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Multiple nurses working on the same floor of busy hospital develop brain tumors

Multiple nurses working on the same floor of busy hospital develop brain tumors

Fox News10-04-2025

At least five nurses working on the same floor of a Boston-area hospital have been diagnosed with brain tumors, and they're looking for answers.
The nurse's union at the hospital, the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), told Fox News Digital in a statement that it is actively supporting nurses at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, "who have brought forward serious medical concerns, focused on brain tumor diagnoses on the 5th floor maternity unit."
"We recognize that nurses and many other people want immediate information about the situation," the MNA continued. "This urgency comes from a place of concern for the health of nurses, their families, and patients — an urgency that we share."
The MNA further said it is working to "complete an independent, scientific investigation" into the diagnoses.
"That effort is underway and may take additional weeks," the MNA said. "The investigation is being conducted by the MNA's division of health and safety, consisting of occupational health nurses, in collaboration with the Newton-Wellesley nurses."
In addition, the nurses' union said it has received more than 300 survey responses, emails and phone calls from current and former nurses, as well as other current and former hospital employees, regarding their health concerns.
Newton-Wellesely reportedly conducted its own exam in December and found that through April, 11 staff members who worked, at some point and to varying degrees, on the fifth floor of the hospital, had been interviewed by the hospital's Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), according to a memo obtained by Boston.com.
The hospital determined that five cases were benign brain tumors of three different types, and six cases were determined not to be brain tumors at all but other health concerns, according to the memo.
The investigation further "found no environmental risks which could be linked to the development of a brain tumor," Jonathan Sonis, associate chief medical officer, and Sandy Muse, chief nursing officer, said in a statement to Boston.com.
"Based on these results, we can confidently reassure our dedicated team members at Mass General Brigham/Newton-Wellesley Hospital and all our patients that there is no environmental risk at our facility," the statement continued. "As always, the health and wellbeing of our staff, clinicians, and patients is our absolute top priority."
The OHS review did find that there were 668 X-rays performed with portable machines on the fifth floor of Newton-Wellesley between 2020 and 2024, doubling the risk of radiation exposure compared to normal daily radiation exposure for nurses standing approximately one meter from the machine, according to Boston.com.
"Even if a staff member had been present for all of these X-rays, however, they would not have absorbed this much exposure (i.e., one meter from the machine) as we utilize appropriate X-ray safety techniques throughout the hospital," the memo obtained by the outlet states.
Newton-Wellesley did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
The MNA said it is working with the hospital, which it says "only spoke to a small number of nurses and their environmental testing was not comprehensive."
"The hospital cannot make this issue go away by attempting to provide a predetermined conclusion," the MNA added. "While we currently cannot release specific numbers or other diagnosis information, we are committed to being transparent about our findings when we have finished verifying the information we collect.
"Completing this step-by-step process is critical to providing the support Newton-Wellesley nurses deserve."

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New Mexico Delegation to Promote the State's Bioscience Industry at BIO International Convention in Boston
New Mexico Delegation to Promote the State's Bioscience Industry at BIO International Convention in Boston

Yahoo

time5 hours ago

  • Yahoo

New Mexico Delegation to Promote the State's Bioscience Industry at BIO International Convention in Boston

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Entitled mom expected play center to staff to clean up her child's vomit: Is this a normal experience?
Entitled mom expected play center to staff to clean up her child's vomit: Is this a normal experience?

New York Post

time5 hours ago

  • New York Post

Entitled mom expected play center to staff to clean up her child's vomit: Is this a normal experience?

No one warns you that stepping foot into a play center during winter is like entering the Hunger Games… but with a lot more snot (we're talking code green). When Melbourne mom, Emily, took her 18-month-old daughter for a play date at her local play center she got much more than she bargained for. 'My friend's daughter vomited in the soft play area over foam mats. She immediately cleaned up the vomit with baby wipes,' Emily shared with Kidspot. However, baby wipes can only fight so many battles. Which is why Emily's friend decided to notify staff. 'They were unable to clean it themselves due to OH&S' 3 TikTok User LifeOfEmily94 took to TikTok to share her fellow mother's experience. 'We expected that staff would have gone to put some signage up to avoid the area, and disinfect the area. Instead, the staff tried to give her (Emily's friend) water, paper towel and an unknown spray and told her she had to clean it up herself,' the mother recounted. 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'My intention is not to shame the play centre, but to bring awareness to other parents that play centres may not be as sanitary as we thought,' Emily explained. The owner provided a statement after Kidspot reached out for comment: 'I was actually here that day. I have instructed my staff not to clean vomit as I will not allow them to get sick should it be a virus. My staff come first. The mum did clean and her girlfriend came to the counter. She was given gloves, sanitiser spray and paper towel. The mum left straight after. My staff went and sprayed Glen 20 on the affected area (which wasn't left wet) and we sanitised the whole centre when we closed. We do have in our rules that we request sick children not to attend our centre. We are the cleanest centre around and take sanitising very seriously. Not sure how they could say we didn't do anything re signage etc when they left straight away. 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Pediatric HS Linked to Gut Microbiome Changes
Pediatric HS Linked to Gut Microbiome Changes

Medscape

time15 hours ago

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Pediatric HS Linked to Gut Microbiome Changes

Emerging evidence suggests the gut microbiome may play a contributing role in the development of inflammatory skin diseases — including hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). The evidence incudes a small prospective study recently published in JAMA Dermatology , which found significant differences in gut microbial composition in pediatric patients with HS compared with matched healthy control participants, offering new insights into possible disease mechanisms that may extend beyond the skin. This follow-up to prior microbiome studies included pediatric participants for the first time. 'Overall, we found significant differences in gut microbiome composition of pediatric patients with HS compared with pediatric control participants and adult patients with HS, suggesting that gut microbiome dysregulation may extend to pediatric patients with HS and should be investigated further,' wrote the authors, from the Department of Dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine, Boston. Gut Dysbiosis and Reduced Microbial Diversity in HS The study included 16 participants — eight participants with HS and eight matched control participants — half of whom were younger than 18 years. Although beta diversity (variation between individuals) was similar across groups, a decrease in alpha diversity (diversity within an individual's gut microbiome) was observed in participants with HS, as measured using Pielou evenness. 'This may indicate gut dysbiosis,' the authors noted. In pediatric patients with HS, there were notable shifts in microbial composition. Bifidobacterium adolescentis was present in all pediatric patients with HS but absent in all adults with HS. 'As B adolescentis abundance typically increases with age, its absence in adults with HS may indicate dysregulation in gut microbiome maturation,' the authors explained. Other notable findings in the pediatric patients with HS included increases in Ruminococcus , Clostridium , and Bilophila . An increase in the beneficial bacterium Faecalibacterium prausnitzii was also noted compared with pediatric control participants. Clinical Implications and Future Directions Asked to comment on this emerging research, Tamia Harris-Tryon, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology and immunology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said the results highlight a nutritional component to HS that warrants greater attention. 'HS patients often have diets that are deficient in fiber and other nutrients,' she explained. 'The gut microbiome is directly linked to diet. A diet low in fiber will be deficient in microbes that ferment fiber. Fiber fermentation influences the immune system.' Harris-Tryon added that the new findings, particularly in children, emphasize the need for diet-based interventions. 'HS patients, especially pediatric patients, need to be meeting with a nutritionist,' she said. 'The emphasis should be on increasing fiber and nutrient-dense foods in the diet, while dropping high-glycemic index foods such as candy, soda, fruit juice, sweet teas, and cutting packaged and ultraprocessed foods.' While microbiome-targeted treatments such as probiotics are often discussed in chronic inflammatory skin conditions, Harris-Tryon advised caution. 'There is no data for microbiome-directed therapies in HS yet,' she said. 'But there is significant data on the benefits of a nutrient-dense, fiber-rich diet in pediatric patients and the influence of diet on the gut microbiome. Diets from all over the world with components similar to the Mediterranean diet have been shown to be the most beneficial for human health, including skin health. Fermented foods are an excellent time-tested source of beneficial microbes — including low sugar yogurt, kimchi, and kefir.' In a recent episode of the Medscape InDiscussion podcast series on HS and the microbiome, Harris-Tryon emphasized that 'understanding how the gut, skin, and immune system talk to each other is going to be key to developing future treatments for HS' and noted that this area of research 'is really just beginning to open up.' The study authors also encouraged future studies to examine potential interactions between the gut and the brain. ' B adolescentis produces gamma-aminobutyric acid [GABA], a mediator of the gut-brain axis that has been associated with anxiety and depression disorders through direct modulation of neural signals from the gut,' they wrote. 'As HS can affect mental health, particularly in vulnerable pediatric populations, it may be worthwhile to incorporate mental health screenings in future studies and assess correlations with GABA-producing microbes.' Noting that the study had limitations, such as a small sample size and the lack of matching by BMI or disease duration, the authors concluded that there were significant differences in the gut microbiome of pediatric patients with HS compared with pediatric control participants and adults with HS. The authors also referred to their previous study, which observed an increase in Bilophila and a decrease in Pielou evenness alpha diversity in both pediatric and adult patients with HS compared to control participants, pointing to potential gut dysbiosis. Collectively, the authors noted these findings suggest that 'gut microbiome dysregulation may extend to pediatric patients with HS and should be investigated further.' The study was independently supported by institutional grants from Boston University. The authors reported having no conflicts of interest. Harris-Tryon disclosed serving or having served as a director, officer, partner, employee, advisor, consultant, or trustee for Mirofend and Johnson & Johnson; serving as a speaker or a member of a speaker bureau for Tamia; and receiving research grants from LEO Pharmaceuticals.

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