UA Health News

UA researchers have identified a clue to explain the reversible memory loss sometimes caused by the use of statins, one of the most widely prescribed medications. Unusual swellings within neurons, which the team has termed the "beads-on-a-string" effect, may be linked to the cognitive decline some patients experience while taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Dr. Mitchell Cordover, a graduate of the UA College of Medicine-Tucson, is working in Antarctica for six months, treating scientists working at a biological research station. The technological capabilities of the site allow for easy and effective telemedicine. Cordover is able to get specialists to help evaluate medical tests, images or video in real time and consultations to assist with treatment decisions within hours.

The UA has established a new School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences that will bring together teaching, research and extension resources from across the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to focus on animal health, growth, nutrition and disease, and human health challenges facing Arizona and the global community. The new school likely will host the proposed Arizona Veterinary Medical Education program.

The University of Arizona Medical Center-University Campus has reactivated its lung and heart-lung transplant programs following the recruitment of Dr. Jesus Gomez-Abraham, who has joined the UA department of surgery. UAMC is one of a handful of medical centers in the nation to offer a comprehensive program of heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, intestine, multivisceral, islet and composite-tissue transplants for adults and children.

To combat health illiteracy, the UA College of Medicine has implemented a project that introduces high school and middle school students to graduate-level medical science coursework. The leaders of the project believe their courses can elevate the level of health literacy for future patients and their families.

Despite decades of research on the many health challenges facing Native Americans, no book has taken a comprehensive look at the health of Native American women – until now. UA researchers Jennie R. Joe and Francine C. Gachupin are editors of "Health and Social Issues of Native American Women," recently released by Praeger Publishers.

The UA's Dr. Zain Khalpey is working on research to reduce the number of organ transplants needed and increase the pool of available donor organs. His work focuses three key areas: bridge to regeneration, organ reconditioning and organogenesis, or the creation of new organs.

Students in the UA School of Dance are collaborating with Beads of Courage on a dance marathon to support children being treated for serious medical conditions. The 10-hour dance event on April 6 will benefit young patients at The University of Arizona Medical Center-Diamond Children's.

A man who suffered from debilitating back pain is ready to start swinging a golf club again following The University of Arizona Medical Center's first minimally invasive spinal fusion. Dr. Ali A. Baaj, an assistant professor in the UA department of surgery who specializes in minimally invasive spinal surgery, performed the procedure.

A UA-developed mobile app provides dust storm alerts and tips for staying safe in a dust storm. Arizona sees some of the worst dust storms in the country during the spring and summer months. Blowing dust can lead to poor visibility and dangerous driving conditions on the state's highways.

Students in the UA College of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix will learn where they will do their residencies during Match Day on March 15. Most of the graduates are expected to remain in Arizona as resident-physicians. Residency programs vary in length from three years for general medicine/family practice specialties to eight years for the most specialized of surgeons.

Historically, flu seasonality is associated with cold winter conditions in temperate latitudes. A team including UA researchers found evidence that there are two types of environmental conditions associated with seasonal influenza epidemics: cold-dry and humid-rainy. The findings could help improve flu transmission models, surveillance efforts and the timing of vaccine distribution.

ECMO – ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation – serves as a temporary life support system for patients who have heart or lung failure or both. Since 2006, UAMC has orchestrated last-ditch ECMO transports of eight adult patients and two children, making it one of only a handful of institutions worldwide to be able to provide this service to both adults and children.

Can something as simple as putting on a pair of socks help save the limbs and lives of people with diabetes? The UA and its partners recently were awarded more than $2 million in research grants from the Qatar National Research Fund to study the use of new technology incorporated in specially made socks.

The UA's Dr. Klearchos Papas is researching ways to improve the effectiveness of an implantable device containing insulin-producing islet cells for diabetics in need. His work has the potential to make islet cell transplantation available to a larger number of patients with Type 1 diabetes, and also make it safer for children.

A new app allows UA medical students to interact with a real human heart on their iPads. The Heart Anatomy Explorer I app, developed at the University, uses images of a real human heart to teach students about the organ's structures. College of Medicine faculty members plan to expand the app to include more organs in the future.

Workplace wellness incentive programs may decrease hospitalizations, but not overall health claim costs, according to a new paper by professor of economics Gautam Gowrisankaran of the UA Eller College of Management, out now in Health Affairs. The paper's findings constitute the first rigorous evaluation of a comprehensive, insurance-based wellness program with financial incentives for participation.

The discovery and UA analysis of an extremely rare African American Y chromosome pushes back the time of the most recent common ancestor for the Y chromosome lineage tree to 338,000 years ago. This time predates the age of the oldest known anatomically modern human fossils.

Positive communication is hugely beneficial to your relationships, your mind and your health, researchers say. The UA's Margaret Pitts and her collaborator, Thomas Socha, have organized the first collection of scholarly works devoted to positive interpersonal communication in their discipline.

While in high school, Rhiannon Miller, a UA psychology major, had the idea to train Borzois to serve as psychiatric service dogs for veterans, which led to the establishment of Operation Wolfhound. To date, more than 60 dogs have been placed with veterans across the nation – in New York, Georgia and along the West Coast as well as in Canada and England.