SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University: The Reality of Racism as a Public Health Crisis

Racism is acknowledged as a widespread societal problem, impacting individuals and communities across multiple dimensions of life. In response, there is increasing recognition of racism as a public health crisis and a significant determinant of health disparities, prompting many, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to declare it a public health crisis. This acknowledgment has spurred discussions and initiatives focused on mitigating its effects, particularly within marginalized and, most often, communities of color. Learn more.

New York Medical College: Prostate Cancer Guidelines Fall Short for High-Risk Black Americans

Despite a two-fold higher death rate, Black American men are disproportionally excluded from research informing treatment guidelines for prostate cancer, according to a new study by New York Medical College students and faculty recently published in Urology. Learn more.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: The Next Breakthrough Against Cancer?

After scientists discover promising anti-cancer drugs, they typically partner with a biotech or pharmaceutical company that can develop the compound and pay for the necessary clinical trials. But Xingxing Zang, Ph.D., has taken a completely different route. Learn more.

Weill Cornell Medicine: How One Type of Lung Cancer Can Transform Into Another

Lung tumors called adenocarcinomas sometimes respond to initially effective treatments by transforming into a much more aggressive small cell lung cancer (SCLC) that spreads rapidly and has few options for treatment. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a mouse model that illuminates this problematic process, known as histological transformation. Learn more.

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: As Cancer Therapies Improve, More Patients with Rectal Cancer Forego Surgery

While surgery to remove rectal cancer can be necessary and lifesaving, it can sometimes come with significant drawbacks, like loss of bowel control. According to a study led by Wilmot Cancer Institute researchers, patients with rectal cancer who respond well to radiation and chemotherapy are increasingly foregoing surgery and opting for a watch-and-wait approach. Learn more.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Study Shows Early Success of a Novel Drug in Treating a Rare and Chronic Blood Cancer

A novel treatment for polycythemia vera, a potentially fatal blood cancer, demonstrated the ability to control overproduction of red blood cells, the hallmark of this malignancy and many of its debilitating symptoms in a multi-center clinical trial led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Learn more.

Albany Medical College: Research Offers New Insights into Role of Iron in Breast Cancer Growth

In a recent study published in the journal Oncogene, Albany Medical College scientists offered new insights into the potential role iron may play in the metastatic growth of breast cancer. “Our research shows that the role of iron may be different, depending on whether it’s in a cancerous tumor in the breast or in cancer cells that have metastasized and spread from the breast,” explained Margarida Barroso, PhD, professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and the corresponding author of the study. Learn more.

NYU Grossman School of Medicine: Plant-Based Diet Tied to Improved Sexual Health in Men Treated for Prostate Cancer

A diet that limits meat and dairy but is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts is linked to less erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, and other common side effects seen in patients who had prostate cancer, a new study shows. Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the analysis of more than 3,500 men with prostate cancer explored whether eating a more plant-based diet was associated with quality-of-life issues that often arise after treatment. Learn more.

Cardiology

New York Medical College: Study Redefines Cardiac Transplantation by Extending Heart Procurement Time

The growth in orthotopic heart transplantations in the U.S. is remarkable, reaching an impressive milestone of approximately 4,000 procedures in 2022. Yet beneath this triumph lies a critical challenge — more than 50 percent of donor hearts are not utilized. A new study by New York Medical College (NYMC) students and faculty conducted at Westchester Medical Center, a major clinical affiliate of NYMC, unveils potential strategies to alter the current landscape of heart transplantation and save more lives. Learn more.

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell: Can OCTA Biomarkers Aid In Prediciting Cardiovascular Disease

On Tuesday, January 31, 2024, new research was published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine by Jeffrey Kuvin, MD, professor and chair of cardiology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and other researchers, investigating the potential of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) biomarkers in predicting cardiovascular disease (CVD). Learn more.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Why Doesn’t CPAP Reduce Heart Disease?

A study of people with obstructive sleep apnea suggests that high CPAP pressures may explain why the machines do not lower a patient’s risk of heart disease, which is about two to three times higher than average. “CPAP machines are extremely effective in treating obstructive sleep apnea and are great for improving sleep and reducing daytime fatigue, but we haven’t seen a reduction in heart disease that we expected, and we haven’t understood why,” says Sanja Jelic, MD, a critical care medicine specialist and sleep researcher at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Learn more.

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: Transforming Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research

Batten disease is a devastating rare genetic disorder. While the genetic flaw that causes this disease is well known, scientists do not fully understand the connection between this mutation and the disease’s symptoms like behavioral changes, cognitive impairment, seizures, and vision loss. Learn more.

Vaccines

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine: Research Aims to Improve Understanding of RSV Vaccines

Efforts to vaccinate vulnerable populations against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) faced an uphill battle this season. However, a new study by researchers at the College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) could help combat RSV vaccine misinformation and quell vaccine hesitancy. Learn more.

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo Study: ‘Hexaplex’ Vaccine Aims to Boost Flu Protection

Recombinant protein vaccines, like the Novavax vaccine used to fight COVID-19, offer several advantages over conventional vaccines. They’re easy to precisely produce. They’re safe, and potentially more effective. And they could require smaller doses. Learn more.

NYU Grossman School of Medicine: Change in Genetic Code May Explain How Human Ancestors Lost Tails

Agenetic change in our ancient ancestors may partly explain why humans don’t have tails like monkeys, finds a new study led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Published online February 28 as the cover story of the journal Nature, the work compared the DNA of tailless apes and humans to that of tailed monkeys. Learn more.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Study to Compare Ways to Improve Maternal Healthy Weight

As many parents can attest, it’s easy to gain too much weight during and after pregnancy, which can lead to increased risk for maternal and newborn health issues. This is especially common in marginalized communities, where economic, physical, and geographic factors reduce access to health care, nutrition counseling, healthy foods, and exercise. Learn more.

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell: Dr. Andrea Vambutas Shares Insights on Challenging Rheumatic Conditions

An article published by The Rheumatologist on February 14, 2024, highlights information presented at ACR Convergence 2023, where experts provided overviews of and insights into ulcers, nerve entrapment, and autoimmune-related hearing loss. The article includes research on autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED), presented by Andrea Vambutas, MD, professor of otolaryngology and molecular medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Learn more.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: First Gene Therapies Approved for Sickle Cell Disease: What Do They Spell for Patients?

In December 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its approval of two gene therapies for sickle cell disease—the first of their kind for the condition. Casgevy™ (exagamglogene autotemcel), a cell-based gene therapy developed by CRISPR Therapeutics using its CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology, was approved for use in patients 12 years and older with recurrent vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs). Learn more.

Weill Cornell Medicine: Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Responds Rapidly to Bedaquiline-Based Second-Line Therapy

Patients who have drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) have a similar microbiological response to bedaquiline-based second-line medications as patients with drug-sensitive TB taking first-line regimens, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York and GHESKIO in Haiti. Second-line medications are those that are given when one or more of the drugs given first for the disease are not effective. Learn more.

Norton College of Medicine at Upstate Medical University Researchers Pioneer Breakthrough Microscopy Technique to Uncover the Secrets of Vision Loss, Offering Hope for New Therapies

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited eye diseases that cause progressive vision loss. It’s a leading cause of visual disability and blindness in people under 60 years old. While currently there are no treatments to cure or stop the progression of vision loss, Upstate researchers have developed a new microscopy technique to better understand how the gene mutation affects processes in the eye. Learn more.

More News

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University: Downstate’s Kidney Transplant Program Serves New York’s Diverse Communities

As a halo program in a public-serving safety net hospital, the kidney transplant program at University Hospital at Downstate stands as a beacon of hope and a model of health justice. Downstate is Brooklyn’s only academic medical center, and its hospital is the only hospital in the borough offering transplant surgery. Learn more.