also employed 100 high school students and 16 college interns over the summer and offered regular part-time positions to 16 of those high-school students.

Common Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriasis Medications Are Associated with Reduced Diabetes Risk

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) sought to determine whether commonly used disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), which are directed against inflammation, might reduce the risk for developing diabetes in patients with RA or psoriasis. They found that among patients with RA or psoriasis, the risk for developing diabetes was lower for those patients who started TNF inhibitor or hydroxychloroquine.

BWH Surgeons Perform Nation's Third Full Face Transplant on Charla Nash

A Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) plastic and orthopedic surgery team, led by Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, performed a full face transplant on Charla Nash, the Connecticut woman who was mauled by a chimpanzee in 2009. The procedure was performed late last month. It is the third full face transplant procedure performed this year at Brigham and Women’s. A double hand transplant was also performed, however the hands failed to thrive and were removed.

BWH Researchers Discover Human Lung Stem Cell

For the first time, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have identified a human lung stem cell that is self-renewing and capable of forming and integrating multiple biological structures of the lung including bronchioles, alveoli and pulmonary vessels.