Investigational drug can reduce asthma flareups

An investigational drug appears to cut the risk of severe asthma attacks in half for patients who have difficulty controlling the disorder with standard medications, according to results from two multicenter clinical trials headed by Mario Castro, MD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the School of Medicine.

Investigational drug evaluated in newborns to treat rare disorder

Children with a rare genetic disorder that causes missing and malformed teeth, sparse hair and the inability to perspire are born without a protein thought to be key to such development. A clinical trial now underway at the School of Medicine aims to see if the void can be filled with a replacement protein. Shown are Sarah and Robert Yaroch and their son Andrew, who is participating in the trial.

Study confirms benefit of back braces in treating scoliosis

While back braces have been used for decades to treat scoliosis, studies of their effectiveness have been inconclusive. But new results from a clinical trial provide the strongest evidence yet that braces work in a significant percentage of cases. Shown is one of the principal investigators, Matthew B. Dobbs, MD, examining an X-ray of a patient whose spine was fused to treat scoliosis.