Closer Look at Genetic Variant for Amyloid Cardiomyopathy

A research team led by Scott Solomon, MD, of the BWH Cardiovascular Division, reports in The New England Journal of Medicine that a known genetic variant associated with a severe type of heart disease and found in almost four percent of black Americans does not appear to increase the risk of mortality but is tied to increased risk of heart failure.
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Oral Contraceptive Use Does Not Affect Overall Mortality

In a study published in the British Medical Journal, Karin B. Michels, ScD, PhD, senior study author and associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at BWH, and colleagues report that they have found no link between use of oral contraceptives and overall mortality.
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Platelet Production

In a study published in Nature Medicine, Karin Hoffmeister, MD, associate biologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, describe a new feedback mechanism that helps control the production and removal of platelets – cells that help stem bleeding – from circulation in the bloodstream.
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One Genome, One Page

Robert C. Green, MD, MPH, of the BWH Division of Genetics, in collaboration with colleagues from the Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, operated by Partners HealthCare Personalized Medicine and led by Heidi Rehm, PhD, have developed a reporting approach to effectively return the results of whole-genome screening to physicians in a concise report featuring a single-page summary. They describe their approach in BMC Medical Genetics.
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Motor Neuron Protectors

A team of researchers led by Paul Anderson, MD, PhD, of the Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, has found that tiRNAs – small, non-coding RNA fragments – may help assemble structures that promote the survival of motor neurons.
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