What’s New in Research
Tanya Mayadas of the Department of Pathology and colleagues have uncovered how alterations in “catch bonds” may contribute to lupus susceptibility. Their work appears in the March 12 issue of Cell Reports.
Read more in Clinical & Research News.
Epstein-Barr Virus and B-cell Lymphomas
Hufeng Zhou, recent recipient of a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fellowship, and colleagues in BWH’s Infectious Disease Division of the Channing Laboratory have investigated the causal link between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and B-cell lymphomas, identifying so-called “super-enhancers” as key players in the growth of malignant lymphoblastoid cells. The results of their work appear in Cell Host & Microbe.
Read more in Clinical & Research News.
Linking Genetics and Warfarin
In a study published in The Lancet on March 10, BWH cardiologist Jessica L. Mega, MD, MPH, and colleagues report that patients with a genetic sensitivity to warfarin have higher rates of bleeding during the first several months of treatment and benefited from treatment with a different anticoagulant drug. The analyses from the TIMI Study Group, suggest that using genetics to identify patients who are most at risk of bleeding, and tailoring treatment accordingly, could offer important safety benefits, particularly in the first 90 days of treatment. Read more in a BWH press release.
Insights into Inherited Alzheimer’s
A study by Jie Shen, PhD, of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at BWH, and colleagues reveals for the first time exactly how mutations associated with the most common form of inherited Alzheimer’s disease produce the disorder’s devastating effects. Appearing in the March 4 issue of Neuron, the paper upends conventional thinking about the effects of Alzheimer’s-associated mutations in the presenilin genes and provides an explanation for the failure of drugs designed to block presenilin activity. Read more in a BWH and MGH press release.