For some people, dozens of U.S.-approved drugs can lead to a rare but often fatal brain infection. Researchers have now confirmed a strong link between four genetic mutations and this illness, called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). A new study found that in people taking PML-inducing drugs, having one of four genetic variants increased the odds…  read on >  read on >

Skiiers and snowboarders, take note: You’re less likely to get hurt if you ease back into the winter sports season. “We see a lot of patients in the After-Hours Clinic (of the department of orthopaedic surgery) on their way back from skiing and snowboarding,” said Dr. Sabrina Sawlani, a sports medicine physician at UCLA Health,…  read on >  read on >

A new genetic test may help determine which people with breast cancer can safely skip radiation after breast-conserving surgery to remove their tumor. Individuals with invasive breast cancer who had low scores on an investigational gene panel were just as likely to experience a recurrence if they received radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery or not,…  read on >  read on >