Massachusetts General Hospital

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have identified an enzyme that may naturally protect the brain from damage caused by oxygen deprivation. This could be a potential drug target to prevent issues arising from strokes or heart attacks.

One of cancer’s crafty tricks involves manipulating the host’s immune cells to protect tumors instead of fighting them. Now researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have turned the tables again, transforming these cells back into cancer killers.

A new review article is presenting a promising case for phenformin, an old diabetes drug related to metformin, being repurposed as an adjunct to new immunotherapy cancer treatments. A phase 1 clinical trial is underway to test the novel combination.

Harmful clusters of certain proteins are seen as key players in the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease, and scientists have now found that a novel gene therapy may be able to prevent a significant portion of them from forming.

Heart attacks occur when plaque deposits break off of blood vessel walls, subsequently blocking arteries that carry oxygen to the heart. A new imaging process could identify those unstable deposits, allowing them to be treated before they rupture.

Wired devices called oximeters are the gold standard when it comes to monitoring oxygenation in transplanted tissue, but scientists may have found a better way forward in the form of a paint-on bandage that glows instead.

A new study has shone a light on the health benefits of short bursts of vigorous exercise, finding that they can produce “striking” effects on the metabolites circulating through the body and lead to improvements in a wide range of bodily functions.

An experimental drug has been shown to slow the progression and prolong survival of patients suffering from the neurodegenerative disease ALS. With Phase 2 human trials complete, the company developing the treatment is working to accelerate its approval.

A team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, trawling through hospital admission data, may have found a simple blood-based biomarker that can help doctors assess those patients most at risk of suffering the worst effects of COVID-19.

HIV is an insidious virus, hibernating inside cells ready to re-emerge if treatment is stopped. Now a team of researchers has found a way to shrink that viral reservoir by adapting a cancer immunotherapy technique to supercharge immune cells in mice.

The results of the largest clinical trial ever conducted into the relationship between vitamin D and depression suggest the vitamin does not improve mood or prevent depression. The trial did not investigate subjects with pre-existing vitamin D deficiencies.

Two new studies, published in The Lancet Neurology, are suggesting increasing levels of a particular brain protein, detected in blood and spinal fluid, could be the earliest sign of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.