News & Publications
Trastuzumab Emtansine Improves Long-Term Survival in HER2 Breast Cancer
In patients with high-risk HER2-positive breast cancer, postsurgery, or adjuvant, treatment with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) reduced the long-term risk of death or invasive disease by 46% and improved survival compared to trastuzumab alone, according to the final results of the phase 3 KATHERINE clinical trial led by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer...
Self-Destructing Vaccine Offers Enhanced Protection Against TB in Monkeys
A self-destructing vaccine administered intravenously provides additional safety and protection against tuberculosis (TB) in macaque monkeys, suggests new University of Pittsburgh research published Jan. 10 in Nature Microbiology.
The built-in safety mechanisms circumvent the possibility of an accidental self-infection with weakened mycobacteria, offering a safe and...
New Pitt Study Highlights Scope of Economic Abuse in Teens
By Asher Jones
Adolescence is a formative time for attaining education, gaining financial independence and building the foundations of a future career. At the same time, many young people are navigating their first romantic relationships.
So, when an intimate partner sabotages or controls a young person’s finances or interferes with their education—a phenomenon...
Healing Can be Too Much of a Good Thing for Transplanted Hearts
By Phoebe Ingraham Renda
Treg repair responses reveal a delicate balance in healing transplanted hearts. Illustrated by: Phoebe Ingraham Renda.
In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from The University of Pittsburgh’s Departments of Surgery and of Immunology and the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute discovered that a molecule...
Latest Findings on Epilepsy and Pregnancy Are Not Reaching Clinical Practice
By Fernanda Juarez Anaya
Health care providers have gaps in knowledge about the latest research findings pertaining to reproductive health and epilepsy, suggests new research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine published Dec. 19, 2024, in Neurology: Clinical Practice.
The report highlights that the medical community needs to improve how it keeps...
Pitt Doctor Sylvia Owusu-Ansah's Story Influenced Upcoming Series, “The Pitt”
By Kat Procyk
Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, associate vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion, Department of Pediatrics, and assistant professor of pediatrics and of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine, met with the writing staff from Max’s upcoming medical drama set in Pittsburgh, “The Pitt,” over a two-hour Zoom call in March 2024 to...
As Respiratory Illnesses Surge, Pitt Vaccination and Health Connection Hub Offers Vaccines
Pitt’s Vaccination and Health Connection Hub is offering vaccinations to protect against many of the respiratory illnesses that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports are surging now in states including Pennsylvania.
As of Friday, Jan. 3, COVID-19 was on the rise across most of the country and is expected to continue an upward trajectory in the...
Parents Who Lost Children to HDFN are Fighting for Patient Advocacy. This Pitt Doctor Is Helping Their Voices Be Heard.
By Kat Procyk
Clinicians are widely adopting RhD-positive low titer group O whole blood (LTOWB) to treat life-threatening bleeding based on data that suggests it’s safe and saves lives. However, if a trauma patient later becomes pregnant, it can occasionally lead to complications, including fetal death.
When someone with RhD-negative blood—a less common blood type...
Nasal Swab Detects Asthma Type in Kids
University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed a nasal swab test for kids that diagnoses a specific asthma subtype, or endotype. This noninvasive approach could help clinicians prescribe medications more accurately and pave the way for research toward better treatments for lesser-studied asthma types.
Published Jan. 2, 2025, in JAMA, the findings are based on data...
Herpes Virus Might Drive Alzheimer's Pathology, Study Suggests
University of Pittsburgh researchers uncovered a surprising link between Alzheimer’s disease and herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), suggesting that viral infections may play a role in the disease. The study results were published Jan. 2, 2025, in Cell Reports.
The study also revealed how tau protein, often viewed as harmful in Alzheimer’s, might initially protect the brain...
