A sampling of news media stories involving UC Health:
UCSF nabs $464M in 2009 NIH funding, topping public institutions nationally, San Francisco Business Times
UC San Francisco, the University of California’s only specialty medical campus, said Wednesday it received $463 million in research funds from the National Institutes of Health last year, more than any other public institution. It finished second overall in NIH funding received for the second year in a row, trailing only Johns Hopkins University, which netted $603 million.
Young patient draws up iSketch app to help others, USA Today
This article reports on a 12-year-old boy who created the iPhone application, iSketch, during his recovery from surgery for a benign leg tumor at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital. He donated $20,000 from the proceeds to purchase electronic items and games for other hospitalized kids. Amy Bullock, director of the Department of Child Life/Child Development Services at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, is quoted.
Magnet therapy corrects S. Bay boy’s birth defect (video), CBS 5
Magnets are commonplace, from the magnetic strips used in ATM, debit and credit cards, to those souvenirs that end up on the refrigerator door. Now magnets have a brand new use. They are being tested in a new procedure to correct a rare birth defect. 13-year-old Jacob Patterson of Los Gatos is a real life Iron Man, but not simply because he’s incredibly athletic. Jacob’s packing some pretty cool metal: it’s a magnet that’s been surgically attached to his chest bone. The teenager is part of a groundbreaking clinical trial at UCSF Medical Center. Jacob was born with a condition called pectus excavatum or “sunken chest.”
How social networks impact drinking habits, Time
Adding to their previous research examining the impact of social contagion on everything from smoking to generosity, Harvard sociologist Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis and University of California San Diego political scientist James Fowler most recently teamed up to examine how social networks influence alcohol consumption.
Getting in front of reform, San Francisco Business Times
The federal health care reform that is now a hard-fought reality in many respects reflects changes that are already under way in the Bay Area health care industry. UCSF is mentioned.
Military families: Separated by war (video), KCAL SoCal Connected
Dr. Patricia Lester, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, is featured in a segment on military families, in which she discusses her research on the stresses families endure during multiple deployments of a parent.
UCSF mulls size, sites for Mission Bay, San Francisco Business Times
UC San Francisco Medical Center doesn’t yet have specific plans or a specific site for the faculty physicians who will practice at its new $1.5 billion Mission Bay hospital campus, slated to open in late 2014. But Cindy Lima, UC San Francisco’s executive director for the Mission Bay Hospitals Project, says not to worry.
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New treatment for solid tumors announced, San Diego Union-Tribune
Cancer scientists at the Sanford/Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla said Thursday that they have developed a new way to attack solid tumors. The long-sought advancement delivers drugs deeper into the diseased growths, producing significantly more effective results while using smaller doses and producing fewer negative side effects. In a paper published in the journal Science, Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti and his colleagues describe injecting lab mice with a variety of anti-cancer medications and a peptide — a chain of specific amino acids. The new report, co-authored by others including Dr. Kazuki N. Sugahara and Tambet Teesalu at UC Santa Barbara, shows that anti-cancer drugs lingering near peptide molecules get pulled into and through tumor tissues as well. David A. Cheresh, a professor of pathology at the Moores Cancer Center, part of UC San Diego, is quoted.
L.A. marathon heart attack victim doing better, Los Angeles Times
An update on the recovery of a 21-year-old runner who suffered a heart attack during the Los Angeles Marathon and was treated at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Paul Vespa, professor of neurology and neurosurgery and director of UCLA’s Neurointensive Care Unit, is quoted. Dr. Charles Chandler, UCLA clinical professor of surgery, is also cited.
Experts: There may really be junk-food junkies, San Francisco Chronicle
No, you’re not a chocoholic, and we’re not all addicted to Twinkies – at least, there’s no evidence of that yet. But more and more weight-loss experts and medical researchers are convinced that certain food substances – sugars and fats, mostly – can be addictive, in the same way that alcohol, nicotine or hard drugs are for some people. “I’m not saying anyone and everyone can get addicted” to sugars and fats, said Dr. Robert Lustig, an obesity expert at UCSF. “But is it a real phenomenon? You bet.”
For the best of the best, determination outweighs nature and nurture, The New York Times
Dean Simonton, a professor of psychology at UC Davis, states that he does not agree with research by K. Anders Ericsson that genes play a minimal role in talent. Simonton argues that “genetics influence how quickly and how well a person can master the expertise necessary to perform at world-class levels.”
Rural healthcare? There’s an app for that, KALW/San Francisco Chronicle
Earthquakes are teaching us how useful new technology can be. After January’s earthquake in Haiti, one reporter used a first aid app to treat his own injuries. He also used his iPhone to take pictures of the quake, and its alarm to keep himself awake. At UC Berkeley, researchers are figuring out how to use cell phones to diagnose diseases in remote locations.
Program puts nurses in touch with patients, Sacramento Business Journal
Heather Young, founding dean of the UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, states that a pilot program at Kaiser Permanente’s Sacramento Medical Center that has successfully increased the amount of time nurses spend with patients is a good example of putting the patient first. “This is an example of the kind of research we are planning to undertake at the School of Nursing. It’s all about having the right person available at the right time to do the right thing.”
Man’s new iris implant turns black eye blue (video), ABC News
This story reports on an Oklahoma man who was the first to undergo a custom artificial iris implant at the Jules Stein Eye Institute. The surgical prosthetic repaired a 27-year-old injury that left his pupil fully dilated and unprotected from glare and sunlight. Dr. Kevin Miller, Kolokotrones Professor of Ophthalmology, inserted an artificial iris matched to the color and shape of the patient’s healthy eye. Miller is interviewed.
In sleepless nights, a hope for treating depression, The New York Times
This piece about insomnia mentions research from J. Christian Gillin, a former colleague of the writer’s at UC San Diego and the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Vest uses accelerometers and balloons to improve wearer’s balance, Popular Science
This article reports on the development of a vest that helps patients regain their balance as they learn to walk again after injury or disease. Martin Culjat, engineering research director for the UCLA Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology, is quoted.
Best and worst places to be during an earthquake (video), KTLA 5
Kimberley Shoaf, associate director of the Center for Public Health and Disasters at the School of Public Health, appears in this story about where and how individuals should seek safety during an earthquake.
Will health law mean more hospital visits from young adults?, The Wall Street Journal
One provision of the health-care bill that is now law says that parents will be able to keep their dependent children on their health insurance policies up to age 26. New work by a trio of economists, circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research, suggests that could produce a significant increase in demand for health care from previously uninsured young adults. “‘Aging out’ results in an abrupt 5 to 8 percentage point reduction in the probability of having health insurance,” Michael Anderson of UC Berkeley, Carlos Dobkin of UC Santa Cruz and Tal Gross of the University of Miami write.
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Would an outdoor smoking ban help save lives?, Los Angeles Times
California legislators want to ban smoking at state beaches and parks, and they’ve sent a bill to the governor that would do just that. It remains to be seen whether he’ll sign the measure, designed to reduce the public’s exposure to secondhand smoke, not to mention cut back on cigarette butt litter. But just what are the health effects of inhaling the smoke of somebody else’s cigarette? And does it matter if exposure is fleeting — and outdoors? Researchers have answers about the health effects (and yes, they’re negative), but their conclusions are based on smoke-filled indoor environments; the relevance for outdoor settings is less clear. The article quotes Stanton Glantz, who directs the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at UC San Francisco, and Katherine Hammond, a professor of environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley.
First camera, then fork, The New York Times
This article about photographic food diaries quotes UC Irvine student Javier Garcia and UCSF psychiatrist Tracy Foose.
Gaming firm to energize physical rehab, San Francisco Business Times
Glenna Dowling, RN, PhD, chair of the UCSF Department of Physiological Nursing, is quoted in this story about an NIH-funded trial to adapt Wii-like games as therapy for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Red Hill Studios, a California-based serious games developer, in partnership with the UCSF School of Nursing, has been awarded two grants totaling $1.1 million to continue development, production and testing of computer-based physical therapy games for patients with Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy.
Why self image suffers among seniors, ABC News
A new study by UC Davis psychologist Richard W. Robins found that health and financial prosperity have the most lasting impact on self-esteem. “We tested the effects of gender, ethnicity, education, income, employment status, relationship satisfaction, marital status, social support, health experiences and stressful life events,” Robins says. “Many of these variables were related to self-esteem, but in our study, only health and income helped to explain the decline in self-esteem that occurs in old age.”
Getting your kids to behave, The Wall Street Journal
This article discusses a new study by researchers at UC Davis; University of Illinois, Chicago; and Brock University that found that children are likely to react differently based on the kinds of rules parents make, rejecting those that intrude on issues of personal domain but obeying those in the moral domain. Kristin Hansen, an associate professor of psychology at UC Davis, advises parents to create “balance in promoting morality in young children–not only restricting actions that they shouldn’t do, but helping them identify situations where they can assert personal control.”
Los Rios picked for medical e-record classes, The Sacramento Bee
Peter Yellowlees, director of health informatics at UC Davis, states that UC Davis will work with the Los RIos Community College District to develop a six-month program to train people to implement and operate computerized health information systems.
Candy: the new health food, but not really, Chicago Sun-Times
Judith Stern, a nutrition expert at UC Davis, states that consumers should do their own research to determine the actual healthfulness of candy marketed as being beneficial. “Caveat emptor,” Stern says.
Black breast cancer gap not due to therapy, UPI
Steve Martinez, an assistant professor of surgery at the UC Davis Cancer Center, is the author of a new study that found that African-American women have worse breast cancer survival rates than others regardless of whether they received radiation therapy.
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Liver disease may go undetected in children, HealthDay News
Doctors often misinterpret the results of a test used to detect chronic liver disease in children, new research from UC San Diego finds.
Healthy returns for Alameda biotech firm, Contra Costa Times
A story about how CEO Michael West helped turn around Alameda biotech firm BioTime. West is a former adjunct professor at UC Berkeley.
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Op-ed: Serving on the first ‘death panel’, San Francisco Chronicle
Dr. Eliezer Van Allen, a third-year resident in internal medicine at UCSF, writes that end-of-life counseling should have been included in the Obama administration’s healthcare reform law.
Are relaxation drinks worth it? (video), Associated Press TV
This piece is on the rising prevalence of relaxation drinks — beverages that claim to help users unwind from a stressful day and purport to serve as an antidote to too much caffeine or energy drinks. UCSF clinical pharmacy professor Candy Tsourounis is interviewed and featured prominently in the piece, which ran on stations nationwide. Tsourounis urged caution in using these drinks, noting that insomnia could be an indication of other health issues that need to be addressed. She also cited the lack of research on the long-term health effects of the drinks and their ingredients. Alternately, she said that in some cases, the ingredients could be in quantities too small to have any benefit.
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