Massachusetts General Hospital

Prioritizing Global Health Education in Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowships: An Applicant Survey

Abstract Background Global Health (GH) is expanding, offering an increasing number of opportunities for engagement to trainees in medical schools and residency programs. This expansion of opportunities has not yet reached those at the fellowship level, particularly in Critical Ca...

EBV reactivation priming of the peripheral immune system in multiple sclerosis relapse

Despite decades of research, the cellular and molecular events preceding multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse remain incompletely understood. Here, in this observational study of longitudinal blood samples from patients with relapsing-remitting MS, we used single-cell RNA sequencing,...

Clinical AI and Precision Medicine: Philosophical Questions About Labels, Disease, and Evidence

Precision medicine is often framed as a move from “average-patient” care toward prevention, diagnosis, and treatment tailored to individual variability. This aspiration has been articulated in major policy and scientific calls for a new evidence-generating health system and a new...

Patterns of Index Endovascular Compared With Surgical Revascularization for Femoropopliteal Disease in Patients With Claudication Using Medicare-linked Data

OBJECTIVE: To compare outcomes of endovascular versus open infrainguinal bypass in patients with claudication. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: PAD research has focused largely on CLTI, yet 20% of patients present with claudication and may not improve with medical therapy alone. Durab...

Utilization of Carbon Fiber Spinal Instrumentation in Primary Spinal Tumors: Outcome Analysis from the AO Spine Primary Tumor Research and Outcomes Network

Background The use of carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK) instrumentation in spinal surgery has emerged as an alternative to traditional titanium-based implants in recent years. This study aims to evaluate the use and performance of carbon fiber instrumentatio...

Developing a health values framework for patients with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome: a qualitative exploration through the lens of social determinants of health

Abstract Background Despite global calls for the advancement of patient-centered care, care planning often remains poorly aligned with patients’ lived social contexts and core values. This study aimed to understand what matters most to patients with cardiovascular-kidney-metaboli...

Conference Goals And Learning Preferences Among Attendees at A National Surgical Meeting

Objective This study evaluated differences in conference goals and preferred learning modalities across demographic groups at a national surgical conference. Design An optional online survey collected demographic information (gender, practice type, role, years in independent prac...

Modeling the Exposome in Murine Cardiovascular Disease

Our exposome, encompassing our environmental and lifestyle exposures across the life span, is a critical determinant of cardiovascular health. Clinical and epidemiological data demonstrate that sleep, stress, exercise, smoking, viral respiratory infections, and environmental poll...

Artificial intelligence in clinical trials—state of the evidence, gaps, and next steps

Artificial intelligence (AI) affects clinical trials in two distinct but overlapping ways: as the intervention under evaluation and as infrastructure supporting trial design, recruitment, monitoring, endpoint assessment, analysis, and reporting. In this manuscript, we define AI-a...

Development and Validation of the Stress Burden of Electronic Cigarette Smoking Scale (SBECSS) Among Adult Dual Users

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to develop and evaluate the preliminary validity of the Stress Burden of Electronic Cigarette Smoking Scale (SBECSS), a new measure designed to assess the level of stress burden associated with the co-occurring perceptions of electronic cigaret...

Novel mutations of PIKFYVE identified in 322 sporadic cataract patients

BACKGROUND: PIKFYVE, a novel pathogenic gene causing congenital cataract, its association with sporadic cataracts has not been systematically investigated. This study aimed to explore PIKFYVE mutation profiles in major sporadic cataract subtypes. METHODS: We enrolled 322 sporadic...

Clinical trial barriers in neurostimulation for pediatric drug‐resistant epilepsy

Abstract Objective The NeuroPace responsive neurostimulation (RNS) System effectively treats focal drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE) in adults but lacks pediatric regulatory approval. Despite effective off‐label pediatric use, systemic device‐trial challenges have impeded label expan...

Microglial GRB2 is essential for brain ventriculogenesis and CSF homeostasis

Microglia play essential yet poorly understood roles in brain development, including axon guidance, regulation of neurogenesis, and pruning of neuronal projections. Congenital hydrocephalus (CH), characterized by enlarged cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled ventricles, is a leading...

Large Language Models (LLMs) vs Manual Chart Review for Assessing Goal-Concordant Care: An Exploratory Study

BackgroundEvidence that advance care planning (ACP) improves goal-concordant care (GCC) remains limited. Challenges are lack of reproducible operational definition of GCC and labor-intensive nature of manual chart review.ObjectivesDevelop a structured approach to adjudicating GCC...

Changes in Alcohol Use Among Adults with Cancer Participating in the ECOG-ACRIN EAQ171CD Tobacco Treatment Trial

Abstract Background: Alcohol and tobacco use are known carcinogens. Treating alcohol and tobacco co-use can improve treatment and survivorship outcomes among patients diagnosed with cancer. Methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of ECOG-ACRIN EAQ171CD trial participants within...

Artificial Intelligence Across the PET Reconstruction Pipeline: An Update

PET reconstruction has evolved from analytic and iterative physics-based methods toward hybrid approaches that increasingly incorporate artificial intelligence (AI). As digital detectors, long-axial FOV systems, and time-of-flight technology increase data richness and computation...

Machine learning–driven spleen imaging and genomics uncover a splenic connection to coronary artery disease

Despite advances in managing traditional risk factors, coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of mortality. Circulating hematopoietic cells influence risk for CAD separately from traditional risk factors, but the role of a key regulating organ, the spleen, is unk...

Prenatal exposure to wildfire fine particulate matter and fetal growth outcomes in the United States: Findings from the ECHO Cohort

Background: Increasing exposure to wildfire fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) may pose unique risks to fetal development. We assessed associations between prenatal wildfire PM 2.5 exposure and fetal growth outcomes, including birth weight at term, birth weight for gestational age...

A 6-Year-Old With Becker Muscular Dystrophy and Catatonia

Catatonia is often underrecognized and underdiagnosed, particularly in young children. Catatonia occurs secondary to a medical and/or psychiatric etiology. The diagnosis can be supported by validated rating scales, including the Pediatric Catatonia Rating Scale and/or response to...

A Scoping Review of Integrated Care Models for Managing Depression in Older Adults

Background: Depression is a major health issue among older adults and is frequently accompanied by chronic physical conditions. Conventional care of depression in older adults is delivered through primary care settings and often fails to address the complex interactions between m...