Category: Research Briefs

Imaging Study Provides New Understanding of Brain Communication and Social Interaction

In a Northwestern Medicine study published in Science Advances, scientists sought to better understand how humans evolved to become so skilled at thinking about what’s happening in other peoples’ minds. The findings could have implications for one day treating psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression.
Vital Language Sites in the Brain Act Like Connectors in a Social Network

A new Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Communications may better inform doctors’ decisions about which brain areas to preserve, thereby improving patients’ language function after brain surgery. The study expands the understanding of how language is encoded in the brain and identifies key features of critical sites in the cerebral cortex that work together…
Engineering Human Heart Tissue for Scientific Study

Northwestern Medicine scientists have developed a new way to measure heart contraction and electrical activity in engineered human heart tissues, according to findings published in Science Advances.
Combination Treatment Extends Survival in Advanced Bladder Cancer

Immunotherapy administered before and after chemotherapy along with surgical removal of the bladder improved survival compared to chemotherapy alone in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, according to results of a recent clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Using Cancer’s Strength to Fight Against It

Northwestern Medicine scientists, along with collaborators University of California San Francisco (UCSF), may have found a way around the limitations of engineered T-cells by borrowing a few tricks from cancer itself, in findings published in Nature.
Study Discovers Potential Biomarkers of Environmental Exposures in Parkinson’s Disease

A team of Northwestern Medicine investigators has discovered novel DNA methylation patterns in the blood of patients with Parkinson’s disease, according to findings published in Annals of Neurology.
Genetic Mechanisms May Reveal Retinal Vascular Disease Therapeutic Targets

Investigators led by Tsutomu Kume, PhD, professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and of Pharmacology, have identified novel genetic mechanisms that regulate blood vessel growth in the retina and may also serve as therapeutic targets for retinal vascular disease, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Communications.
Targeting Protein Interactions May Boost Antitumor Immunity in Breast Cancer

A multi-institutional team of investigators has discovered that targeting a specific protein interaction within immunosuppressive breast cancer cells may increase antitumor immune responses in otherwise difficult to treat solid tumors, according to recent findings published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Weight Loss Drug Shows Benefits for Heart Failure

The drug semaglutide, sold under brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, can help reduce heart failure symptoms and reduce heart failure hospitalizations in patients with obesity, according to a pair of studies published in The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine.
Shape-Shifting Ultrasound Stickers Detect Post-Surgical Complications

Investigators led by Northwestern University and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new, first-of-its-kind sticker that enables clinicians to monitor the health of patients’ organs and deep tissues with a simple ultrasound device, as described in a study published in Science.